Minecraft: Story Mode

Minecraft: Story Mode is an episodic point-and-click graphic adventure video game developed and published by Telltale Games, based on the sandbox video game Minecraft. The first five episodes of the game were released between October 2015 through March 2016, and an additional three episodes were released as downloadable content in mid-2016. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, macOS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Nintendo Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Android, iOS, Apple TV, and Netflix. The game was developed in association with Mojang, who are the original developer of Minecraft. A retail version was released in December 2016.[14]

"MCSM" redirects here. For the high school in New York City with this abbreviation, see Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics.

Minecraft: Story Mode
Developer(s)Telltale Games
Publisher(s)Telltale Games
SeriesMinecraft
EngineTelltale Tool
Platform(s)
Release
Season 1
Season 2
Genre(s)
Mode(s)Single-player

The game follows the same episodic format as other Telltale Games titles, such as The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us, Tales from the Borderlands, and Game of Thrones. The story of the first four episodes revolves around a player-created character named Jesse and their friends, who must rise up as heroes and save the world from the destructive Wither Storm. The rest of the first season sees Jesse and their friends, now hailed as heroes, stumbling upon a powerful artifact that leads them to a new adventure, facing new and old foes along the way. In the second season, released from July to December 2017, Jesse, joined by new and old friends alike, faces the powerful Admin.

Both the first and second seasons are no longer available for download due to the closure of Telltale Games in late 2018.

Gameplay

Minecraft: Story Mode is an episodic interactive comedy-drama point-and-click graphic adventure video game. It was released as a number of episodes similar to Telltale Games' other games. Players can collect items, solve puzzles, and talk to non-player characters through conversation trees to learn about the story and determine what to do next. Decisions that the player makes affect events in both the current episode and later episodes.[15] However, Minecraft: Story Mode is intended to be a family-friendly title, unlike Telltale's previous games, which tend to carry more mature or emotional overtones (including the death of major characters). As such, the decisions are intended to be pivotal and emotional but not to involve mature imagery or themes.[15] Elements of crafting and building were included in the gameplay which are central to Minecraft.[15][16] The game includes combat and other action sequences, carried out through both quick time events and more arcade-like controls, such as steering around debris on a road.[16][17]

Synopsis

Setting

Minecraft: Story Mode takes place in an interpretation of the world of Minecraft, where the game is the extent of the characters' universe, and the characters are unaware that they are in a game.[18] The main character, Jesse, is an inexperienced resident of said universe who sets out on a journey with their friends within the world of Minecraft to find The Order of the Stone (Gabriel the Warrior, Ellegaard the Redstone Engineer, Magnus the Rogue, Soren the Architect and Ivor the Potion Brewer and Enchanter), five legendary adventurers who saved the Minecraft world.[19] The game includes settings that are normally difficult to access from within Minecraft, including the Nether and The End.[19]

Characters

The player can customize Jesse, including choice of gender and skin tone. Jesse is voiced by Patton Oswalt if male and by Catherine Taber if female.[20] Other main characters within the Minecraft: Story Mode world include Jesse's friends Petra (voiced by Ashley Johnson),[16] Axel (Brian Posehn), Olivia (Martha Plimpton), Lukas (Scott Porter), and Jesse's pet pig, Reuben (Dee Bradley Baker). Secondary characters include The Order of the Stone: Gabriel (Dave Fennoy), Magnus (Corey Feldman), Ellegaard (Grey Griffin), Soren (John Hodgman) and Ivor (Paul Reubens), the latter of whom becomes a main character from episode five onwards; former Ocelot member and Blazing Rods leader Aiden (Matthew Mercer); the ruler of Sky City, the Founder (Melissa Hutchison); Milo (Jim Meskimen); Minecraft YouTubers CaptainSparklez, DanTDM, LDShadowLady, Stampy Cat and Stacy Plays (all played by themselves); Torque Dawg (Adam Harrington); Cassie Rose/The White Pumpkin (Ashly Burch); the super-computer PAMA (Jason 'jtop' Topolski); its creator and former Old Builder Harper (Yvette Nicole Brown); and the Old Builders: Hadrian (Jim Cummings), Mevia (Kari Wahlgren) and Otto (Jamie Alcroft); and Emily (Audrey Wasilewski).

