With the highly anticipated Minecraft story mode coming soon, here’s what parents need to know about Episode 1 The Order of the Stone.
The accompanying video provides a visual overview of each stitch, as well as the full list of player characters and some play at an early level.
1. Origins
Minecraft: story mode is a five-part episodic adventure game.
It tells a story based on the well-known world of Minecraft. Like a female or male character called Jesse, players solve puzzles, fight zombies, and talk to other characters to advance the story. Conversations involve choosing from several potential responses that each have consequences for the story and in-game relationships. The action plays out with fast-paced events.
While Minecraft: story mode visually resembles Minecraft itself, it’s more like other episodic adventure games from developer, Telltale Games, like The Walking Dead.
2. History
The story revolves around Jesse and their group of friends, who want to find a group of four adventurers called The Order of the Stone, who have slain an Ender Dragon, in order to save the world from oblivion. Each member of the Order is the best at what they do and represents a different type of Minecraft player: Warrior, Redstone Engineer, Grievor, and Architect.
3. Developr
Developer Telltale Games is known for such episodic adventure games, like The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones games. Minecraft: story mode is more family friendly, like their Back to the Future game.
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Minecraft: story mode is available for PC, PS4 and Xbox One, PS3 and Xbox 360, and iOS and Android. Speaking to the developer, there will also be a Wii U version in the near future.
Although unconfirmed, it will likely cost around $5 per episode or $25 for the entire season. There will also be a retail season subscription disc for consoles set to release on Episode 1 launch day for $30.
4. Duration and difficulty
Each episode tells a stand-alone story as part of the series’ larger ensemble, and each is a few hours long.
Although the emphasis is on storytelling, some decisions and action moments have time limits that may prevent young players from choosing an answer in time, in which case a “no answer” action is triggered.
5.Notes
In the UK and Europe, PEGI rates Minecraft: story mode as only suitable for ages 12+ for “light coarse language”. the GRA expands on its PEGI rating by explaining that the game “frequently uses soft language,” including words like “ass,” “shit,” and “piss.” It is not yet rated by the ESRB.
6. Themes
Although Minecraft itself is aimed at younger PEGI 7+ players, the Story Mode adventure seeks to engage older audiences with its controversial PEGI 12+ rating. Although the rating comes mostly from the language of the game, it also includes suspenseful moments and jump scares that may confuse younger players. Zombies and spiders attack characters, including a helpless friendly pig.
Positively, Minecraft story mode tackles the themes of friendship, survival and creativity. With professional dubbing and a musical score, the experience is considerable.
The developers aimed to combine the feel of The Goonies, Ghostbusters and Pixar films. The resulting adventure is appropriate for a similar age audience.
7. Overview
Minecraft is an incredibly popular game, and different people play it for different reasons. Players who have an emotional attachment to the world of Minecraft enjoy the opportunity to experience a story based in this world.
More information on the Minecraft story mode website.