Whilst arguably being the most controversial of Telltale’s most recent batch of episodic adventures, Minecraft: Story Mode Episode 1 proves to be a competent additionto Telltale;s catalogue. It provides an entertaining story, to the one franchise that doesn’t need one, but it doesn't set itself apart from its predecessors.

 

Telltale has applied it's now borderline obvious, but still fun, template to the Minecraft IP. It is a narrative focused point-and-click with basic puzzles and choices that affect the smaller story arcs. The narrative has been carefully crafted which introduces the juggernaut which is Minecraft to those who have never chopped down a tree with their fist before (yes, you can do that in Minecraft) easily and succinctly. It is easy to follow but also uses a lot of Minecraft’s content to flesh out a story, which will keep long-time fans happy. Due to the young target audience, the story is pretty simple but the content is draws from keeps Story Mode feeling fresh enough.

 

Jesse, the protagonist voiced by Patton Oswalt, is well written. When poised with choices of dialogue, each one fits his personality, regardless of tone or situation. His relationship with his pet pig Reuben, not voiced by Patton Oswalt, is probably the best element in the story, is rather endearing, and brings out some good laughs. There is something about an animal behaving like a human without speaking that brings out a giddy excitement and Reuben captures that wonderfully.

 

Other characters mostly just push the story on, failing to make as much of an impression as a PIG. Their only saving grace is that this is a five episode series, so there is plenty of time to gain the charisma of a farm yard animal.

 

Sparsely sprinkled throughout are crafting opportunities. Jesse will approach a Crafting Table and using the materials you have, you need to create an item to solve a puzzle. It is never a complicated task; place the materials in the correct place of a 3 x 3 grid, just like in the parent game, and you create an item. It adds a bit of variety to the formula and hopefully Telltale will utilise this to ask more of the player through later episodes. If it stays as easy as it is, it could feel like a throwaway attempt at appeasing the Minecraft fans.

 

These crafting moments are as ‘Minecraft’ as Story Mode gets. Outside of the assets and crafting, there isn’t much else being utilised by Telltale to make it stand out from the company’s catalogue. It is harsh to criticize Story Mode’s lack of originality when I have only played on fifth of the game, but it is something to bear in mind if you are on the fence.

 

Outside of the Minecraft content, there is something of a legacy issue with the Telltale games that is starting to grate. Each scene is cut with different camera angles and transitions between conversations etc., but they aren’t smooth. Music and background noise cut for small but deafeningly silent screen freezes. It’s a consistent nag all the way through the game, which is only slightly less annoying than Jeremy Clarkson armed with a water pistol. It isn’t the most taxing of games for a PlayStation 4 to run, so the issue lies with Telltale and how they create their games. I have experienced this issue with The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us, and Game Of Thrones, and it should have been ironed out by now.

 

All of the Minecraft assets are there, the story uses a variety of elements from the IP, and Reuben is the best pig you will ever meet, but there isn’t a unique selling point outside of, “It’s Minecraft!” It is fun, but I am hoping for Episode 2 to provide something that sets itself apart from other Telltale games. They might win me over if we can play as Reuben instead.