There are also several background characters, such as Maya, Ivy and a Fangirl (GK Bowes); Owen (Owen Hill); Gill (Phil LaMarr); Aiden and Otis (Matthew Mercer); an EnderCon Usher named Reuben (Jason 'jtop' Topolski); a Fanboy (Billy West); Lydia (Lydia Winters); and the EnderCon Building Competition Announcer (Erin Yvette). Stauffer said that the human characters as a whole represent the different types of gamers who play Minecraft.[19] Billy West narrates the first four episodes of the story.[21][22][23]

Plot

This is a broad overview of the plot. Certain decisions made by the player will alter details of specific events.

Episodes 1–4

A long time ago, a group of friends—Gabriel the Warrior, Ellegaard the Redstone Engineer, Magnus the Rogue, and Soren the Architect—travelled to the End and defeated the Ender Dragon, leading to them being hailed as heroes and becoming known as "The Order of the Stone." In the present, Jesse prepares for the annual EnderCon building competition alongside their friends Axel and Olivia, and pet pig Reuben. The group's rivals, the Ocelots, attempt to sabotage their build and scare Reuben away into the woods. Jesse is attacked rescuing him but is saved by fellow friend Petra, who convinces Jesse to help her sell a Wither skull to a man named Ivor at EnderCon. However, Ivor tricks them and escapes with the skull. Jesse and their friends pursue him to his underground laboratory, discovering that Ivor plans to attack Gabriel at EnderCon with a special Wither that has a Command Block in its chest. However, the situation soon escalates as Ivor loses control of the Wither, which transforms into the Wither Storm and begins to consume everything in its path. Jesse, their friends, and Ocelot leader Lukas escape through a Nether portal at Gabriel's fortress. Gabriel gives Jesse an Amulet and tells them to find the other members of the Order of the Stone. Jesse rescues either Gabriel or Petra from the Wither Storm before being knocked through the portal.

Jesse and company escape the Nether through a mine minecart track system left by the Order, and arrive at the Order's old temple. They discover that Ivor was a member of the Order as the potions expert, and use the Amulet to locate the other members. Jesse leaves with either Axel or Olivia to find Magnus or Ellegaard respectively and eventually succeeds in convincing whoever they choose to join them. Upon returning from Boomtown/Redstonia, Jesse is reunited whomever they saved from the Wither Storm and discovers that the other Order member was recruited by the friend Jesse left behind. The group travels to Soren's secret lab in the hopes that his invention, the Formidi-Bomb, could destroy the Wither Storm. There, Jesse engages Ivor in a brief fight and discovers that Gabriel/Petra is slowly dying from Wither Sickness. Eventually, the group finds a portal to the End, where Soren has built a lab to study the Endermen. Jesse convinces Soren to help and, upon escaping from pursuing Endermen back to the Overworld, volunteers to place the "F-Bomb" into the Wither Storm's chest to destroy its Command Block. However, the bomb fails and the Wither Storm triples in size, with Ellegaard/Magnus being killed in the process. The group, joined by an amnesiac Gabriel/Petra (who was released from the Wither Storm alongside the other consumed people), make their escape.

The group are approached by Ivor, who offers to help stop the Wither Storm. Axel takes the amulet to draw the Wither Storm away from Jesse, who departs to Ivor's lab in the Far Lands to enchant a weapon capable of destroying the Command Block. Upon reaching the lab, Jesse discovers that Soren used a Command Block to wipe the Ender Dragon from existence and cheat the Order to glory, with Ivor having intended to use the Wither Storm to reveal the Order's true nature. Jesse then builds the enchanted weapon and optionally takes a new armor, before the group return to face the Wither Storm, aided by Soren's Endermen and optionally the Ocelots (if Lukas left earlier to find them). Jesse is ultimately able to destroy the Command Block, though Reuben is killed in the process.

In the aftermath of the Wither Storm's defeat, the world returns to normal and all people infected by the Wither Sickness are cured (including Gabriel and Petra). Jesse and their friends become the "New Order of the Stone," being hailed as heroes.

