Minecraft story mode: Telltale Games' first point-and-click Minecraft adventure has been released

The series of short game 'episodes' has been long awaited by legions of Minecraft fans

(Telltale Games)

The first episode of Minecraft: Story Mode has been released today, giving players on a host of platforms a brand new take on the classic game..

Order of the Stone, as the first episode is called, is the first in a series of short story mode games produced by Mojang, the original developers of Minecraft, and Telltale, developers of the most recent in the legendary Monkey Island series and the people behind episodic game versions of The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones.

Although the game has been released under the Minecraft banner, gameplay is a far cry from the building, crafting and fighting of the original game.

However, the core elements of the original are still there - if a character needs a sword or a shield, then the player will have to click around to find the neccessary components to craft one.

Rather than an expansive sandbox game, it's a point-and-click adventure game, a kind of interactive animated series where user input can influence the story.

The classic pixelated graphics of the original game are still there, but they've been enhanced a little, with the characters and environments appearing a little more animated and alive.

Since its release in 2011, the Swedish indie game has spawned an empire of conventions, toys and books - Order of the Stone is a part of this brand, not an extension or alternative to the classic game.

In this sense, it's been made for Minecraft's legions of young fans, but the story - a classic adventure yarn featuring a gang of rag-tag travellers - will appeal to gamers of all ages. And with a playthrough time of around two hours, you can afford to spend an evening trying it out.

The first episode is now available on PC, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 5.

Android, iOS, Wii U and PlayStation Vita versions will be launched later.