Minecraft

We sit down and review Minecraft: Story Mode — Giant Consequences. This is the second episode of Telltale's second take on Mojang's famed Minecraft franchise. Here's our review on how they did

The story continues as the second episode of Minecraft: Story Mode new season has released and is out there for those who want to take each with a bit of break in-between and not binge the whole thing. Giving yourself a break between each episode so you can reflect on what just happened seems to be the ongoing M.O. for Telltale Games anyway. That said, here with are with more of this Minecraft world to explore and live in with another chunk of the story and just how its ultimate villain fits into the whole picture for the Mojang property. Here is our review of the latest episode for Minecraft: Story Mode.

Story

Well, Jesse and crew have upset the Admin and has brought forth the wrath that comes with all of that. Now that Jesse has thwarted the Admin's advances and putting the town in peril, we need to go off on another adventure to save the day. This time it is a race against each other as we are set upon with tasks that requires us to beat challenges before the opposing team, if you can call it that, is able to as well. All to retrieve a clock that can warp time within the universe. You know, that old gem there.

Hated

So one of the big premises of this episode is that we will be met with a lot of different challenges to move forward in the Admin's parlor. So many opportunities to use this to expand out Minecraft: Story Mode's gameplay beyond what we already know and it is thrown to the side to save some time. Sure, there are a few QTE sequences and a small battle mixed in, but there was no puzzle solving or anything that made this feel like Minecraft outside of the look and setting of it all. Many of the other IPs that Telltale Games has out there include some form of puzzle solving and such and in a story where that is required by the antagonist, it is reduced down to a few button presses and hitting things. I was expecting much more here.

Also, and this one could change the further we get into Minecraft: Story Mode here, none of the "branching" choices seemed to do much in the grander scheme of things. Well, at least two of the choices as they all led to the same conclusion and not really a branch in the story. At least none that I could see. I was expecting to see a few drastic differences here, but they were not to be found. Granted, these choices could be affecting the overall Minecraft: Story Mode narrative in some way, but I do not see how going down one path that would lead to the same place will do that as the season continues forward. Maybe I will be surprised, but for now, this sits in the Hated section as I want it all to branch out more.

Loved

While it does feel like this episode of Minecraft: Story Mode missed the mark for gameplay additions, what was in there was a fun experience. The shooting gallery in particular was a great addition and even though it was not more than timing button presses on the screen, it did offer up a few challenges and broke up some of the basic QTEs that are usually in these games. It was definitely one of the highlights for this episode and made for a fun distraction. I was also glad that it went down the path of button presses as doing it the normal way by aiming in Minecraft would have been a huge nightmare and would have been a huge drag on it all.

Another aspect I loved about this episode, which is going to sound somewhat weird, was that it was short. At least it felt shorter compared to other episodes in Minecraft: Story Mode to date. Not in a way that made me wish it was over with quickly mind you, but in a way that it felt like Telltale Games was not trying to pad the length with pointless events to make it feel long enough. It was all to the point and it honestly made for one of the more engaging episodes I have played for Minecraft: Story Mode to date. Yes, that includes the first season as well. Whatever the reason was, it was the perfect length and still made me want to come back for more instead of just trying to fight through a lot of "filler" to make sure I had about a two-hour experience.

Overall

As I mentioned above, if you are waiting to binge Minecraft: Story Mode in one sitting, then there is no reason to tell you to pick up this episode as you will when it all goes live. For those going episode to episode though, this one feels to be the shortest and most 'direct' of them all and you will not feel like you have wasted any time with pointless filler. Sure, there were a few opportunities that felt missed given the core story for the episode, but that would have required a lot of other gameplay mechanics getting added in or changed up to make it more unique. I have yet to be fully let down by this season of Minecraft: Story Mode so my recommendation still stands and you should be giving it all a go.

I give Minecraft: Story Mode — Giant Consequences 13 Shooting Gallery Targets on the Shooting Gallery Target scale.

Minecraft: Story Mode — Giant Consequences was developed by Telltale Games and Mojang. Minecraft: Story Mode — Giant Consequences was published by Telltale Games for the PS4, Xbox One and PC on August 15^th 2017. A copy of the game was provided by the publisher for reviewing purposes.