Episodes 5–8

Three months later, the New Order of the Stone investigate an ancient jungle temple, finding an enchanted Flint and Steel. They are accosted by the "Blaze Rods," the reformed Ocelots led by Aiden, who is bitter towards their newfound fame. Back in Beacontown, Ivor reveals that the Flint and Steel is a product of an ancient group of master builders known as the "Old Builders", and supposedly the key to the "Eversource", the Builders' unlimited supply of building material. Jesse, Ivor, Lukas, and Petra return to the temple for clues and use the Flint and Steel to open a portal, which is stolen by the Blaze Rods. Pursuing them, Jesse and friends find themselves in Sky City, a place where building is forbidden. The Blaze Rods have befriended the Founder, Sky City's ruler, in an attempt to steal the Eversource. While being pursued by the authorities, Jesse is either captured alongside Ivor and Lukas, or escapes with Petra and Milo, the leader of an underground rebellion known as the "Build Club". The group is ultimately reunited and find the Eversource: a chicken that lays spawn eggs. Aiden betrays the Founder and uses the Eversource to spawn hostile mobs and terrorize the citizens. Jesse defeats Aiden and evacuates the city's citizens to an overworld hidden beneath Sky City. The Blaze Rods are arrested, and Jesse allows the Founder and/or Milo to rule and start a new civilization.

Afterwards, Jesse's group find a portal which takes them to a portal-filled corridor. While travelling between them in search of home, they arrive in a graveyard with an invitation to a supposed party at a nearby mansion. Upon escaping from pursuing zombies, the group arrive at the mansion and meet well-known Minecraft YouTubers CaptainSparklez, DanTDM, LDShadowLady/Lizzie, Stampy Cat and Stacy Plays, as well as TorqueDawg and Cassie Rose. TorqueDawg and CaptainSparklez are killed with traps constructed by the "White Pumpkin," a mysterious individual who claims to be after the Flint and Steel. Jesse leads an investigation and discovers that the culprit is Cassie, who claims to have been trapped in this world for years and requires the Flint and Steel to leave. Jesse ultimately defeats Cassie, leaving her trapped on a small platform, and departs with their friends to the portal corridor.

The next portal takes the group to a desert world ruled by the super-computer PAMA, who has enslaved the local population. After PAMA takes control of Lukas and Petra, Jesse and Ivor escape, aided by Harper, PAMA's creator who reveals herself as an Old Builder. Harper takes them to her lab to retrieve something to help stop PAMA, where Jesse manages to free either Lukas or Petra before Harper is captured. The remaining trio gain access to Harper's VR headset, which Jesse uses to discreetly free Harper, who points them to PAMA's power source, the Redstone Heart. Jesse destroys the Redstone Heart, deactivating PAMA and freeing everyone enslaved by it. Now back at the portal corridor, Harper reveals a hidden stairway to the other Old Builders' world, where an item called the Portal Atlas can show Jesse and friends the way home.

Jesse's group find themselves forced to participate in a game of Spleef held by the Old Builders, during which Lukas and Ivor/Petra are killed. An enraged Jesse confronts the Old Builders—Hadrian, Mevia, and Otto—who reveal their friends have respawned nearby and have to work in Nether Quartz mines until the next game. Jesse makes a deal with Hadrian to give them the Atlas if they win the next two games. Harper reveals that the games are impossible to win, though Otto, the only honest Builder, may help Jesse. Jesse wins the second competition and again meets with Hadrian, who reveals he used to Atlas to learn about Jesse's background and kidnapped Axel and Olivia to force Jesse to lose the last game and work in the mines forever in exchange for their friends' return home. Jesse stages a rebellion among the competitors, and defeats Hadrian and Mevia with their friends' aid.

Otto gives Jesse the Atlas and everyone returns to the portal corridor, whereupon all competitors return to their respective homes. Back home, Jesse shows Axel and Olivia the treasures from their adventure before noticing that Ivor has left with both the Atlas and the Flint and Steel in search for a new adventure, deciding to either go after him or wait until he returns. In a post-credits scene, Hadrian and Mevia are shown trapped in a world of zombie-sized chickens or chicken-sized zombies (depending on the first dialogue chosen in Episode 1).

