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Minecraft Story Mode Full Episode 1 Impressions *Non Spoilers*

NukemDukemNukemDukem
edited September 2015 in Minecraft: Story Mode

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                                                                           **Minecraft Story Mode Episode 1 Impressions**

This is an Impression piece that contains No Spoilers

Initial Thoughts
When I first heard the announcement of Minecraft Story Mode, my first thoughts were, “how are they going to make a story out of a game that has no story?” I quickly reminded myself that it’s Telltale, they can make a story out of anything. Over the past couple years, Telltale Games (TTG) has made a story out of The Walking Dead, Fables, Game of Thrones, Borderlands. Yes, they did have some source material to work off of, but they still had to find a creative way to create a story within those universes. They delivered on those games and left many gamers, including myself, wanting more.
It was nice to see TTG still have an open portfolio of their games for different age groups and audiences. After the releases of The Walking Dead Seasons One and Two, The Wolf Among Us, and Game of Thrones, all of them leaving me emotionally crippled, I wondered if they would ever go back to more light-hearted games. They finally delivered with such a game, twice actually, with Tales from the Borderlands and now Minecraft Story Mode.

Story
(Taken straight from TTG website faqs.) In Minecraft: Story Mode, playing as either a male or female hero named 'Jesse,' you'll embark on a perilous adventure across the Overworld, through the Nether, to the End, and beyond. You and your friends revere the legendary Order of the Stone: Warrior, Redstone Engineer, Griefer, and Architect; slayers of the Ender Dragon. While at EnderCon in hopes of meeting Gabriel the Warrior, Jesse's friends discover that something is wrong... something dreadful. Terror is unleashed, and you must set out on a quest to find The Order of the Stone if you are to save your world from oblivion.
The first episode length is similar to all other TTG episodes, which are roughly around 1 ½ to 2 hours long depending on playstyle. The premise of the game is simple compared to TTG’s other titles. I realized that I am an older gamer and they story had to be simple so young fans of the franchise could understand it, which is evidenced by the game’s E10 rating here in the US. With that in mind I thought the story was decent with the targeted audience in mind. The game is light hearted with some fun humor.

Graphics
Anyone who has played or seen Minecraft knows that the graphics are very plain and simple. With that in mind I thought TTG did a great job polishing the graphics while staying true to the Minecraft look. I played through the whole episode and loved the way the game appeared. It is a nice change of pace for me as a gamer who mainly plays AAA titles that put a lot of time and money into making their games photorealistic.

Gameplay
The gameplay as expected, is the same as all other recent TTG, with simple controls and frequent quick time events. The controls really benefit this series because the target audience may be young and simplicity is king under those circumstances. I really liked how TTG kept in the spirit of Minecraft by having the buttons on the controller or keyboard in Minecraft blocks style.
The building and crafting in this game is very simple. The building in this game is constructed by simply pressing a couple of the same buttons repeatedly, while building animations are playing. Since, the game is based in the Minecraft world, I was hoping for a little bit more freedom for the player to pick up and place blocks on a targeted area or dig some holes in the ground. Since, it is just the first episode I hope maybe future episodes implement this. The crafting in this game was tricky for me at first, but then I realized there is a recipe menu that reveals the correct items that I need in order to construct the many items.

Area of concern - Decisions
The major choices and decisions in the first episode did not feel like it had an impact on me compared to other TTG games. For example let’s say that I choose to go one direction versus the other, or chose which character to bring along with me and which one to leave behind. I know the game can’t be similar to the other titles where decisions can stir a lot emotions like The Walking Dead, but I thought they could add more weight to those important decisions.

Overall
I believe that Telltale Games has a foot in the right direction Minecraft Story Mode. It felt like going to a good Pixar movie. The voice acting is great with many recognizable actors/actresses from other games by TTG. The story could be a little bit more in depth, with more building interactions, and more weight on important decisions. The game is friendly for young and older gamers. If you are an avid Minecraft fan Mojang (developers of Minecraft) has you put in good hands with Telltale Games.

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