Minecraft: Story Mode - Episode 1 - The Order of the Stone Reviews
A new story in the world that they love, but one in which they're participating, not just watching – which isn't afraid to raise some sensitive issues around topics such as friendship. Roll on episode two.
Order of the Stone continues Telltale's run of strong opening episodes to their series. The drawbacks are mainly down to a weak supporting cast and that air of familiarity that gets more fetid with each passing Telltale series.
Minecraft: Story Mode has a lot of positives that make it worth playing – it is gorgeous to look at, and will be a cool experience for any Minecraft fan in particular, as it pays loving homage to its source-material.
Minecraft: Story Mode - Episode 1: Order of the Stone is a lacklustre start to Telltale's latest series. While it's certainly not bad, it's not exactly good either. A great performance from Patton Oswalt and some fun sequences aren't enough to cancel out the wonky pacing and bland narrative, while the ensemble cast mostly falls flat. This instalment is inoffensive enough, but it never really provides enough for you to latch on to. There's still plenty more to come, of course, but the jury's still out.
Minecraft: Story Mode is off to a good start, and despite a story-less canvas and only in-game references to draw from, developer Telltale has crafted something promising.
While not quite as good as Tales From the Borderlands was, Minecraft: Story Mode Episode 1 is a pretty solid start to the series. The story is off to a pretty good start, the characters interact with each other nicely, and the voice acting is quite good as well. There aren't many puzzle interactions in the episode and the ones that are there are rather easy to solve, but hopefully that and the combat will improve in later episodes.
Those looking for a deep story or compelling adventure gameplay may not find it, but there's a lot to love in this first episode. It's just not for everyone.
Telltale recalibrates with episode one of Minecraft: Story Mode, returning to younger audiences with a story that's charming and accessible, and opening a surprisingly nuanced conversation with its players. Older audiences, though, may find its path a bit too well-trod.
With the first installment of Minecraft: Story Mode, Telltale stays faithful to the popular source material while delivering another enjoyable adventure.
Telltale Games has done it again with Minecraft: Story Mode. I'm still not entirely sure how the developer managed to make an open world building game into such a fun and compelling story-based adventure but it certainly has.
A no-brainer purchase for fans of both Minecraft and Telltale. Those who prefer Telltale's more complex and mature works may find this title a bit lacking, but the exciting story, quality writing, and talented voice cast make this a hard game to dislike.
While putting a story to Minecraft might seem counterintuitive to the core game's design, the team at Telltale has proven they can make a great story out of anything. And yes, that now includes Minecraft.
This episode is an excellent introduction as it just seems long enough. It does not seem crammed or forced, either. Everything about the first episode is extremely entertaining, and it is certainly worth the price of admission.
Fun and whimsical, Minecraft Story Mode's first episode is sure to entertain fans of Mojang's original breakout game. It won't be for folks who prefer Telltale's more mature fare. But if you like Telltale's storytelling approach and enjoy Minecraft or Lego games, you'll want to add the The Order of the Stone to your crafting table.
The story presented in this first chapter isn't the most engaging, but the writing, coupled with the detail makes it all come together. As is usual though, I find it hard to recommend until all of its episodes are released and we can judge it as a whole - but this first episode is indeed promising, laying the groundwork for what should be a grand adventure.
The way that Telltale takes advantage of Minecraft lore to form its own narrative is intriguing and will delight fans of the original game, but what the studio is doing with this new story isn't doing much that will excite anyone else.
Intended for kids who love Minecraft, or adults who really love Minecraft.
Minecraft: Story Mode's first episode gives a clear baseline for seeing where the plot is headed, but the questions it leaves are predominantly on a gameplay front — not the sort you want staying with players. Will the point-and-click elements take greater hold over story sequences that currently dominate? Will quick-time events continue to be a predictable response for every point of conflict? Will player actions feel more and more pointless than they already do? On the matter of how enticing the episode is at building interest in the one to follow, Episode 1 does its job...but not expertly. It's very tame in the gameplay department, and players will find it a shallow experience as a direct result of the contrived design choices. It's enough to put the entire project in jeopardy, ultimately making this introduction a fragile start for the five-part series.
Minecraft: Story Mode – Episode One is a promising start to Telltale's latest venture. As someone with only a passing knowledge of Minecraft, the story and characters were interesting enough to pull me in, and the manner in which the first episode ends suggests that there's some fairly major diverging paths to be resolved in Episode Two. It's nothing particularly new, as Telltale games go, but I think that playing with a more family-friendly property has been good for the studio.