‘Minecraft: Story Mode’ Episode 2: Assembly Required Review
Telltale Games unexpectedly released Episode 2: Assembly Required for Minecraft: Story Mode a mere two weeks after the first episode became available. Thankfully, the game’s quality maintained most of its liveliness.
Episode 1: The Order of the Stone left a great taste in my mouth. It satisfied my hunger for the illusion of impact and equally left me craving more. There were five decisions in the first episode that affected various outcomes. To add substance to my experience with Episode 2, here are the decisions I made in Episode 1 (spoiler alert):
- I told Reuben to run from the monsters
- I went back to save Lukas from the Iron Golem
- I helped Petra when escaping the Wither Storm
- I convinced Lukas to stay in the shelter
- I chose to seek Ellegaard the Engineer with Olivia
In classic Telltale fashion, these choices will alter the experience granted by the following episodes. It seems the biggest impact on Episode 2 was the last decision — choosing to seek the rogue Magnus would have thrusted Jesse and his companion(s) into a seemingly totally different scenario than the one I encountered.
The journey to find Ellegaard was parallel to that of the mine cart scene that transitions between the two episodes. As a graphic adventure, the narrative places players in a cart as they follow the story as it progresses. Players must be comfortable with a lack of control as this gameplay philosophy is further reinforced in the second episode. The direction these rails can lead you are what you change, and can present a pretty wide variety of stories to play through.
Upon finding Ellegaard, she locks herself up in her laboratory in order to continue developing a command block — an ultra powerful resource that has the potential to right previous wrongs. Getting into the lab presents players with a fair amount of choices to go about it. Jesse and Olivia need a switch in order to breach the gates. A gathering of scientists outsides of Ellegaard’s lab are competing against one another to become her next trainee, so Jesse and Olivia consult them. Stealing it from a scientist is a possibility, crafting your very own with the resources you earn by the scientists is another.
Needless to say, seeking Magnus instead would present an entirely different story. Eventually the characters are lead back to their base to find that Axel went out to find Magnus himself. The group soon finds out that Magnus and Ellegaard do not get along, so the game presents you with a multitude of options for how to treat the situation. With everyone reunited, the group plans their next move with a heavy decision. With danger afoot, you must decide whether to leave immediately during the night, or wait it out and leave in the morning.
This is one of the four big decisions you must make in Episode 2. I decided to leave at night and encountered a ton of monsters on the way to the next destination. Whether it’s a small response to a conversation, breaking up a fight, or even forcing a character to leave (as can be done in Episode 1), most choices carry an unknown weight behind it. Witnessing the result of a decision you made is the prime motivation behind playing Minecraft: Story Mode, and every major choice from the previous episode echoed into every fiber of Episode 2.
It was nice to see more battling sequences this time around, though they’re still few and far between. Now that Jesse has a bow, the game allows players to choose which weapon Jesse wields in the fight. The sword feels entirely different than the bow, adding a small amount of variety in fighting mechanics. Quick time events (QTEs) are still around and getting increasingly surprising. The cutscenes love to lull players into a false sense of security and then present a QTE that can catch people off guard.
Yet again, no matter how many monsters or QTEs that were presented, there felt like there was no sense of danger. Jesse has a wealth of health, so losing all of your hearts is never a concern. Difficulty settings are absent, but there’s not a large amount that it would change. Telltale Games’ focus is on the story, so it seems they’ve left untouched anything that would deter players from sitting down and enjoying it.
By the end of Episode 2, I found myself even more attached to the main cast. Each character’s voice overs maintain the same high level of quality as presented in Episode 1, fleshing out a group of aesthetically blocky characters with seemingly no personality. Hilarity still roams around the content of the game, as well, with the characters eventually looking to Soren for crafting the Formida-bomb (“F-bomb” as they call it). Episode 2 is certainly a jovial tale with some pretty ponderous situations strewn throughout.
With that said, not much has been added since Episode 1. More of the same isn’t a terrible philosophy to carry when said “same” is enjoyable, but interactivity within the game’s universe still lies dormant. With only four major story-changing decisions (one less than the previous entry) and only one or two crafting sessions, the game’s toted title of “graphic adventure” becomes evident. The lack of customization and exploration really limit players to having only one objective: finish the story.
Episode 2 leaves off in a very uncertain place in most character’s personal dilemmas. The story itself remains interesting enough to keep players coming back; but given the narrative being a majority of the game, those not captured by the unexpectedly deep characters and voice over work may find it hard to finish. Even the game’s replayability solely found in going back and making different decisions are all story-focused. More content within the established game world would be welcome in the future.
There are quite a few mysteries still lingering around in this episode, and more to surely come. The wither storm continues to run rampant and more and more characters are starting to feel its wrath. If you’re invested enough into the story from the first episode, Episode 2: Assembly Required will be a far cry from a waste of time.
If you’re not invested in the narrative, unfortunately, you may want to turn your head.
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Review Statement: The author of this review received a PS4 code from the publisher for the purposes of this review.
Minecraft: Story Mode is an episodic graphic adventure game based on Minecraft, where your choices and actions decide how the story is told.
Originally published at www.entertainmentbuddha.com on November 20, 2015.