MINECRAFT: STORY MODE – Chapter 1 “The Order of the Stone” (7.5 out of 10) Produced by Telltale Studios and based on Mojang’s Minecraft; Directed by Dennis Lenart, Graham Ross; Written by Michael Choung, Stephen Mcmanus; Starring the voices of Patton Oswalt, Catherine Taber, Dee Bradley Baker, Ashley Johnson, Brian Posehn, Martha Plimpton, Scott Porter, Dave Fennoy, Paul Reubens, Billy West, Phil LaMarr. Released on Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, OS X, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One on October 13, 2015.
Those familiar with both the brick-building open world phenomenon that is Minecraft, you’ll know there isn’t much plot or story inherent to the game.
Those familiar with Telltale Studios will know their formula of taking known properties (Walking Dead, Borderlands, Fables) and creating strong narratives and characters based on those worlds, and a choose-your-own-adventure type customization where your decisions affect future gameplay options.
“Minecraft: Story Mode” is the perfect marriage of these two. Minecraft fans have been creating mods, custom maps, fan videos music video parodies, and animations for years that attempt to interject their own stories into the worlds they create. Story Mode even looks like some of these higher-quality fan animations.
It also assembles an incredibly talented voice cast, including Patton Oswalt or Cat Taber playing male and female versions of the lead Jesse. Oswalt’s performance is more distinctive and snarky, while Taber shows herself the more experienced game voice artist. Fans of her work from various Star Wars games and shows will find her a welcome, familiar companion in your adventures.
Supporting players include Dee Bradley Baker (as your faithful pig companion Rueben!), Brian Posehn, Ashley Johnson, Martha Plimpton, Phil LaMarr, Billy West, and Paul Reubens. While barely featured in Chapter 1, Corey Feldman, John Hodgman, and Grey Griffin are all members of the legendary “Order of the Stone” promised to appear in future chapters.
Heavy on atmosphere and fun, the game works well for both adults and kids, but is certainly geared towards the simplicity of the Minecraft target audience. It even mimics game mechanics that will be familiar to Minecraft enthusiasts, such as using a crafting table, gathering materials, looting chests, etc. It also transports you to Minecraft’s other realms for brief periods, including The Nether and “The End.”
It also plays into familiar Minecraft archetypes. Indeed, each of the members of the Order of the Stone represent different kinds of Minecraft players (and traditional RPG classes): a warrior, an engineer, a “griefer”/rogue, a builder, and the archetypal storyline borrows heavily from other RPG games.
You play as Jesse, a relatively “newbie” player, as he and his friends are about to attend the local “Endercon” — part fan convention, part building competition. On your way you’ll also engage in an honest-to-goodness training montage set to music (yes, really), you get to choose a name for your team, and choose what you’re going to build in the competition. And you’re set on a path that intersects with members of The Order of the Stone and an eventual threat from a giant Wither.
The game is fun and has lots of kid appeal. But, as only the first chapter of five promised, it feels incomplete. It ends with a fateful decision and cliffhanger. I’m not sure if this is a positive or negative, but it was a real disappointment to not be able to keep going.
Story Mode is available as a download on all major platforms and also as a disc, which includes a season pass unlock code that will allow you to get future chapters as they are released.
7.5 out of 10