Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series – Review-in-Progress

Developer:  Telltale Games

Publisher:  Telltale Games

Platform:  Microsoft Windows

 

Introduction

You probably saw this game coming if you are a GoT and/or Telltale Games fan – an episodic fantasy adventure based on the bestselling books and TV adaptation, developed by one of the most well-known, and perhaps most popular, adventure game developers.  This review will cover all of the episodes released to date, and will be updated as new episodes are released.

Visuals

The characters and their animations are on par for a Telltale game, particularly Cersei and Tyrion, who are impeccably rendered and animated.  Sadly, the environments and backgrounds are somewhat marred by a sort of weird, blurry filter which makes it look as though you’re viewing them through a warped mirror.  The opening sequence is cleverly and slickly done.

Audio

The music is nothing particularly memorable, but is always thematically appropriate to the environments and on-screen events.  All of the voice acting is excellently done, especially that of Cersei, Tyrion and Margaery.

Plot

The game’s plot follows the path of House Forrester and their interactions with some of the major players in the Game of Thrones world.  It does a good job of providing the intrigue and shocking moments that Game of Thrones is known for, although choices made don’t always seem to result in any significant plot changes.  Some of the game’s original characters seem to mirror those in the show in and the books, perhaps too blatantly, e.g. Lady Elissa Forrester and Catelyn Stark.  This makes the game sometimes seem as though it is copycatting the show and book’s characters and plot, rather than attempting to present more unique character archetypes and plot developments.  The plot’s pacing does pick up by the time Episode 4 rolls around, though, and new insights on existing characters and events from the books and show reveal themselves through the course of the later episodes.

Gameplay

The gameplay and interface are pretty Telltale standard fare:  simple environmental interaction and dialogue sprinkled with Quick Time Events.  I would have liked to have seen more nuance, even if it was just in the form of using your in-game inventory for puzzles.  It doesn’t detract from the enjoyment of seeing where the story leads, though.

 

WAIT FOR A SALE - even if you're a diehard Game of Thrones fan.