Review: Game of Thrones (Telltale Game)

Adapting Game of Thrones is no easy task. Facing such a massive, and highly critical, fan base ensured that Telltale Games had their work cut out for themselves when they took on the challenge of creating an episodic Game of Thrones game. Fresh off the critical acclaim of their highly successful The Walking Dead game (and the lesser known The Wolf Among Us series), Telltale had become the new industry darling of story driven adventure games. After successfully tackling such a popular series they seemed suited to the challenge. Now, a year later with all the episodes released, does the completed season live up to the lofty standards set by its source material? Short answer: no, not really. But, don’t run away quite yet, there’s still a lot to love here for fans and it’s an interesting, if not perfect, new story. The story opens at a familiar occasion: The Red Wedding. Playing as a squire feasting outside, you manage to escape the carnage when all hell breaks loose and make your way back to your home of Ironrath, the seat of House Forrester. As the House is a bannerman for the Starks, the family needs to work to secure the future of the House in the face of the irreparable change coming to the North. This struggle sets the scene for the story of all six episodes, each being around two hours in length.It’s a great creative choice to tell a completely new story within a very recognisable framework and you’ll quickly become invested in the Forresters’ underdog story. Besides Ironrath, the game also includes point of view characters at King’s Landing, The Wall and Essos. The cast of original characters are well developed and likeable, and the relationships between them feel authentic and earned. The game works hard to replicate the tone and scale of the show, but the results are mixed. Attempts to evoke the feeling of futility and despair often felt through the show work occasionally, particularly in a strong story beat at the end of the first episode. The season both starts and ends on strong points like this, although it sags notably in the middle. Some story threads, particularly the one at the wall, can also feel like re-treading of story ground already covered by the show. Despite these criticisms, Telltale’s signature adventure game model really does fit the universe quite well. If you’re not familiar with it, it combines conversation segments, where you choose how to respond in a limited time, with quick time event action segments. The conversation aspect is where the game truly shines, as tense conversations, where one wrong word can make things go catastrophically wrong, are a staple of Game of Thrones. Learning to choose your words wisely is a valuable skill, particularly when playing as Mira in King’s Landing, a handmaiden to Margaery.Lending credibility to the game, characters from the show (including Ramsay Snow, Margaery, Cersei, Tyrion, Jon Snow and Danaerys) appear, with their actors providing their voices. These are a great novelty in the game, although their success varies. Ramsay’s menace translates perfectly and a tense battle of wits with Cersei is one of the highlights of the season. However, Danaerys and Tyrion both come across as quite wooden, a pale imitation of their real characters.Although the first season (unsurprisingly) doesn’t reach the heights of the show or book, it’s still an interesting expansion to the Game of Thrones universe with an engaging story that will give fans a much needed fix during the long wait for the next season.