Last week Telltale Games released their take on the, ever-growing, popular HBO fantasy epic Game of Thrones. Their debut episode, Iron from Ice, is the first of six and a thrilling addition to this universe. For those unaware of the Telltale style the game centers mainly around more conversational, more retro point-and-click (and the occasional quick time event) gameplay to allow you to progress throughout the narrative - beautifully contrasting the vast interactive nature of most modern video games.
I feel that there is some assumption that players have prior knowledge of this universe, whether a fan of the TV series or the books, with characters names being dropped in that you should be aware of. While not vital, having some foreknowledge knowing locations and characters really adds to the experience. The opening chapter finds you and many other Northerners camped outside The Twins, under Lord Frey's hospitality. In true Game of Thrones fashion (and due to a certain event from the TV series), the shit hits the fan very quickly and everything becomes slightly chaotic. Telltale, like HBO, want to reinforce the fact you’re in this universe where people drop like flies and death is just a normality. Throughout the story, there are number of interactions with well-known characters of the series, such as rival siblings Cersei and Tyrion Lannister, potential future queen of the Seven Kingdoms Margaery Tyrell, and disturbed exhibitionist and sadist Ramsay Snow. All of whom are excellently voiced by their on-screen counterparts. Now the interactions, particularly of those with Cersei and Ramsay, can be very intense (especially if you are aware of what their character is like in the TV show). Any conversation with Cersei had me instinctively trying to appease her to the best of my ability, hoping it would somehow work in my favour, which it did for some parts, and they nailed the little visual touches to her, such as the half smirk/smile facial expression she gives in the show.
There are also characters like Ramsay Snow who, quite frankly, is a psychopath. Honestly I had no idea what the best route for any conversation involving him would be as the character is widely known for his unpredictably brutal nature. He is quick to anger, so trying to equate that into any response was tricky. After all I had no intention of being flayed.
My general experience of Iron from Ice was one where a lot of second guessing myself took place, wondering if my character was going to be killed because of something that may be perceived as a slight to a different character. Just a general fear for my characters well-being because being the smaller house meant that I’d have to do things I wouldn’t want to do but when trying to avoid the outcome of your, rather small, house being overtaken you do things that go against your moral code. This is how well Telltales have captured the darkly wonderful nature of the TV show. I felt it maintained what I would expect from an episode of Game of Thrones. My only gripe was that the aesthetic, particularly the backgrounds, wasn’t all too fantastic. It looked like they went for a kind of water colour look but sometimes it looked splotchy which was somewhat distracting, however it didn’t detract too much from what was an overall good experience.
'The Northerners will never forget...'
Did you enjoy the episode as much as we did?
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