By: Robert Murphy
If the opening sequences to the third episode of Minecraft's: Story Mode told me anything it was that this would be a much stronger addition than its predecessor. Minutes into "The Last Place You Look" players are thrust into a giant monster crusher with thousands of everyone's least favorite Minecraft mobs coming at you in every direction. It's the kind of thing that puts the excitement right into the story immediately and had me dispell any thoughts of disappointment going into this new chapter.
"The Last Place You Look" continues the ideas and new interpretations that the first episode of the series had going for it and makes players think differently about the world that millions have become familiar with over the past few years. This includes thrusting it's players into a giant flume ride of enemies, witnessing massive Iron Golems completely clobbering said enemies as well as a new look at perhaps one of the most hated enemy in Minecraft, Endermen. This is all thanks to the final member of the Order of the Stone Soren who has not only been hiding out in a massive mountain fortress but it goes even deeper when you discover an End Portal. Turns out Soren has been studying Endermen for years, watching them, learning from them and needless to say it's left him a little off. Despite this Soren gave me new hope for the Order as he offers great comic relief throughout the episode. The amazing world he created in The End is also fun to explore as he's created his own slice of sunshine there through some clever wool use, among other things.
Tracking down Soren though does involve some rudimentary puzzles that really anyone could solve in an instant. I chose to look over this fact because the audience for Minecraft reaches out to so many young ages that it's understandable to have easy puzzles. They're all very unique regardless and I was far more impressed by Soren's redstone skills than the teams resident expert Ellegaard.
There was also some improvements made upon the two lack luster members of the Order Ellegaard and Magnus. It seems with Soren at the helm things become much more evened out with the two's bickering and even when it does come bubbling out Jesse has plenty of chance to show off his new leadership skills. There was also room for your friends to grow here as well, but what I took most notice in was the budding rivalry between Jesse and Lukas. It seems he doesn't much care for the leadership role that you have found yourself in and how quickly everyone rushes to you for guidance. It's a nice little touch of drama to underline the tension and excitement happening all around you right up until the episodes final climactic battle.
What's more is the budding issues with Petra leave you to make some difficult choices among your friends. Not many of the problems presented to myself during my playthrough of the game have left me grieving over what horror I have unleashed by a particular choice. That's the point though, Minecraft's: Story Mode is an all around forgiving experience in terms of the choices players have to make or even the possibility of you actually dying. Nevertheless it is good to have dilemmas pop up and with Petra getting worse by the day it adds a solid level of intrigue to keep you guessing.
"The Last Place You Look" gets things back on track by giving a much more solid story than players had seen last time. Action, comedy and drama were all here and the continued efforts to incorporate everything that makes Minecraft awesome gives this episode extra brownie points to be sure. The new interpretation on Endermen and the addition of Soren to the team leaves plenty more to be excited for and I cannot wait to see what's building up in the next time.
Good:
- Plenty of laughs especially thanks to Soren
- Action packed from start to finish
- Solid story developments
Bad:
- Puzzle difficulty is extremely low
Scully Rating: 8.2 out of 10
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