All roads have led to this point, but why so soon? The fourth episode to Minecraft's: Story Mode teaches our budding heroes in the consequences of blindly worshiping their own idols while also continuing to delve ever deeper into the rich lore and wonder that Minecraft has to offer. Unfortunately, the journey there is filled with all manner of low points for the characters who either don't live up to there potential or just don't garner the development they deserve.
"A Block and a Hard Place" starts out on solid footing when a mystery surrounding our legendary Order of the Stone starts to come about but before you get there the group has to take a trip to the farthest reaches of the known world, the "Far Lands." The concept of The Far Lands is not a far fetched one as many have managed to reach the seemingly impossible to find edge of the map in Minecraft. It's a place where nothing can be built or mined and thus the perfect place to somehow spawn an evil lair that holds all the Order's most valued artifacts. A very clever idea by the developers to be sure and one that digs even deeper into the development of this world into actually being a place where people live and spread secret legends about the games most famous glitches, tricks and mechanics.
The trip there however proved to be nothing compared to the grand spectacle that was the previous episodes opening credits. Cut together here are bits of time skips of our heroes traveling to the ends of the world in order to reach this legendary location. The chunks of time are filled in with choices for players to pick that include things like "Are we there yet?" over and over again to the annoyance of everyone in the game and myself. This also proves to set the tone for the rest of the stories dialogue choices from here on out.
Surprisingly little is done to grow Jesse and his friends as characters in this tale and once again most of the focus revolves around the Order and their past rather than what lies in the present. While the Whither Storm is a product of the groups past sins and the story developments that come from it do lead the story down a solid path, there is just little for Jesse and his team to do outside of generic compliments to one another. For that matter, many of the choices players will come to face do not end up being all that dire once all is said and done either. This is truly a shame since issues with Petra were growing into something that would potential damage the team forever and the reoccurring rivalry Lukas was beginning to heat things up as well, but they are simply dropped like they never happened or just forgotten for the sake of moving the story ahead.
Fortunately the chapters climactic conclusion proved to put the focus back where it belonged as Jesse and his friends surpass their would be heroes in a big way. There is a charming battle that ensues here that mixes actual combat with ridiculous building, something that Jesse's friends are particularly great at and I loved choosing a final creation to help distract the Whither Storm as well as choosing mine and my friends battle gear. There were also some surprisingly intense combat moments involving the quick time button prompts and a tough sacrifice made by a character that I'm sure was a fan favorite.
The looming question in my head though continues to be, what is next? There is still a fifth and final episode planned for Story Mode somewhere in the near future but with all the lose ends tide up here it is hard to say what exactly that chapter will end up being about. Perhaps a bit of uncertainty going in is a good thing and a chance to correct the story issue of the past can be made but it is anyone's guess at this point.
What I appreciate most about Minecraft's: Story Mode thus far has been the attention and appreciate that went into making the world of Minecraft come to life even more than the original game already does. Telltale Games has a clear understanding of the world and all of the crazy things that it can be capable of with the right mind set. However, the slow pacing and poor story direction for "A Block and a Hard Place" keep it from being totally enjoyable all the way through.
Good:
- Triumphant conclusion
- Wonderful use of Minecraft lore
Bad:
- Important story issue get dropped
- Slow pacing and poor dialogue
- Focuses more on the Order rather than Jesse and his friends
Scully Rating: 7.0 out of 10
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