Minecraft Story Mode Review and Giveaway

Photo provided by Telltale Games

A lot of families out there have at least one member who was bitten hard by the Minecraft bug. My family has suffered greatly with the joy of Minecraft. We have been addicted from the first time we played it on Xbox 360. A few years and hundreds of hours and millions of blocks placed later, we are still just as addicted, playing on Xbox One. When we heard about Minecraft Story Mode by TellTale Games, we knew we were going to have to have it. The idea of a playable story featuring the pixelated blocks we all have grown to love, was a very exciting one. My husband and I have played a few other TellTale Games releases, and we've always quite enjoyed the game play and story lines. Most of TellTale's games aren't family-oriented, so we have never played them with the kids. Minecraft Story Mode is rated E10+, meaning it is appropriate for anyone over the age of 10.



My oldest son was counting down the days and hoping to get Minecraft Story Mode for his birthday. After he opened it at his party, he was ready to get the party over with and get home to play. 12 year olds are not very well suited for waiting. We were barely through the door when we got home before all three kids were asking if they could play. Both in a need to save our sanity, and a need to feed our own curious excitement to see the game, we relented.

Even though Minecraft Story Mode is based in the Minecraft universe, it is quite removed from the block laying sandbox we all love. Being emotionally connected to Mintecraft, it's a lot of fun being able to play a story set in the Minecraft universe. It evokes feelings of nostalgia.

You play Minecraft Story Mode as a very funny and likeable character named Jesse. You choose whether your Jesse will be male or female and you choose their appearance from a selection of character skins.

Photo provided by Telltale Games.

The story features Jesse and their group of friends. The friends are a rag tag group, each one representing a different style of Minecraft player: Warrior, Redstone builder, Builder, and Griefer. I thought this was a very clever and cute idea as it gives players a chance to see a little bit of themselves in the game. Game play progresses through solving puzzles, small battles and conversations. There is a lot of conversateing in this game. Conversations involve choosing a response from several choices, to which your choice has consequences to the story line and your characters development in relation to the game.

Photo provided by Telltale Games.

Minecraft Story Mode is an episodic adventure game that takes place over five parts. All five parts are available now. Each episode is a self-contained story within the whole of the game. Each one is a perfect little single serving that take a couple hours to play. While the game is aimed at younger players, it is fun for all ages. It's kind of like an animated film in that regard. It has something for everyone. It's also available to just about everyone, on many platforms: Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS4, PS3, PS Vita, PC, Mac, Wii U, iOS and Android.

Photo provided by Telltale games.

You can buy a season pass which gives you access to all 5 episodes, or you can buy each episode individually. You don't have to be a fan of Minecraft to enjoy Minecraft Story Mode. The two games run completely indpendantly of each other, so you don't have to have ever even played Minecraft to enjoy Minecraft Story Mode.