Minecraft: Story Mode Season Two - Episode 3: Jailhouse Block (PC) Review

By now, it should come as no surprise that the story is briskly paced to fill out its two-hour run-time with new characters, locations, and dialogue choices. Most of the returning cast takes a back seat this time around, with more of an emphasis being placed on Jesse's interactions with other members of the priso-*ahem* "correctional facility". The warden is of particular note, managing to pique the player's interest with a performance that's a bit more than the standard "asshole warden" role. There's also a couple amusing nods to (non-YouTuber!) celebrities that are too good to spoil here.

Telltale seems willing to steer back into slightly darker territory here, and the game's all the better for it. Now, this is still Minecraft; don't expect missing limbs, gore aplenty, and steamy romance scenes. Yet there are still some surprisingly grim moments. One of the big choices in the episode brought back memories of The Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us, where both outcomes from a scenario can have significant consequences. Having to think about the ramifications of decisions makes them that much more interesting, and while there are still a few "two paths that eventually converge" points, they lend some contrast to the more thought-provoking scenes. Hopefully the ripples caused by these will carry over to the last two episodes; it could lead to some exciting sequences.

Of course, that's where the concern comes in, as the game actively forgot about decisions. In the recap portion at the start of the episode, Jesse was shown freeing Stella from some ice in The Admin's fortress. It was later referenced by Stella in the episode, providing extra context for her actions. However, freeing Stella is a choice in episode two, and one which was avoided on this playthrough. Sure, The Admin subsequently freed her, but it meant she (theoretically) had more of an axe to grind with Jesse. A visit to the episode two "Choices" screen confirmed this. Now, this was just one instance of such actions being forgotten, and it didn't seem to have a major impact on the game; Stella's a twit regardless. However, it's worrying that something like that was overlooked, be it due to a bug or developer oversight.

Speaking of bugs, there were also assorted technical problems, with lines getting cut off, dialogue overlapping in a confusing fashion, and mouths sometimes continuing to move, even after they stopped producing sound. At least the music's improved, with some catchy synth compositions that add to the tension in certain scenes.