Plot
Struggling doorknob salesman Steve goes to work in a mine to fulfill a childhood dream, where he discovers the Orb of Dominance and the Earth Crystal. When combined, they create a portal that transports him to the Overworld, a world where the terrain is made of easily manipulated cubes. He builds his own city and later stumbles across a portal to a hellish world called the Nether. He is imprisoned by Malgosha, the gold-obsessed piglin ruler of the Nether who gravely discourages creativity and steals Steve's dog Dennis. Because the Orb would allow her to control the Overworld, Steve has his dog Dennis escape with the Orb and Crystal and hide them under his bed in the real world.
Sometime later, 1980s video game champion Garrett "The Garbage Man" Garrison owns a failing video game store in Chuglass, Idaho. He heads to a storage auction to acquire items to sell for cash, ultimately winning the contents of Steve's old house. While searching through the items, particularly hoping to find an Atari Cosmos, he instead finds Steve's old belongings instead, including the Orb and Crystal, to his anger and confusion.
Siblings Henry and Natalie move to Chuglass following their mother's death. The two meet Dawn, their real estate agent, who also runs a mobile petting zoo. On Henry's first day of school, he gets in trouble when his experimental jetpack is sabotaged and damages the potato chip factory's mascot Chuggy. To avoid expulsion from Vice Principal Marlene, he pays Garrett to play his uncle and takes him to the video game store. There, Henry discovers the Orb and Crystal and combines them, leading the two to Steve's mine.
Natalie finds out Henry is missing and calls Dawn who tracks down Henry's location via Natalie's phone. As the four reunite, they are sucked into the portal and arrive in the Overworld. Malgosha learns that the Orb has returned and releases Steve from his imprisonment in the Nether to reclaim it, saying that she has Dennis as a hostage.
While fighting off monsters at night, Henry learns to manipulate blocks and builds a dirt fortress. The Earth Crystal is destroyed in the commotion. Steve appears at dawn and defeats the monsters as he tells the group that a replacement Crystal will be needed from the Woodland Mansion and joins them. To prepare for this quest, he leads them to a nearby village and demonstrates how to craft. Piglins seeking the Orb of Dominance launch an attack on the village. Steve, Garrett, and Henry narrowly escape while Natalie and Dawn are separated from them and befriend Dennis. Malgosha responds by sending out the Great Hog, a massive Piglin.
When Steve mentions that he has a hoard of diamonds, Garrett becomes interested and demands access as an added condition to handing over the Orb. They make a detour and find the hoard, but Henry is angered by their disregard for Natalie's safety. When the Great Hog arrives, they escape using minecarts and the Hog is blown up by creepers. Arriving at the mansion, Steve and Garrett attempt to distract the guards while Henry acquires both the Earth Crystal and an Ender Pearl, which can facilitate one's teleportation. Malgosha returns and destroys the bridge to the mansion. Steve and Henry lose the Orb to her, but escape as Garrett seemingly sacrifices himself in the blast. The two awaken with Dawn, Natalie, and Dennis in a mushroom house.
Malgosha uses the Orb to superpower the Nether portal, blotting out the sun and declaring war on the Overworld. The party crafts an arsenal of weaponry and an army of iron golems to fight the piglin invasion, while Steve fights Malgosha. Henry uses the Ender Pearl to obtain the Orb, restoring the sunlight and causing Malgosha and her army to zombify.
The party, including Garrett who survived the explosion, returns to Chuglass, where they develop the successful video game Block City Battle Buddies. Dawn opens her zoo with Dennis as an attraction, Natalie opens a dojo, Henry completes his jetpack, and Garrett revitalizes the game store with Steve.