Season 2 (2017)

One year after the events of Season 1, Jesse is leading the city of Beacontown. Their intern, Radar, notifies Jesse and their friends of an upcoming adventure with Petra, and Jesse's Founding Day preparations (an annual celebration of Beacontown's founding). Jesse ventures into Beacontown and helps citizens prepare, before meeting Petra in the mines and helping her apprehend a mystery creature, a llama named Lluna. Jesse and Petra stumble onto a large underground chamber; perched atop is a gauntlet, which suddenly clamps onto Jesse's hand. The sand pyramid suddenly falls apart, revealing a bottomless pit (which Petra dubs a "heckmouth") underneath. The two escape to the surface and depart to Champion City to return Lluna to her owner, Stella, the leader of Champion City whom considers Jesse to be her lifelong rival.

Petra seeks out Jack, a legendary adventurer whom she thinks he can help Jesse with the heckmouth and the gauntlet. Jack reveals that the gauntlet is tracked to a dangerous Ocean Monument, and that an ancient magic block called the "Structure Block" is the key to closing the pit. Jack and his friend Nurm take Jesse and Petra to the monument. As they travel, Jack informs them of how the monument was supposedly created by "The Admin," a being of infinite power that allegedly created the world. Inside the monument, the four complete various tasks, one of which frees an old adventurer named Vos, a friend of Jack who was presumed killed. Upon reaching the center of the monument, the Admin appears and tries to kill Jesse. Jesse and friends successfully close the pit and narrowly escape, but are confronted by the Admin back at Beacontown, who assumes the form of a prismarine statue and uses a giant clock to change the time from day to night.

After Jesse defeats the statue, the Admin reappears in the form of a snowman and gives Jesse the challenge of reclaiming the clock in the Admin's ice palace. Jesse, Jack, Lukas, Petra, Radar, and Vos head toward the ice palace, later joined by Stella and Lluna. The group overcomes the Admin's challenges and the clock is destroyed by either Jack or Petra, turning the world back to normal time. However, Vos is revealed to have been an impersonation of the Admin all along, who teleports whomever destroyed the clock away as his new partner and sends Jesse to the "Sunshine Institute" – an obsidian maze where the Admin imprisons people he detests.

Jesse makes an escape attempt with Jack/Petra (whomever did not destroy the clock), but the two are quickly apprehended by the Warden and sent back to the institute. The Warden tortures Radar to coerce Jesse into becoming an "associate", which Jesse may accept or deny. Jesse accompanies Radar to the "Mush Room," where guests are forced to fight over mushrooms to survive. Jesse resolves with their friends to find "Prisoner X", a famed escape artist who apparently knows her way through the maze. Jesse retrieves a lever from Stella, an associate in the Mines, to open X's cell, and optionally allows her to join him/her. As the cell is opened, the Admin appears and forces Jesse and whomever destroyed the clock to fight to the death. The two cooperate to attack the Admin, who resultantly impersonates Jesse to earn the trust of the inhabitants of Beacontown and leaves with Stella.

Jesse convinces Prisoner X, her real name being Xara, to help, and learns that Xara was formerly an Admin alongside a third Admin named Fred, and fought the current Admin – named Romeo – for control of the world. Fred was killed, and Xara was stripped of her powers and imprisoned in the Sunshine Institute. Xara leads the group to an area into the bedrock, named the "Underneath", to escape the institute. She shows them a portal in her homeworld, the Oasis, to the surface that allowed the Admins to visit each other, and tells Jesse to head to "Fred's Keep," where Fred kept an object supposedly capable of removing Romeo's powers. Jesse discovers that the object is found in the cabin that the trio of Admins lived in, and is assisted by the leader of Fred's Keep, Binta, in exchange for Jesse helping the society to escape to above the bedrock.

In route to the cabin, Jesse is confronted by Ivor, now a masked assailant who gives Jesse the Order's Amulet to power Xara's portal. Jesse and Petra enter the Admin's cabin, located in Romeoburg, and learn that Romeo became obsessed with keeping the trio of Admins together, and that this created tension that resulted in his betrayal. They find a journal left by Fred, containing a keyword and a set of instructions on how to defeat Romeo. Petra also reveals to Jesse her conflict of wanting to leave Beacontown to go adventuring, but not wanting to be separated from Jesse. The friends return to the Oasis with the citizens of Fred's Keep and find that Xara has fixed the portal. However, fireworks attract a giant Enderman, and Jesse is forced to leave behind either Radar or the citizens of Fred's Keep to distract it.

