Game of Thrones - Episode 1 Review

Game of Thrones means many things to many different people. There are the hardcore fantasy nerds who have been reading the books long before the show ever existed. There are the TV faithful who have been tuning into the show week after week to see the world of Westeros come to life. Then there are the deep-dive fans who gobble up anything related to the seven kingdoms any way that they can. Game of Thrones is just the most recent example of fantasy going mainstream, but it still inspires such niche things like cookbooks and craft beers. So it was only a matter of time before Game of Thrones got gobbled up by the world of video games (there already was one Game of Thrones video game, but - well, it was awful).

The obvious crossover for Game of Thrones would be a strategy game - one of those already exist as well, as a Facebook game - but the franchise, while featuring some battles, isn’t really about troop movements and empire-building. The core of the series relies on the human interactions between characters on an intimate level. People who are true Game of Throne fans know that the series revolves more around the relationships characters build with one another, rather than their genius as strategists. Sure, Robb Stark is a great warrior, but it's his relationship choices that ultimately define his character. Tyrion Lannister plays the game of King’s Landing as well as anyone, but it is the choices he had made in his life and the way he interacts with others that make him a fan favorite.

It is for these reasons that Game of Thrones makes far more sense as a Telltale episodic video game series than any other genre. That being said, Telltale has a great undertaking on its hands as it releases its first of six episodes, “Iron From Ice”, as they attempt to find a way to adapt George R.R. Martin’s fantasy universe in their own, personal way. While Telltale’s take on Game of Thrones isn’t earth-shattering, it really is Telltale doing what they do best. The first episode of the series boasts everything one would want from the world of Martin, as seen through the eyes of the sharp and witty writers at the studio and help from HBO producers themselves.

It’s best to get the bad stuff, as little of it as there is, out of the way first. The biggest complaint one could have about “Iron From Ice” is that it is still the Telltale playbook being ran as you would expect. The game leans heavily on its writing and the main mechanic is the dialogue options given. There are a few action sequences, but they really aren’t anything more than the button-mashy, reaction-based stuff that one has come to expect from Telltale. There are also a few places where players are given items and what they do with those items impacts the story, but don’t brace yourself for anything new. It’s also fair to say that Telltale’s animations are looking a bit dated, especially on next-gen consoles. Game of Thrones is probably the least comic-book-y world Telltale has tried to recreate, especially in the sense they are trying to replicate actors from the series, and everyone comes off looking a bit like a caricature.

But, to reiterate a point, Game of Thrones has, at its heart, never been a series about grand action sequences and epic battles. The series and the book have always been about the writing and the story. Here is where Telltale really delivers. Players take control of the many members of the Forrester family, a house which has been bannermen of the Starks for thousands of years. On the night of the Red Wedding, things go quickly wrong for the Forresters - as things often do in the Thrones world - and they find themselves with enemies on the doorstep and being led by those who were never supposed to be in command.

The Forresters are, in many ways, Telltale’s replacement family for the Starks. There’s the young boy who is thrust upon the throne, the daughter who must engage in the dangerous politics at King’s Landing, the boy with loose ties to the family who is sent to the Wall to take the Black, and the dutiful matriarch who is trying to keep the family together. However, Telltale does take some liberties to try and make the story decisively their own. There are some twists thrown into the plot where players are forced to choose allegiances and beg for their lives from more powerful characters, which is something explored in Game of Thrones, but not really hammered home like it is in “Iron From Ice”. The Forresters don’t have the name of Targaryen, Lannister, or Stark to empower them. They are a family who relies on the protection of larger families and that kind of desperation really jives with the tone of Martin’s world while feeling distinctly unique to Telltale’s vision.

Telltale also delivers moments where you must banter with the high and mighty of the series. Players interact with Tyrion Lannister, Cersei Lannister, Margaery Tyrell, and Ramsay Snow - Jon Snow is hinted at for episode two. All of these characters are voiced by the actors form the series and their talents are really on display with Telltale’s writing. Players will have to interact with these captivating characters with their lives on the line and Telltale isn’t scared to prove that they will treat these characters with the same lack of compassion Martin shows for his own. It adds tension, raises the stakes, and makes your dialogue choices feel like they matter.

Sure, Telltale is delivering the same mechanics they always have, but the difference with Game of Thrones is that your investment in the character and the agency in the dialogue make you feel more connected than in recent Telltale efforts. Unlike Wolf Among Us, it’s not a matter of choosing to be a nice Bigby or nasty Bigby, unlike The Walking Dead: Season 2 the plot doesn’t hinge on something as cliched as a baby. Every choice you come to in Game of Thrones feels grey, each conversation feels like it has weight.

Much like in Tales from the Borderlands, it is again nice to see Telltale releasing games on current-gen hardware. The added power of new consoles minimizes the frame rate issues, sound editing problems, and long loading times that have been an issue for Telltale in the past. You might run into one or two technical bumps, but it's a far cry from the days of The Walking Dead: Season One.

In the end, we’re talking about a Telltale game. The gameplay revolves around dialogue choices, broken up by quicktime sequences and some larger A or B choices. It’s not anything new for Telltale, but it is being delivered so well that the old stand-by's are forgivable. The game walks a fine line between setting itself in Martin’s world and directly copying his work, but it walks it well. Game of Thrones is truly defined by the moments where you are faced with begging for your life (or your family’s), bartering for allies, or taking a stand for yourself. All of these moments are delivered with such confidence and skill you’ll find yourself quickly invested in the series. Telltale has had a lot of strong first episodes over the years, but I haven’t been this invested in a series since the first episode of The Walking Dead. “Iron From Ice” sets the stage for what will hopefully be an impressive effort from Telltale. I know I’m excited.