Minecraft: Story Mode - Episode 7: Access Denied (Xbox One) Review

The beloved Jesse and her band of merry men (and women) are in control. After the previous, err… exciting adventure, the group is finally taking a stab in the dark at making it home; however, as always, it's never going to be that easy considering they are basically stuck in an enormous corridor lined with dozens of portals - all of which lead to a weird new world.

The episode kicks off with Petra voicing her disagreement with our fearless leader, Jesse, and the team soon finds itself taking the trial and error approach of hoping for the best within the first portal. This first world is a bit… unique. You straight away realise something isn't quite right, and it is quickly revealed that the world is being controlled by a SKYNET-like computer called PAMA, who is in charge of controlling everything (mobs, the world) to improve efficiency.

What makes this episode special is it's completely out of the blue; it certainly isn't what anyone could expect to happen, which makes it a genuinely enjoyable storytelling experience. It's also great that this whole… portal world is something that could lend itself to dozens of exciting, new and weird experiences later down the line (even though this is supposed to be the penultimate episode…). There are endless possibilities.

While this has been a running criticism regarding this Telltale series, it still stands true: it'd be great to see more "Minecrafty" elements hit the series when it comes to construction and scavenging, and, overall, getting a bit more freedom to explore certain options.