The group find themselves outside the Old Order of the Stone's temple and see the Admin-ruled Beacontown in the distance, entering in secret via the mines. With Romeo having set up a dictatorship based in a giant floating tower above town, the group deduces that this tower contains the "Primary Terminal" mentioned in Fred's diary. Jesse's group regroups at Jack's shop, also joined by Axel, Olivia, and Ivor, and Jesse forms a plan to sneak themselves, Jack, and Petra up to the tower and disable the Admin's powers discreetly. Jesse's plan is successful with the help of the new "Ocelots" led by Lukas, and confronts the Admin, who begins to add a layer of bedrock over Beacontown similar to that of the Underneath, and plans to build a new world on top of it.

Jesse, Jack, and Petra reach the floating tower which leads them to a realm known as "Terminal Space," where Romeo tests plans and builds. Jesse enters with the password and finds a holographic recording of Fred, along with a Golden Gauntlet capable of removing Romeo's powers. After Jesse defeats and strips Romeo of his powers, Terminal Space begins to crumble; Jesse can choose to either bring Romeo with them or leave him behind. A giant prismarine statue glitches out and begins attacking indiscriminately. If Radar was left in the Underneath, he appears still being chased by the Enderman, which destroys the statue and allows everyone to escape. Otherwise, Romeo distracts the statue and sacrifices himself so that the three friends can escape. Jesse, Jack, Petra, and possibly Radar and/or Romeo narrowly exit Terminal Space. If Romeo survives, he thanks Jesse and resolves to return to the Underneath to make amends.

With Beacontown saved and rebuilt, Ivor states his plans to reconnect with the old Order of the Stone and Axel and Olivia return to their respective communities. Stella returns to Champion City, while Lluna either stays with her or is adopted by Jesse. Petra departs to go adventuring and invites Jesse to join her, leaving Jesse with a final choice of either remaining in Beacontown or leaving to hit the road with Petra.

Episodes
SeasonEpisodesOriginally released
First releasedLast released
18October 13, 2015 (2015-10-13)September 13, 2016 (2016-09-13)
25July 11, 2017 (2017-07-11)December 19, 2017 (2017-12-19)

Season 1 (2015–16)

The main Minecraft: Story Mode game was separated into five episodes for Season 1, released in one month intervals. Three additional episodes were later released.

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
11"The Order of the Stone"Dennis Lenart and Graham RossMichael Choung and Laura JacqminOctober 13, 2015 (2015-10-13)[1]
At Endercon, a world-threatening monster known as the Wither Storm is unleashed. It is up to Jesse and their friends to reassemble the Order of the Stone, a group of adventurers famous for slaying the Ender Dragon.
22"Assembly Required"Jason LatinoJoshua Rubin, Eric Stirpe and Timothy WilliamsOctober 27, 2015 (2015-10-27)[2]
Jesse and their friends must recruit the remaining members of the Order of the Stone to help defeat the Wither Storm.
33"The Last Place You Look"Jonathan StauderMichael Choung, Laura Jacqmin, Eric Stirpe and Timothy WilliamsNovember 24, 2015 (2015-11-24)[3]
Trapped inside of Soren's fortress, Jesse and their friends must find Soren to build a weapon that can destroy the Wither Storm.
44"A Block and a Hard Place"Graham Ross and Rebekah Gamin ArcovitchBrad Kane and Laura JacqminDecember 22, 2015 (2015-12-22)[4]
After a crushing defeat, Jesse and their friends must go on a long journey to the Far Lands to find the one thing capable of destroying the Command Block at the Wither Storm's core. Along the way, Jesse and friends make a shocking discovery about the Order of The Stone's history.
55"Order Up!"Jonathan StauderEric Stirpe and Timothy WilliamsMarch 29, 2016 (2016-03-29)[5]
Jesse, Petra, Lukas, and Ivor find a mysterious portal and wind up in a strange place called Sky City. After being framed for supposed crimes, Jesse and their friends must clear their names and stop an old enemy from destroying an innocent world.
66"A Portal to Mystery"Sean ManningEric Stirpe and Timothy WilliamsJune 7, 2016 (2016-06-07)[6]
Jesse and their friends end up in a room full of portals and must find a portal leading to the overworld. The first portal they go to leads to a party in a mansion. However, one guest is killing off the others. Can Jesse and friends find the killer? Or will the killer find them? The episode features five well-known YouTube players of Minecraft, as their avatars in the game: Joseph Garrett, Stacy Hinojosa, Dan Middleton, Elizabeth "Lizzie" Dywer, and Jordan Maron.
77"Access Denied"Rebekah Gamin Arcovitch and Jason PykeLuke McMullen and Eric StirpeJuly 26, 2016 (2016-07-26)[7]
Continuing their portal journey in search of home, Jesse and crew land in a world entirely controlled by PAMA – a sinister "thinking machine" determined to command everyone and everything with redstone mind control chips. Forced on the run to avoid capture and assimilation, Jesse must work with a new ally to defeat the corrupted computer and free the population it has enslaved.
88"A Journey's End?"Vahram AntonianEric Stirpe, Yale Hannon, and Erica HarrellSeptember 13, 2016 (2016-09-13)[8]
Jesse, Petra, Lukas, and Ivor try to find The Old Builders, who can supposedly help them find their way home. However, if Jesse is to survive the Old Builders' Gladiator Games and get home, he/she must forge new friendships with the other contestants and navigate a labyrinth of lies and deception.

