Game of Thrones: Iron from Ice Review

Platforms: Android, iOS, OS X, Ouya, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Release Date: Out now
Developer: Telltale Games
Publisher: Telltale Games

WARNING: Minor spoilers for Game of Thrones below (don’t say we didn’t warn you!)

Being a fan of the Game of Thrones TV series is a difficult experience. The show is notorious for killing off its main characters when you least expect it – often in extremely violent ways. Telltale’s highly anticipated adaptation of Game of Thrones is certainly no different. The game begins with your character in the midst of the Red Wedding, an event so shocking and disturbing that it caused social media to implode for several days afterwards. Opening with such a harrowing event sets the tone for what promises to be six episodes of misery, violence and shock deaths.

Telltale’s Game of Thrones is set in the same universe as the series but follows the members of House Forrester, whose lives and home – the castle of Ironrath – are threatened now that the bleak lands of the North are ruled by the evil Roose Bolton and his bastard Ramsay Snow, whose hobbies include flaying people alive, hunting women with dogs and feeding abandoned, orphaned kittens. That last one may be a lie…

Much like in the novels and TV series, the game jumps from character to character across a variety of locations. Whilst the first episode only spends time in Ironrath and King’s Landing, future episodes promise to follow members of House Forrester in the exotic Eastern continent of Essos and the frozen lands beyond The Wall.

As you would expect, the gameplay remains very much identical to previous Telltale titles such as The Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us. The game is built around choice-based gameplay, which sees the player being forced to make split-second moral decisions through dialogue or quick-time events that affect the game’s story in unpredictable ways – for instance, one decision involves you deciding whether to kill your defenceless enemy or show him mercy. It’s essentially an interactive graphic novel with the odd action sequence thrown in. As in previous games, being forced to consider difficult moral quandaries and watching the effects of your choices unfold remain highly compelling and sometimes horrifying, when your choices end up leading to disastrous outcomes (which they inevitably will, no matter how hard you try).

As well as the engaging plotlines, interesting and well-developed characters are another strength of Telltale Games. There are five playable members of House Forrester in total but in the first episode we are introduced to just three of them: squire Gared Tuttle; Mira Forrester who serves as handmaiden to Queen-to-be Margaery Tyrell in King’s Landing and Ethan Forrester – the new Lord of Ironrath. Despite the characters being separated by hundreds of miles, they are all part of an interconnected story arc that ensures choices made by one character will have a knock-on effect on the other characters’ story later on. Each one of the episode’s protagonists are superbly realised, supported by well-written dialogue and excellent voice acting.

In addition to these new faces, the game also features popular characters from the series including Tyrion Lannister, Cersei Lannister and Ramsay Snow – all of whom are voiced by the actors that portray them on the TV show. If you are anxious that such characters are pointlessly shoehorned into the story for the sake of it, not to worry. The Martin-made characters have prominent roles within the games’ story and often directly influence the events surrounding the playable characters. It’s also a great experience as a Game of Thrones fan to interact with characters from the original story – a scene that involves a tense meeting with Queen Cersei in the throne room remains one of my favourites from the first episode. Future episodes also promise encounters with other popular characters, such as Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow.

Whilst the story and characters are near flawless, the graphics of the game are a mixed bag. The game’s world is brought to life through a unique art style and well-crafted animation that is, on the whole, generally effective. The strength of the games’ visual style is apparent when it comes to things such as facial expressions and scenery – the castle of Ironrath is beautifully realised for instance. However, when it comes to things such as fighting scenes or running, the animation can come across as stilted and odd-looking. Using the likeness of the Martin characters also causes a similar problem. The visual style threatens to take you out of the game when characters like Ramsay and Margaery don’t quite match up to their appearance from the TV series and look strikingly different depending on the camera angle.

Another problem with the game is the realisation that the concept of meaningful choice is a well-crafted illusion. I noted the same criticism in my review of Telltale’s The Walking Dead – essentially, these type of games have to balance the idea of meaningful decisions that alter the story, but they also need to keep the player on a designated path to the ending point. On your first run-through of the episode, it is easy to believe that certain outcomes were a direct result of the choices you made. However, you realise afterwards (either through subsequent run-throughs or discussing the episode with other people) that particular outcomes happen regardless of the choices you decided on – making the notion that “the game is tailored by how you play” seem somewhat of an exaggeration.

Whether you enjoy Telltale’s Game of Thrones will depend on what you expect from the game. If you go into the game expecting lots of action and complex gameplay, you’re going to be slightly disappointed. However, if you are looking for an engaging story with compelling characters and shocking twists, then it’s one of the best games you can buy. It’s an essential purchase for Game of Thrones fans – the chance to interact with the original Martin characters and explore familiar locations from Westeros is a hugely enjoyable experience. Despite its flaws in particular areas, the first episode is a captivating and entertaining story that sets the stage perfectly for the next five episodes.

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