Usually it is easy to work out who a game is designed for at a moment’s glance. “Oh, this zombie game is for adults who gleefully grin at the splattering of blood and flesh.” “This grand strategy title is for those who enjoy scheming intricately like a nefarious genius.” “Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing is for no-one, ever.” Usually you know a game is great when it is able to reach out from its core target audience and then wrap onlookers in a warm damp hug like an overly friendly uncle; or that it is bad as it even some how alienates the group of people they were targeting in the first place.
Then Minecraft Story Mode appears, developed by Telltale Games, and I genuinely can’t work out who it is designed for. Children? Minecraft fans? People who enjoy Telltale’s previous library? Not that it is so bad as to shove everyone away just… Who was it made for?
[There will not be any spoilers of Minecraft Story Mode – Episode 2: Assembly Required, but I may end up discussing Minecraft Story Mode – Episode 1: the Order of the Stone as well as the review of it (which you can find here). Although the rating at the bottom will be spoiler-free if you wish to skip there.]