Season 2 (2017)

In July 2017, the first trailer was released for season 2 revealing a release date of July 11.[24]

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
91"Hero in Residence"Jonathan StauderEric StirpeJuly 11, 2017 (2017-07-11)[25]
As old friends and new responsibilities pull Jesse in different directions, the discovery of a strange Prismarine Gauntlet leads our hero into a whole new world of mystery and danger.
102"Giant Consequences"Sean ManningMeredith AinsworthAugust 15, 2017 (2017-08-15)[26]
A powerful foe emerges in Beacontown and subjects Jesse to some bizarre (and deadly) challenges. Friendships will be tested and new alliances formed as Jesse fights to save the world from this mighty enemy.
113"Jailhouse Block"Christopher RieserAdam DouglasSeptember 19, 2017 (2017-09-19)
Jesse and the gang must brave a dangerous prison and its even more dangerous inmates to reach the secret at the prison's heart... But when the enemy tries to recruit Jesse's friends, will they all be able to resist the call?
124"Below the Bedrock"Daniel RosalesNicole Martinez, Meredith Ainsworth, and Doug LieblichNovember 7, 2017 (2017-11-07)
Our heroes take a journey to a long-forgotten land where nothing is quite what it seems and danger lurks around every corner. Will Jesse's new alliances and friendships withstand the tests they'll face?
135"Above and Beyond"Mark DrosteAdam Miller, Meredith Ainsworth, Doug Lieblich, and Nicole MartinezDecember 19, 2017 (2017-12-19)
The final battle with Jesse's new enemy brings the battle home to Beacontown and the world may never be the same.

Development and releases

The idea for Minecraft: Story Mode came around the end of 2012 when Telltale Games was engaged in work for Tales from the Borderlands, an episodic series based on the Borderlands series. The idea of developing stories around other established video game franchises led the team to brainstorm the idea for a Minecraft-related game, given that the game was essentially a "blank canvas" for storytelling, according to Job Stauffer, and would create an interesting challenge.[15] The two groups recognized the amount of fan-generated narrative content that existed in the way of YouTube videos and other media forms that demonstrated the potential for storytelling in the game.[27] Many on Telltale's staff were also already fans of Minecraft, with a private server that they played on, with some of the incidents that occurred on there becoming ideas for the game's story.[27] Telltale began negotiations with Mojang in early 2013, and began work on the title shortly thereafter.[15] Stauffer noted that Microsoft's acquisition of Mojang was not a factor in the game's development, as their interaction with Mojang began well before Microsoft's negotiations.[15]

