PC

  News 
  Reviews
  Previews
  Hardware
  Interviews
  All Features

Areas

  3DS
  Android
  iPad
  iPhone
  Mac
  PC
  PlayStation 3
  PlayStation 4
  Switch
  Vita
  Wii U
  Xbox 360
  Xbox One
  Media
  Archives
  Search
  Contests

 

Minecraft: Story Mode - Episode 3: The Last Place You Look
Score: 85%
Publisher: Telltale Games
Developer: Telltale Games
Media: Download/1
Players: 1
Genre: Adventure

Previously on Minecraft: Story Mode:

Minecraft: Story Mode - Episode 3: The Last Place You Look starts off with the game's heroes trapped underground in a strange lab with apparently no way of escaping.

When Jesse and friends, as well as two of the legendary Order of the Stone members, got to a lab set up by the last Order member, Soren, they found the massive base almost deserted. When they finally got to the base's inner circle, they didn't find the missing Order member like they hoped, but instead stumbled upon Ivor. After a quick battle, the forgotten Order of the Stone adventurer escaped and trapped our main characters in the inner rooms.

While The Last Place You Look starts off with trying to get out of Soren's lab, the main focus of this episode is about finally tracking down the architect and getting him to join in the fight against the Witherstorm.


Through the Grinder:

Getting out of Soren's lab isn't all that easy. A good bit of Minecraft: Story Mode - Episode 3: The Last Place You Look is not just about getting past the first door Ivor slammed in your way, but also about getting through the mass of monsters that flood the catacombs. It turns out, the base isn't just a place for Soren to study and learn, but it is also a grinder designed to funnel monsters in, kill them and convey the dropped loot to various storage locations. In other words, not only does the group have to navigate a literal killing machine, but a killing machine filled with various monsters. This is no easy feat and you will be putting your recently honed fighting skills to the test in order to get to the other side.

As you push through the fight, you will be faced with several choices, and while these don't feel as monumental as the ones posed in some of Telltale's more adult-centric games, the other characters will still treat you differently. These choices tended to be choosing between two different groups of friends to help in the fight, or choosing if you would go after a lost item or send someone else. As far as I could tell, there don't seem to be any traumatic results to these choices since it seems like there is always someone on hand to help the group that you don't choose, but the choices you make will be referenced in future conversations.


The Hunt for Soren:

Minecraft: Story Mode - Episode 3: The Last Place You Look takes a very drastic turn once you find your way out of The Grinder. Instead of safety, the group finds themselves in The End, surrounded by Endermen, but in an even more surprising twist, they see Soren running up a large staircase. Oddly enough, the area they find at the top of the stairs is nothing like what they expect, and while it does give the group a bit of breathing time, there are also a few mysteries to solve before Jesse can finish tracking down Soren and attempt to convince the man to rejoin the Order of the Stone and help in the fight against the Witherstorm.

Next Time on Minecraft: Story Mode:

Minecraft: Story Mode - Episode 3: The Last Place You Look definitely ends on a note befitting the middle-point of the season. There is a tragedy, but there is also a reunion, however how that plays out is dependent on some of the choices that led up to the episode's closing chapters. What will be interesting is seeing how the group will fare against the new face of the threat and if the arguments that have been striving to tear the group apart can be mended enough to finally stop the Witherstorm once and for all.

The Last Place You Look felt like it had a really good balance between action and intellect. While the puzzles it posed were by no means difficult, those segments of the episode provided a nice break to the action that book-ended these puzzles. That being said, the episode itself felt very short, and while I think I put the same amount of time into it that I did for the others, when I look back at the episode as a whole, it just doesn't feel as filling for some reason.


-J.R. Nip, GameVortex Communications
AKA Chris Meyer

Related Links:



Windows Game of Thrones: Episode 6 - The Ice Dragon Windows Minecraft: Story Mode: Episode 4 - A Block and a Hard Place

 
Game Vortex :: PSIllustrated