Minecraft: Story Mode - Episode 3: The Last Place You Look

Episode 3 wound up being a lot closer to what I feel is the ideal for an episode in this series – a fun, high-stakes adventure that throws in interesting elements of the license to create cool moments.

Minecraft: Story Mode Episode 3 pulls off a fantastic turnaround for a series that was looking rather lackluster. Issues still persist, and Telltale will have to capitalize on what works well here while moving beyond the things that didn't, but overall it is a massive improvement over what we saw in the first two episodes.

This is another short episode (my first playthrough clocked in at less than 90 minutes), which makes Story Mode a little on the brief side compared to recent Telltale offerings. But that brevity is my biggest complaint, which, if you look at it from the most charitable view, means the game never outstayed its welcome. Story Mode remains a great experience--especially if you're playing with younger fans of Minecraft--and my anticipation for the next episode remains high.

The best chapter so far: it shows a shift in the narrative's overall tone, an interesting cliffhanger and some well made (albeit simple) puzzles.

Definitely a step in the right direction after the awful Assembly required. It is a longer game, with a new and decently developed character, and a bit more freedom if you compare it to the past episodes.

Epiosde 3 gets Story Mode back on the right track, adding a great new character and taking players through some dramatic, emotional moments.

While Episode 3 improves on Episode 2 in terms of plausibility and points of interest, this is likely due to the structure of the script, and less about any conscious improvements Telltale has made, especially with regard to how quickly they put out Episode 3.

The Last Place You Look is more of the same -- and slightly better, if anything -- so those who have enjoyed the series thus will be pleased to just keep on trucking.