The episode relies prettily on QTE (Quick Time Events) and gives you something next to decision making to worry about. While a lot of the QTE are really to avoid taking damage, some are just used for the sake of being there, like to build things, but they also add to your situation and count as something else to watch out for. You are given a set of ten hearts to have throughout the episode (and most likely throughout the series) and damage gets taken away every time you are either attacked by an enemy or fail to do a QTE. The QTE also acts as its own decision as some events can change how a person sees you. It isn’t as effective as a regular decision, but something like which group of people you want to run with or how long it takes you to do something might have a much more of an impact in the future.
Clocking in at roughly two hours, this episode is one of the longer Telltale episodes right behind the first episode of Tales from the Borderlands. Even though it’s generally long for an episode, it doesn’t mean that time was wasted. With every passing second, new lore is learned about this rendition of the Minecraft world and how characters perceive the strange world around them. Who knew that people were pretty used to the idea of killing a dragon from another dimension and hosting a convention in honor of the heroes who slew it?
The story also deserves notice. Minecraft itself might not have as intense of a story, but Telltale was able to grab some of the more important factors of Minecraft and create a lore to follow and better understand what the characters with. Previously, your goal was to mine for enough materials and minerals to make a portal to the End to slay the Ender Dragon. Now, that story doesn’t necessarily apply to everyone, because the ones who slayed the Ender Dragon were the members of the Order of the Stone. The members are essentially the people that you would have normally gone to the End with to help you fight the dragon, so it almost makes it seem like you were some kind of legendary hero for being able to do that if you were able to do so in the past. Everyone else in the episode doesn’t have that same goal and, funny enough, don’t look at all like the villagers that you sometimes wander upon in the original game. The storytelling and characters leave you with enough of an impression that leaves you waiting in anticipation for the next episode. You begin to make connections with your friends and build a relationship with them in the span of one single episode so it leaves you wanting to know what will come next for this party of builders.
Zombies are one of the most basic yet alarming mobs in Minecraft . They endlessly stalk the player at night, standing at doorways and groaning in a low and unnerving tone until the light of the Sun fills the sky and burns them to a crisp. Husks are just like their undead counterparts but have a unique “superpower” that allows them to stand up to the sun, and they won’t catch on fire and disappear like their breth
The Bogged looks straight out of a swamp monster movie and is more dangerous than the skeleton as it will shoot the player with poison arrows. The swamp is not the only place that gamers will find out here now the Bogged, as they will also spawn as an enemy in the new Trial Chambers , a combat system in which players must defeat mobs in order to progress and be rewarded. Skeletons are terrifying enough, but this Bogged version takes it to another le
While you don’t get to explore the world, you are given the chance to look around in order to find clues that lead to the next event. The episode doesn’t stray at all from the original and even gives you the opportunity to fight zombies and craft items to make you feel more at home, feeling a little bit like a tribute. As stated before, you don’t have to have prior knowledge of the game in order to enjoy this but some you should have some prior knowledge to understand the terminology and some of the jokes. ‘Ender Dragon’ and ‘Wither’ are not really words that everyone has in their everyday vocabulary but knowing about them will give you better understanding of why they’re bad and why the situation that Jesse and his friends are in is bad.
Minecraft: Story Mode strays from the more mature content that Telltale normally associates themselves with and manages to create a fun, family-friendly world for one with no real story. The episode is expertly done and gives players a perfect standalone game to the critically acclaimed game from Mojang. With the new lore introduced in the first episode, it’s hard to believe what other new content will be available to us in the coming episodes. By focusing on a new concept that strays from their normally mature games, this episode paves the way for what is hopefully a great series from a great developer.
Updated on March 20, 2025, by Mati Kent-Nye: 14 years after its release, Minecraft continues to be updated regularly, bringing with it countless new blocks to build with and biomes to build in, whether on land, underground, or at sea. Its creative limits are constantly expanding, drawing in beginner and veteran builders alike. The most recent 1.21 update gifted players with an array of new copper blocks, opening up a whole new world of mechanical-themed builds. A new material mechanic, oxidization, was also introduced. Unless waxed, copper blocks will slowly change color from bronze to teal. They can also be waxed in their semi-oxidized state, making for versatile bui