Telltale's Game of Thrones is not the worst.... ( My honest S1 review)
But It's not the best... but like Wolf Among Us, it's really solid, enjoyable, and good for what it is in my opinion.
The absolute greatest thing for me about this title is the voice acting. By God, this is some of the finest voice work and voice performances in any Telltale game I've played, even the TV show celebrity actors don't phone it in which is something you don't see a whole lot for these kinds of spin offs. Even when some of the writing is shoddy, these voice actors still pull their best effort in making you believe in this European Medieval setting and it's a great accomplishment for any of the actors and voice directors.
The action is quite good and gets the job done well, it's well choreographed, intense and somewhat fun, however, there is a good deal of recycling animations and stiff body movements but it's certainly a step up from the previous titles. The animation on the animals is quite impressive as well.
I have mixed feelings on the artstyle, I appreciate that Telltale didn't go for a realistic look but instead a oil painting aesthetic but I'm not too sure it's successful all the way. There are times where it looks good but there are other times where it looks blurry and rough around the edges and the textures aren't too great up close. I also don't think there's good consistency in character models as some end up looking more cartoonish than others and it's even more jarring when these same cartoonish looking characters are alongside the main TV show characters whose models are more similar to their actual likenesses' which I don't think was the right way to go if you're going to make the other characters a bit "Disney-fied?" I don't know that's just me.
Choices ultimately don't really get you off the railroad like always but that isn't to say there's isn't an decent bit of alternation in how a situation plays out and how the finale plays out is certainly impressive compared to Telltale's other works in choice making, though out of all the stories, I feel Mira's is the one that got the short end of the stick mainly in how there's no real point in all that political scheming since the story goes about the same way aside from maybe a couple of throwaway lines, the Foresters will always be in the shit storm that ends the season and it's the same kind of shit storm. It doesn't entirely bother me but I can see it bothering others.
Though there is a choice that bothers me, and I know a lot of people are probably tired of this, but these are my honest thoughts about the whole experience so I'm going to say it...
The traitor twist in episode 5 is really bad, mainly from a choice making stand point as I feel Telltale were VERY lazy with how this twist happens. It all depends on ONE choice you made in the first episode, never mind any of the choices you make in the next episodes which makes this twist make much less sense. What frustrates me is that if this was what Telltale was planning they could have easily made it make sense depending on the other major choices you can make, heck, depending on playstyle they've could've made it a variety of culprits even your own Sentinel, but alas they probably wanted to get the episode done and over with quickly.
From a writing stand point, it's not too bad but I can see a few holes here and there mainly in how exactly this whole betrayal was helping your house go towards a safer end and what exactly the traitor was getting out of this deed? But, like I said before, the voice acting in the traitor scene itself is stellar as the voice acting really does elevate the shoddy writing. But hey, defenders of this twist can explain and that's cool but I don't like this twist for now and I hope Telltale finds a way around this if anyone spares the traitor for S2.
I enjoyed the characters well enough and found some of them quite compelling though I feel the Whitehills are bit two-dimensional but they're good foils and at times enjoyably over the top and I'm not the biggest fan of Mira. Gared, Asher, and Rodrik were good characters that I grew to like and appreciate and I'm interested to see where their development goes (two since Asher/Rodrik have a chance to get the axe in episode 5).
I also don't mind the ending to the finale, yeah I'm calling it an ending because that's what it is, an ending to the first half of this epic story line that Telltale is building up. It's a definite sour ending but it's an ending although I was in the camp that didn't mind the ending to Desolation of Smaug ( part of which I was getting incredibly bored and wanted the movie to end) and I absolutely love Empire Strikes Back where the entire last half of the film is sequel bait yet it's constantly praised one of the greatest sequels. Also, if this "sour but leaves a tiny inch of hope" ending is the worst thing to humanity then how does Lord of the Rings get away with this? Yeah, sure it's a book series and film trilogy but that's one set story split into three parts and it's lauded as one of the greatest pieces of fiction by many unless people hate that story too.
I don't mind that Telltale decided to do this especially when the TV show does a similar thing with its seasons and how can Telltale not make a S2 when they signed a contract stating they must make more? Besides these episodes have always had a "TV show" esque quality with how they're paced and how they end, it's always been an interactive TV show in my eyes. Should this have been a self contained story? Given the way it's paced and setting up with its writing, not in my opinion, if it was written differently to be paced and set up to be a self contained story then maybe my opinion would change but that story isn't here. If no one likes this direction, okay sure, your opinion but I feel this criticism has gotten a bit exaggerated.
So those are my honest thoughts on Game of Thrones, it's an enjoyable series with highs and lows and decent replay ability. It's not for everyone but it has and can find an audience. For me, I liked the story enough to care what was going on and am eager to see what happens with where the story goes in a S2, hopefully it comes together well.
Comments
No, you're right. It's the best.
I enjoyed it but I'm not in love with it.
Tbh, I enjoy all Telltale's episodic games since TWD !
A very fair, well-thought review for the game. I agree with most of your points, especially where the art style is both a pro and con of the game. At times it's mezmerizing and at other times, it's difficult to watch.
I can excuse the whole 'choices don't change much' because it is very difficult to make a game where every choice effects every outcome of the game. It might be great for gamers but it can be very difficult for writers to try to take into account every decision. But, as said before, they could have played out the traitor reveal better if it wasn't based on a single decision but compiling decisions instead.
One thing I don't like the presence of canon characters in the game. Primarily Ramsey, who plays the Diablos Ex Machina in the game. While it's nice to see canon characters, they really shouldn't be seen too much in the story. The game has its own characters, and it should be driven more by them than by the unkillable, uninfluential canon characters. Really, I would prefer the canon characters only appear in just one episode.
Despite the major feels this series gave me, imo game of thrones is the best game telltale have done! With the walking dead a close second :P but each to their own
Damn straight
Same here.
The top 3 things I enjoyed from this game are:
1. The characters
2. The voice acting
3. The setting/story
Telltale really got me invested in this one! Can't wait for season 2
I think what makes the game good for me is that I think it's choices are so good. They are personal choices, whether they matter or not, I feel like the choices are really personal. For example, I'm shocked to see how many people do not kiss Whitehills's ring (me included) and that's a really personal choice in my opinion.