If there’s one game out there that can get away with releasing a game trailer not only super early on the weekend, but also on a national frickin’ holiday and still have everyone post it, it’s Minecraft. Well, that’s exactly what has happened. Telltale and Mojang blasted out the first trailer for Minecraft: Story Mode, direct from Minecon in London, at 5:45 AM Central time on a Saturday and the 4th of July. So, Happy Birthday, America.
Here it is:
It’s got a real The Lego Movie vibe going for it, and if you think some of the voices sounded familiar, that’s because they’ve tapped Patton Oswalt, Brian Posehn, Ashley Johnson, Scott Porter, Martha Plimpton, Dave Fennoy, Corey Feldman, Billy West, and Paul Reubens so far for involvement in the game. So, second reason why they can get away with releasing this trailer today- It’s got one of the Coreys. (Or, I guess, for accuracy, the only remaining Corey.) Seriously though, it is pretty insane that in just a few years Telltale has gone from “Oh I kind of recognize this one voice used in the game, that’s neat" to this kind of highly recognizable, well-known lineup of talent.
Here’s how Telltale and Mojang are pitching the premise of the game:
Players will control protagonist Jesse throughout the season, as portrayed by actor Patton Oswalt. Jesse and his group of friends revere the legendary Order of the Stone; four adventurers who slayed an Ender Dragon. The Order are the very best at what they do: Warrior, Redstone Engineer, Griefer, and Architect. While at EnderCon, Jesse and his friends discover that something is wrong… something dreadful. Terror is unleashed, and they must set out on a journey to find The Order of the Stone if they are to save their world from oblivion.
Still no release date yet beyond “Later this year," but historically Telltale really doesn’t go releasing trailers until they’re pretty close to the actual game being available. So, if I were a betting man, which I’m not, I’d say we’re looking at the game being playable a whole lot sooner than you’d typically expect when someone tells you “later this year," but, who knows.
Happy 4th of July, everyone!