It seemed to have ended in March, the episodic adventure of Telltale set in the prolific universe of Minecraft, when with a surprise announcement three other episodes were reconfirmed that would have shown new events and deeds of Jesse and his companions. Three new episodes available on the stores of your reference console (PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3, Xbox One and Xbox 30, PC via Steam while the Wii U release is still uncertain) via an Adventure Pass or individually. Let's find out together if A Portal to Mystery confirms the impressions of Order Up! or denies us by linking to the first four chapters of Minecraft: Story Mode.
Like any episodic review, there will be Spoilers on the events that happened in the first 5 chapters of Minecraft: Story Mode, in particular on the finale of Order Up! While we won't go into too much detail on the history of A Portal to Mystery.
Tested Version: PlayStation 4
There is no such thing as albino pumpkins
At the end of Order Up! Jesse and the other members of the new Order of the Stone they had not been able to return home, but they had found a huge corridor full of portals to other worlds. Crossing the threshold of one of these, the four heroes will find themselves in a plain full of zombies, determined in every way to eliminate them. While fighting the horde, Jesse will find an invitation to a mansion, a safe place the undead can't enter, or at least that's what the message says. Reached the mansion, the Order of the Stone will meet some strange individuals, also invited by mysterious tickets, while a verbal quarrel is going on, the lights go out and one of the newcomers suddenly dies. The owner of the villa is White Pumpkin, a homicidal killer who thinks that one of the guests has the key to the portal, thus begins a game of slaughter by eliminating one by one those present with convoluted traps. Jesse and his people obviously don't want to sit still getting killed and decide to find out the identity of the killer.
Exactly as happened for Order Up! if we exclude the final two minutes that connect to the next episode, A Portal to Mystery is playable individually, and given the absence of practically every
no need to bother Agatha Christiereferring to the previous episodes, it reveals a story of dubious utility for the purposes of the main plot. Going to bother Agatha Christie and Ten Little Indians is not enough to pack an easily solved mystery, with a huge plot hole in the middle that will never be answered. A Portal to Mystery tries to entertain for a couple of hours but the feeling of "already seen" and the expansion of the main facts is felt more and more with each passing minute. The new characters introduced are not even too convincing, and even more so, not having to reappear in the future, they are forgotten as soon as the credits begin to scroll.
The weight of the months
The feeling of déjà-vu is also reflected in the few stages of gameplay, in which all the mechanics of the previous episodes are revived from escape to crafting, up to the final fight with White Pumpkin, only slightly funny moment of this sixth episode of Minecraft: Story Mode. It is of little use to praise the good dubbing work that has been with us since last October, and the inclusion of active members of the Minecraft community among the temporary new entries of A Portal to Mystery. The story of Jesse could continue with a second season (Which in effect it is, given the presence of an additional season pass), but at the moment the new events of the Order of the Stone fail to convince, resulting too unrelated and with only two episodes left (will it be true this time?)
Verdict 6/10 Ten little Indians in Mojang sauce Comment A Portal to Mystery tries to add a touch of mystery to Jesse's adventures, by making another episode almost completely self-conclusive and without continuing in the main plot. The episode itself is not bad, but the feeling of déjà-vu and, above all, of unnecessary extension continues to grow with each new chapter, also undermining the discreet work of the first half of the season. There are two episodes missing from what will be the new conclusion of Jesse's adventures, will Telltale be able to recover? Pros and cons ✓ Another self-contained episode
✓ Good English dubbing x Discounted plot
x Redundant gameplay phases
