Minecraft: Story Mode

"Nothing Built Can Last Forever"
As an introduction:
I'll quickly ramble about my personal stance regarding both Minecraft itself & how that impacts my view on Minecraft: Story Mode as whole. This is especially long since I don't have the opportunity to review Minecraft itself on Steam, unlike Minecraft: Story Mode. LOL.
So also perceive this first section as a mini-review for modern Minecraft.
Minecraft: Story Mode is a game that I used to play practically RELIGIOUSLY when I used to be a Minecraft-loving toddler & young teen.
I must've spent at least ~8000 hours on Minecraft itself throughout my nearly decade & a half since I first played. This is important to realize for my overall view of Minecraft: Story Mode.
Nowadays, Minecraft really doesn't interest me anymore. I still keep up with the game occasionally, I sometimes return to Xisumavoid or Ethoslab on YouTube when I want to get a short hit of that Minecraft scratch without having to truly engage myself in the game once more & dedicate a few hundreds of hours into a new world/server again.
The reason I really don't care to return to Minecraft myself fully anymore is just how much the community landscape has changed & how much the game itself has changed from what I used to love about it.
Mojang is completely out-of-touch with the community; especially with stuff like the reporting system, Bedrock's paid customization, and their neglect to hold up with their own ToS in regards to P2W servers.
And the community has spiraled down into a toxic cesspool full of irrational influential people like Dream & the 8 billion other clickbait Minecraft Youtubers at this point.
In the few occasions per year when I actually try to return to Minecraft after getting that nostalgia trip, I tend to return to the Beta 1.7.3 version. Not only were this version very recent when I first begun playing Minecraft, but it ultimately feels so much more focused compared to modern versions that doesn't even know what they want to be anymore.
And the community surrounding tends to be a lot more mature, since a lot of players are at my own age or older. Meaning I'm not interacting with 11-year-olds solely.
So while Minecraft itself, the main game & the franchise; has spiraled out of control & practically lost touch with many of its original characteristics.
Something Minecraft: Story Mode at least benefits from is how it's a static game. It never changes. Every time I return to it I know the developers have not just erased or changed the things that I love about the title.
This has a strong influence to my vision of it in hind-sight.
ANYWAYS... About Minecraft: Story Mode... Sorry about the tangent.
CTRL+C, CTRL+V
Minecraft: Story Mode is nothing special through an overall perspective of the rest of Telltale's long list of alike games in their lengthy library.
But what makes it special is my connection to Minecraft itself & how much I adored Story Mode in my young teens.
It's your typical Telltale game.
"Would you like to choose a Wooden Sword or a Wooden Axe to fight this Zombie? Your choice won't matter, but we'll make you believe it will."
Yeah, that kind of Telltale game.
I'm pretty sure there's not a single influential choice in regards to the overall story outside of when you decide whose's armour you'll want to be gifted from The Order of the Stone. Which soon after gets said person killed.
I can't do much but scratch my head at what other choices impacts the story overall -- I don't think there are any.
I think the crafting system is a neat implementation from the main game. I just wish it had more potential crafting options to allow generally multiple options to solve puzzles.
As an example, a choice to whether craft a Stone Sword or a Lever connected to some TNT in order to wipe out a horde of Zombie. Something along those lines, y'know.
Just all these minor options that also include letting you at times crafting an useless item that obviously gets you killed.
Story Mode
The actual focus of Minecraft: Story Mode is obviously located right in the title. The story.
And it's actually not too bad, considering it's a Minecraft game.
That's not to discredit Minecraft as a game, but it's really hard to write a story within its world while keeping the creative & individual spirit of the game itself throughout a generally linear experience.
The story itself isn't something that'll amaze you or have you tensely sitting at the edge of your chair, curling your toes in excitement, 'nay.
But it honestly doesn't need to be.
Most of the time it instead focuses on allowing the game's characters to evolve and be comprehended throughout the story, and simply uses the plot to allow you, the player, to enjoy caring about the characters surrounding you. That's how these Telltale games have always compelled me the most.
Most of the characters are not too noteworthy though, but I still enjoy their presence generally.
Albeit I still to this day adore the the charisma and characterization of Lucas & Ivor. They're just kinda permanently ingrained into my mind at this point.
Noteblock Jams
In retrospect one of my favourite aspects of this game is actually its soundtrack.
While it'll obviously never compare to C418 or Lena Raine's work on the main game overall, I still do really enjoy & respect what Antimo & Welles did for this game.
Somehow, the soundtrack was simply one of my most overlooked aspects of this game when I used to be really engaged in it back in 2015.
There are just so many wonderfully hand-crafted themes throughout this game.
Upon external relistens, I find myself hymning some real bonerjams from this game.
Wither Storm, Action Suspense, Order of the Stone, No More Creepers, Boomtown Suite, Ivor's Theme, and the credit song too. Just so many classics. I wish I could recount them all here. Such great songs.
Also, I adore how the composers of this game are still engaging in the community to this day.
They just officially uploaded all of the game's music 2 years ago on YouTube in high-quality form. Good stuff.
Block by Block
The game has a very defined art-style that both stays close & true to the source material, but also deviates due to its differing engine & in service of game-play.
With the game's personally hand-crafted areas it allows its developers to put a lot more effort into individual areas & their detail.
As an example, it allows defined day & night cycles, cinematic sections, and this very alike fan-made shader pack looking lighting to it. And I'm a fan of that. it looks rather quite neat very often.
I also appreciate how when characters talk their mouths are still blocky & pixels. Unlike how a lot of fan animations does it.
Still, I would've preferred if the characters mouth movement were solely skin changes. Like there's no sleak 3D aspect to it all, but instead felt more believable with its authentic Minecraft skin mouths.
Characters like Axel also have unique body types, of which I still feel indifferent about to this day.
Conclusion
If there’s one thing I can say about Minecraft: Story Mode is that it had a heart to it all.
Even as bumpy as it was, especially nowadays where it & its sequel being pulled from digital store shelves... it still really did manage to capture some of my favorite things in Minecraft.
Things like the humble towns brim full of people in the background, the hodgepodge of creative builds representing the individuality of Minecraft's playerbase, and most importantly the ambient music.
It, with a tight grasp, captures so much about the spirit of Minecraft is such a weirdly poetic synergy that I have difficulty describing at times.
Listen, the game's overall quality is up for debate. But what I feel is certain is that it has a defined character to itself. It knows what it is, what it should be. And it sticks with it. And that's okay. :)

