Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
The entire Minecraft: Story Mode series has been a hit and miss one for me, but I can happily say that the trend over the last couple of episodes continues with Minecraft: Story Mode Season Two – Episode 4: Below the Bedrock. That trend? Continued improvement in all areas, from gameplay to story. I have my doubts that this series will ever rank among my favorite Telltale properties, but I have every confidence that Season Two can end on a very high note now.
This has been one of the more hit and miss Telltale series for me over its one and a half seasons, as the very nature of Minecraft seems at odds with the idea of a narrative-heavy focus. I think that early on in both seasons, this open-ended nature made it hard for the team to tell a tight story, yet in both seasons as the characters had more time to define themselves and the world took on greater shape, the storytelling grew alongside of it.
Minecraft: Story Mode Season Two – Episode 4: Below the Bedrock follows Jesse and friends as they escaped one set of challenges only to encounter new ones by delving down into a hidden world. There is a bit of a Dungeons & Dragons exploratory vibe here that actually works pretty well, and like in Season One, I enjoyed this episode’s exploration of dark, twisting passages as the team looks for a weapon that could potentially turn the tide of their adventure.
Of course things don’t go smoothly and you as the player have a series of quicketime events and fights to help mix up the narrative’s pace. I will say that there is a boss battle here that feels like a fitting moment that I enjoyed quite a bit, even if it was somewhat shorter lived than I would have liked. Still, the scene is a fun one and really highlights the improvements made to the mechanics between Season One to Season Two.
This was an action-heavy episode, which was fine by me as The Admin continues to try and thwart Jesse and her friends. The free build moments jive perfectly with the spirit of Minecraft and the action sequences are well done, but more than anything, the characters and story itself are starting to find their groove and are setting us up for what I hope will be a really good finale.
Score: 7 / 10