Telltale opted to create a new main character of Jesse for Minecraft: Story Mode instead of using default "Steve" character from Minecraft, feeling that they did not want to attempt to rewrite how players already saw this character in the game.[28] Other primary characters in the game are loosely designed around archetypes of common player-characters for Minecraft, such that those that engage in building, fighting, or griefing other players.[27] The game will not attempt to provide any background for some concepts in Minecraft, such as the creepers, as to avoid the various interpretations that fans have done for these elements, though they are elements of the game's story.[27]

Stauffer stated that the game's story would be aimed as family-friendly, similar to the films The Goonies or Ghostbusters;[15] their intended content would be equivalent to a PG-13 or PEGI-12 rating.[19][27] A number of the voice actors are alumni of such films of the 1980s such as Corey Feldman who starred in The Goonies, and the game includes various references to these types of films.[27] Stauffer reflected that while Telltale's more recent games like The Walking Dead were more mature stories, their original adventure games like Sam & Max and Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People were written as family-friendly, and that they consider their approach to Minecraft: Story Mode as "part of our DNA".[17] The story was aimed to be accessible to both existing players of Minecraft – both novice and advanced players – and to new audiences outside of the game.[15]

Minecraft: Story Mode was formally announced in December 2014 as a collaboration project between Mojang and Telltale; the announcement was presented as an interactive adventure game named "Info Quest II".[29] Its first trailer was released during the MINECON 2015 convention in early July.[21] The game was planned for a five-episode series for release on Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, OS X, PlayStation and Xbox consoles in late 2015;[30][31] Telltale also released the game for the Wii U, only a month after the original Minecraft first came to a Nintendo platform.[32] It was also the first time a Telltale title had been released on a Nintendo platform since Back to the Future: The Game.[15] In addition, Minecraft: Story Mode – The Complete Adventure, incorporating both the main episodes and downloadable content, was announced for the Nintendo Switch.[33]

The series released for most systems on October 13, 2015, with the PlayStation Vita and Wii U versions to follow at a later date. A season pass of the game was available for purchase on October 27, 2015, which allows the player to access the other four episodes once they are released.[1] Retail versions of the game were released on October 27, 2015.[2]

Netflix and Telltale signed a partnership in June 2018 for Netflix to offer Telltale's games over the service starting later that year, with Minecraft: Story Mode as the first planned title for the service.[34] Amid troubles related to the bankruptcy of Telltale Games in October and November 2018, sufficient staff remained with Telltale to complete work on this version, which was released onto Netflix on November 27 and December 5, 2018.[35]

Sequel

The first episode of Minecraft: Story Mode – Season Two was released on July 11, 2017 for Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, iOS and Android. It continued the story from the first season, with the player's choices affecting elements within Season 2. Patton Oswalt, Catherine Taber, Ashley Johnson, and Scott Porter were confirmed to continue voicework for the new season. The game supports the new Crowd Play feature that Telltale introduced in Batman: The Telltale Series, allowing up to 2,000 audience members to vote on decisions for the player using Twitch or other streaming services.[36]

On August 3, 2017, Telltale announced that second episode, "Giant Consequences", would be released on August 15.[26] The rest of the episodes were released on September 19, November 7,[37] and December 19, 2017.[38]

Closure of Telltale Games

In November 2018, Telltale Games began the process of closing down the studio due to financial issues. Most of its games started to become delisted from digital storefronts, including Minecraft: Story Mode. According to GOG.com, they had to pull the title due to "expiring licensing rights".[39] The Minecraft team stated that even for those that had purchased the titles before their delisting, the episodes would no longer be downloadable after June 2019.[40] Because the Xbox Live Marketplace does not allow for removing games from sale while at the same time allowing existing owners to download the game, each episode of the game's Xbox 360 version was repriced to $100 in the few weeks ahead of the delisting to deter users from purchasing them.[41]

