Telltale definitely caught some flak from the gaming community for announcing that they would be doing a story-based Minecraft game. Despite some of the protests and reservations from some members of the community, the Minecraft: Story Mode saga is expanding quite rapidly with some new story arcs.
Game Informer did a write-up on the new approach that Telltale is taking with the seasonal structure of Minecraft: Story Mode. Instead of sticking with the typical three to five episodes a season, Telltale is expanding and making things a little more interesting for Minecraft fans.
This particular season will see an additional three episodes tacked onto the traditional season outing. So instead of stopping at episode five, gamers will be able to experience the story arc up until episode eight.
According to the article, the episodes between six and eight will be out throughout the later parts of 2016 and will be paid add-ons... even if you already own the season pass.
I'm sure there are some gamers out there grumbling about having to pay for additional content that steps just outside the bounds of the season pass. Mainly because the question becomes: do you buy a second season pass to gain content to the extra three episodes? If you buy a second season pass do you gain access to two additional episodes in the second season? Or will you be able to buy the three additional episodes in a bundle?
This is the first time that Telltale has extended a season by adding extra episodes. While some people originally didn't care for Minecraft getting a story mode, the general chatter around the web was that it was one of the few Telltale series they could play with the whole family. It definitely means a lot when a game has that kind of audience reach, especially when the story is told well, the graphics are engaging and the action is lighthearted.
What a lot of people don't seem to like is that the season is split up and that the additional episodes are not part of the season pass. 2K Games did the same thing with Evolve and Borderlands 2, forcing gamers to have to pay outside of what they paid for the season pass in order to gain access to the additional content. At that point, the question becomes: what's the point of the season pass if you still have to pay extra for DLC?
In the case of Minecraft: Story Mode, the upside is that the whole game ends with the fourth episode, so if you paid for your season pass you get what you paid for. The downside is that the fifth episode onward is a bridge into a new arc. So any cliffhangers from episode five will require you to purchase episode six and onward in order to find out what really happens to Jesse and the rest of his or her friends.
The first four episodes of Minecraft: Story Mode are available right now and the fifth episode will be available on March 29 for home consoles and PC.