Steam User 49

Reviewed 04.2023

Jesse, we need to craft.
Steam User 33

Reviewed last year

Better than Minecraft Legends
Steam User 29

Reviewed last year

They did NOT need to go this hard, I really hope someday the licensing problems can be resolved and mcsm can become available and supported again, and of course with a 3rd season
though im not sure if there should be another season now, it wouldn't be the same without Ivor
Rest In Peace Paul Reubens
Steam User 29

Reviewed last year

Steam keys my beloved.
Steam User 25

Reviewed last year

This game is the best game Telltale has ever made. You should get a steam key of the game and the adventure pass. They're available on Amazon. It was one of Mojang's biggest mistakes of taking the license away from Telltale.
Steam User 21

Reviewed last year

This game should be relisted
Steam User 20

Reviewed last year

"Nothing Built Can Last Forever"
As an introduction:
I'll quickly ramble about my personal stance regarding both Minecraft itself & how that impacts my view on Minecraft: Story Mode as whole. This is especially long since I don't have the opportunity to review Minecraft itself on Steam, unlike Minecraft: Story Mode. LOL.
So also perceive this first section as a mini-review for modern Minecraft.
Minecraft: Story Mode is a game that I used to play practically RELIGIOUSLY when I used to be a Minecraft-loving toddler & young teen.
I must've spent at least ~8000 hours on Minecraft itself throughout my nearly decade & a half since I first played. This is important to realize for my overall view of Minecraft: Story Mode.
Nowadays, Minecraft really doesn't interest me anymore. I still keep up with the game occasionally, I sometimes return to Xisumavoid or Ethoslab on YouTube when I want to get a short hit of that Minecraft scratch without having to truly engage myself in the game once more & dedicate a few hundreds of hours into a new world/server again.
The reason I really don't care to return to Minecraft myself fully anymore is just how much the community landscape has changed & how much the game itself has changed from what I used to love about it.
Mojang is completely out-of-touch with the community; especially with stuff like the reporting system, Bedrock's paid customization, and their neglect to hold up with their own ToS in regards to P2W servers.
And the community has spiraled down into a toxic cesspool full of irrational influential people like Dream & the 8 billion other clickbait Minecraft Youtubers at this point.
In the few occasions per year when I actually try to return to Minecraft after getting that nostalgia trip, I tend to return to the Beta 1.7.3 version. Not only were this version very recent when I first begun playing Minecraft, but it ultimately feels so much more focused compared to modern versions that doesn't even know what they want to be anymore.
And the community surrounding tends to be a lot more mature, since a lot of players are at my own age or older. Meaning I'm not interacting with 11-year-olds solely.
So while Minecraft itself, the main game & the franchise; has spiraled out of control & practically lost touch with many of its original characteristics.
Something Minecraft: Story Mode at least benefits from is how it's a static game. It never changes. Every time I return to it I know the developers have not just erased or changed the things that I love about the title.
This has a strong influence to my vision of it in hind-sight.
ANYWAYS... About Minecraft: Story Mode... Sorry about the tangent.
CTRL+C, CTRL+V
Minecraft: Story Mode is nothing special through an overall perspective of the rest of Telltale's long list of alike games in their lengthy library.
But what makes it special is my connection to Minecraft itself & how much I adored Story Mode in my young teens.
It's your typical Telltale game.
"Would you like to choose a Wooden Sword or a Wooden Axe to fight this Zombie? Your choice won't matter, but we'll make you believe it will."
Yeah, that kind of Telltale game.
I'm pretty sure there's not a single influential choice in regards to the overall story outside of when you decide whose's armour you'll want to be gifted from The Order of the Stone. Which soon after gets said person killed.
I can't do much but scratch my head at what other choices impacts the story overall -- I don't think there are any.