Reception
Reviews for Season 1
Game Metacritic
Episode 1: The Order of the Stone (PC) 71[42]
(PS4) 71[43]
(XONE) 77[44]
Episode 2: Assembly Required (PC) 59[45]
(PS4) 53[46]
(XONE) 61[47]
Episode 3: The Last Place You Look (PC) 73[48]
(PS4) 73[49]
(XONE) 75[50]
Episode 4: A Block and a Hard Place (PC) 68[51]
(PS4) 72[52]
(XONE) 71[53]
Episode 5: Order Up! (PC) 70[54]
(PS4) 72[55]
(XONE) 69[56]
Episode 6: A Portal to Mystery (PC) 64[57]
(PS4) 69[58]
(XONE) 71[59]
Episode 7: Access Denied (PC) 69[60]
(PS4) 68[61]
(XONE) 71[62]
Episode 8: A Journey's End? (PS4) 69[63]
Reviews for Season 2
Game Metacritic
Episode 1: Hero in Residence (PC) 71[64]
(PS4) 67[65]
(XONE) 76[66]
Episode 2: Giant Consequences (PC) 74[67]
(PS4) 73[68]
(XONE) 76[69]
Episode 3: Jailhouse Block (PC) 71[70]
(PS4) 63[71]
(XONE) 72[72]
Episode 4: Below the Bedrock (PC) 73[73]
Episode 5: Above And Beyond (PC) 78[74]

Minecraft: Story Mode received "mixed or average reviews" from critics, with the Nintendo Switch version earning a weighted average of 67 based on 5 critics.[75]

Episode 1: The Order of the Stone

Aggregating review website Metacritic gave the Microsoft Windows version 71/100 based on 25 reviews,[42] the PlayStation 4 version 71/100 based on 23 reviews[43] and the Xbox One version 77/100 based on 13 reviews.[44] On GameRankings, a score of 78.59% was given based on 11 reviews for the Xbox One version,[76] 77.50% for Wii U based on 4 reviews,[77] 73.53% for the PC version based on 16 reviews,[78] and 73.29% for PlayStation 4 based on 21 reviews.[79]

Episode 2: Assembly Required

Metacritic gave the Windows version 59/100 based on 13 reviews,[45] the PlayStation 4 version 53/100 based on 7 reviews[46] and the Xbox One version 61/100 based on 8 reviews.[47]

Episode 3: The Last Place You Look

Metacritic gave the Windows version 73/100 based on 10 reviews,[48] the PlayStation 4 version 73/100 based on 7 reviews[49] and the Xbox One version 75/100 based on 9 reviews.[50]

Episode 4: A Block and a Hard Place

Metacritic gave the Windows version 68/100 based on 8 reviews,[51] the PlayStation 4 version 72/100 based on 8 reviews[52] and the Xbox One version 71/100 based on 8 reviews.[53]

Episode 5: "Order Up!"

Metacritic gave the Windows version 70/100 based on 6 reviews,[54] the PlayStation 4 version 72/100 based on 9 reviews[55] and the Xbox One version 69/100 based on 6 reviews.[56]

Episode 6: A Portal to Mystery

Metacritic gave the Windows version 64/100 based on 5 reviews,[57] the PlayStation 4 version 69/100 based on 6 reviews[58] and the Xbox One version 71/100 based on 5 reviews.[59]

Episode 7: Access Denied

Metacritic gave the Windows version 69/100 based on 4 reviews,[60] the PlayStation 4 version 68/100 based on 6 reviews[61] and the Xbox One version 71/100 based on 5 reviews.[62]

Episode 8: A Journey's End?

Metacritic gave the PlayStation 4 version 69/100 based on 6 reviews.[63]

Episode 1: Hero in Residence

Metacritic gave the PC version 71/100 based on 8 reviews,[64] the PlayStation 4 version 67/100 based on 8 reviews,[65] and the Xbox One version 76/100 based on 4 reviews.[66]

Episode 2: Giant Consequences

Metacritic gave the PC version 74/100 based on 8 critics and[80] the PlayStation 4 version a score of 73/100 based on 4 reviews.[81] On GameRankings, the PlayStation 4 version has a rating of 65.00% based on 2 reviews and on the PC version, it has a score of 72.86% based on 7 reviews.[82][83]

Episode 3: Jailhouse Block

Metacritic gave the PC version 71/100, based on 8 reviews, and the PlayStation 4 63/100 based on 4 reviews.[84][85]

Episode 4: Below The Bedrock

Metacritic gave the PC version a score of 74/100 based on 5 critics.[86]

Episode 5: Above And Beyond

Metacritic gave the PC version a score of 78/100 based on 4 critics.[74]

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