With the goosebumps fresh on my skin, I must say that Telltale’s adventure set in the world of Game of Thrones, is every bit as thrilling as the novels and show. Having picked up the first three episodes at once, I decided to binge play, as I have binge watched the show in its entirety four times now, and here is the story so far.
Episode one, Iron from Ice, introduces you to House Forrester. This Northern noble house served under the honorable House Stark for centuries. But unfortunately this adventure begins on the ominous night of the Red Wedding. Viewers of the show, and readers of the popular novels will know that this night is one filled to the brim with bloodshed. This narrative choice and use of dramatic irony helps begin the series on a tense and nerve wracking note. After that fateful night, the lord whom you squire to gives you a grave mission that will decide the fate of the house.
A rotating cast of characters will also aid in the mission to keep House Forrester alive in a time when they are surrounded by enemies. Your rivals, House Whitehill, have occupied your lands and tapped into your families livelihood, Ironwood, a strong strain of timber used to make ships and shields. Playing as various members of the noble House Forrester, you will make diplomatic choices that will have have eventual repercussions. One notable difference in Game of Thrones, as opposed to The Walking Dead, is that no one is ever safe. I found myself in complete shock many times during my playthrough, where The Walking Dead’s narrative was a bit predictable at times. I felt totally in control when it came to the fate of my character and my companions in TWD, but this time, no one is ever safe, not even you.
For fans of Telltale Games, Game of Thrones will be familiar. The game is composed of highly detailed finite spaces we as players are allowed to peruse and search for clickables to inspect and learn more about the games carefully crafted story. After each area is explored, or a specific clickable is triggered, an interactive cutscene unfolds before the player. These cutscenes are coupled with dialogue choices. This is where gamers can choose who they want to be within this world. Will you be cruel and return wanton violence with more brutality, or will you be kind and just? (just a reminder of what happens to kind people in GoT ). At times, surprise quicktime events may take place, prompting players to press a certain key within a small time frame. I found the QTE’s to be more forgiving in this title than Telltale’s The Walking Dead.
This Telltale series retains the comic book-esque art style of other Telltale titles, and the same quality voice acting. Not having checked to see who the voice actors were prior to booting up the game, I was pleasantly surprised to see shows actual cast participating. Notable characters such as Jon and Ramsey Snow, Tyrion and Cersei Lannister, and even Margery Tyrell are brought to life with accurate animations and great performances as always from the shows cast. I was most amused at the fact that the game perfectly captures that smirk Cersei has when shes being a particularly terrible human being.
One issue I faced during gameplay was a reticle that didn’t feel as accurate as it did in other Telltale titles. I remember raising my gun to a walker as Clementine, and always knowing where I was aiming, but while raising my sword in combat in Game of Thrones, I felt nowhere near as confident in my aim. Also, minor graphical annoyances like hazy anti-aliasing broke immersion at times. At times, the games UI feels clunky and fragmented as well. It seems as if the design team didn’t know whether to go with a cold almost metallic theme, coinciding with the Show’s logo, or with a clockwork theme akin to the shows opening. All of these things are admittedly nitpicking, but with a solid title based on deep lore from a proven studio, there aren’t many jarring issues.
Having binge watched four seasons of Game of thrones at once, various times, it can be hard once you are finished. The ever popular television show definitely takes it’s time to craft, which is understandable with such scale and quality that goes into it’s filming. Telltale’s Game of Thrones is an excellent way to pass the time between seasons. The myriad choices presented in-game allow for multiple playthroughs. I do not doubt we will see multiple seasons from this title as well, and I look forward to seeing much more.