Review

Minecraft: Story Mode Episode 6: A Portal to Mystery

When Telltale announced the Adventure Pass for Minecraft: Story Mode, I didn’t know what to think. Introducing a mini-series (The Walking Dead’s 400 Days) worked in the past because it wasn’t directly tied to any one season. It could live on its own if you will. In this case, the pass made it seem like Telltale was forcing players to pay extra for a completed story. Well, after playing through episode six I can safely say that my assumption were entirely accurate…

“A Portal to Mystery” follows the events of episode five by opening with Jesse, Ivor, Petra and Lukas being dropped into a random dimension. During their search for a way home within the strange hallway full of portals, they unfortunately picked the wrong one. Their error was made apparent moments later as an army of zombies shambled towards them. Things looked grim until Jesse spotted a tome – it turned out to be an invitation directed at any survivors seeking refuge – sending his group towards a nearby mansion. Once inside, they’re met with confused looks and accusations. Whoever owned the mansion had invited other survivors, yet failed to great them to explain why.

At this point, Minecraft turned into a game of Clue; it isn’t long before the lights go out and one of the new characters is killed. Murdered for his loot, a trap door swallowed up his dropped items before anyone knew what happened. Their host, a deranged person going by the name of White Pumpkin, has booby trapped the mansion in the hopes of stealing a certain part of magical tools. The clock is ticking – Jesse will have to figure out White Pumpkin’s identity before someone else kicks the bucket. Of course, this is easier said than done!

This episode marks a dark turn for Story Mode. Though it was possible for characters to parish before, they weren’t actually being murdered; the ending of the first arc showed that the Wither Strom wasn’t as homicidal as we thought. This isn’t a bad thing though. The change in pace was refreshing. Instead of some world ending event, the group was caught up in a murder mystery. This allowed for things to be more intimate in nature. That’s not to say that there was much in the way of character growth. There were some standout moments where the player is able to make an important decision or two. But nothing that would really change who these characters are in the grand scheme of things. Really, this episode is just another adventure.

This brings me back to my previous assumptions about Telltale forcing players to pay for extra a completed story. I like how “A Portal to Mystery” has a beginning, middle, and end (just like the previous episode). It’s nice to have a completed adventure all in one episode. My issue though, is that this new story arc really started in episode five and these two connected episodes are part of two separate purchasing options; the season pass (episodes 1-5) and the Adventure pass (episodes 6-8). If a customer were to purchase the original season pass (thinking they would get a complete story out of it) they’d be mostly right. The Wither Storm saga is completed in episode four, but the conflict involving the different dimensions is a direct result of what happens in episode five. To that extent, episode five feels incomplete without the current episode, A Portal to Mystery. With  Telltale introducing this new story arc in episode 5,  fans would indeed need to pay for the Adventure Pass in order to see things through. Or in other words, it really seems that episode five was only created to sell us episodes six, seven, and eight.

The entire point of paying for the full season was just that. To get a FULL season! On the other hand, the Wither Storm story arc was completed and what’s present here is quality stuff. I guess what I’m getting at is I still don’t know how I feel about the whole thing. This episode was entertaining. And I like the Sliders angle. But the way Telltale went about things seems off. Would it have been better to wait for a new season before offering more episodes? What about a mini-series? I’m not sure. For those of us who are just looking for more content, “A Portal to Mystery” is one of the better episodes. Others may feel that their experience is tainted by the whole adventure pass model of delivery. I currently float somewhere in the middle.