I think the crafting system is a neat implementation from the main game. I just wish it had more potential crafting options to allow generally multiple options to solve puzzles.
As an example, a choice to whether craft a Stone Sword or a Lever connected to some TNT in order to wipe out a horde of Zombie. Something along those lines, y'know.
Just all these minor options that also include letting you at times crafting an useless item that obviously gets you killed.
Story Mode
The actual focus of Minecraft: Story Mode is obviously located right in the title. The story.
And it's actually not too bad, considering it's a Minecraft game.
That's not to discredit Minecraft as a game, but it's really hard to write a story within its world while keeping the creative & individual spirit of the game itself throughout a generally linear experience.
The story itself isn't something that'll amaze you or have you tensely sitting at the edge of your chair, curling your toes in excitement, 'nay.
But it honestly doesn't need to be.
Most of the time it instead focuses on allowing the game's characters to evolve and be comprehended throughout the story, and simply uses the plot to allow you, the player, to enjoy caring about the characters surrounding you. That's how these Telltale games have always compelled me the most.
Most of the characters are not too noteworthy though, but I still enjoy their presence generally.
Albeit I still to this day adore the the charisma and characterization of Lucas & Ivor. They're just kinda permanently ingrained into my mind at this point.
Noteblock Jams
In retrospect one of my favourite aspects of this game is actually its soundtrack.
While it'll obviously never compare to C418 or Lena Raine's work on the main game overall, I still do really enjoy & respect what Antimo & Welles did for this game.
Somehow, the soundtrack was simply one of my most overlooked aspects of this game when I used to be really engaged in it back in 2015.
There are just so many wonderfully hand-crafted themes throughout this game.
Upon external relistens, I find myself hymning some real bonerjams from this game.
Wither Storm, Action Suspense, Order of the Stone, No More Creepers, Boomtown Suite, Ivor's Theme, and the credit song too. Just so many classics. I wish I could recount them all here. Such great songs.
Also, I adore how the composers of this game are still engaging in the community to this day.
They just officially uploaded all of the game's music 2 years ago on YouTube in high-quality form. Good stuff.
Block by Block
The game has a very defined art-style that both stays close & true to the source material, but also deviates due to its differing engine & in service of game-play.
With the game's personally hand-crafted areas it allows its developers to put a lot more effort into individual areas & their detail.
As an example, it allows defined day & night cycles, cinematic sections, and this very alike fan-made shader pack looking lighting to it. And I'm a fan of that. it looks rather quite neat very often.
I also appreciate how when characters talk their mouths are still blocky & pixels. Unlike how a lot of fan animations does it.
Still, I would've preferred if the characters mouth movement were solely skin changes. Like there's no sleak 3D aspect to it all, but instead felt more believable with its authentic Minecraft skin mouths.
Characters like Axel also have unique body types, of which I still feel indifferent about to this day.
Conclusion
If there’s one thing I can say about Minecraft: Story Mode is that it had a heart to it all.
Even as bumpy as it was, especially nowadays where it & its sequel being pulled from digital store shelves... it still really did manage to capture some of my favorite things in Minecraft.
Things like the humble towns brim full of people in the background, the hodgepodge of creative builds representing the individuality of Minecraft's playerbase, and most importantly the ambient music.
It, with a tight grasp, captures so much about the spirit of Minecraft is such a weirdly poetic synergy that I have difficulty describing at times.
Listen, the game's overall quality is up for debate. But what I feel is certain is that it has a defined character to itself. It knows what it is, what it should be. And it sticks with it. And that's okay. :)

Minecraft: Story Mode

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