Game of Thrones Episode 1 - Iron from Ice

There are few fantasy worlds that I'd be overwhelmingly hesitant to visit more than the world George R. R. Martin has created for the Game of Thrones series. Ice zombies/spiders, decade long winters, diseases that turn flesh to stone, and political corruption are wonderful, but only really when you're a safe enough distance to not have to potentially count them as your own issues. Yet for all its fantastical elements, Westeros and the ensuing nations in Game of Thrones are as frightening as they are fascinating, and I am happy to explore them further with any opportunity I can get...but from the safety of my gaming chair only.

I've only played the first episode so far - and it's been a while since I've touched a Telltale game before that. The last was "Wolf Among Us" which was really quite nice as I was always a big fan of the comic series it was based off of (Fables). I put Telltale games away for a few months thereafter, primarily because these games aren't really games by definition and don't offer me much by way of entertainment for long periods of time. Telltale games are more a sort of "choose your own adventure" interactive story, which is all well and good as those can be phenomenal when done right (and Telltale has certainly done them right) but story isn't the only thing I play a game for - I need variety, and Telltale games offer an intriguing variation on gameplay, but only for so long.

The problem is that the gameplay is never engaging enough for me to want to push through them in one or two sittings. I'd much rather pace the game out, and as such that is why I will review Telltale's Game of Thrones series episode by episode.

Now this first play through I fear I didn't take notes, which I will be sure to do from this point on in continuing episodes. A lot happened in episode one which obviously sets the tone for the continuing installations, but I feel that I still remember the important bits enough to contribute enough that will suffice for a short blog review.

"Iron from Ice"

House Forrester

This, as far as I know, is the first we've ever heard of House Forrester, but I'm not complaining. Bannermen to House Glover - who are themselves vassals sworn to House Stark, I was never once in doubt to the legitimacy of their importance in the story line. In fact, I was grateful for a taste of the nobility that extends beyond the major houses of Westeros. With all of the political intrigue that serves as the backbone for this series, I feel that a huge handicap of its depth was that time and space does not seem to allow for further exploration of all of the known houses, greater and lesser. That we get to see this in Telltale's Game of Thrones was a treat.

Naturally, that is not to say that we are not without our familiar faces! The Lannisters make themselves known almost immediately, as well as some familiar faces from House Tyrell, and the ever lovable Ramsay Snow. If you haven't played the game yet and are concerned about the over abundance of antagonist families involved in episode one, you'd be an astute observer, because this episode and all of its events unfold into some serious tragedy towards the end.

On that note, if you're not wanting spoilers, you should probably turn away right now, because this post is about to be as riddled with spoilers as Talisa Stark's body was with stab wounds.

Too soon?

The Red Wedding

Episode one picks up right at the events of the Red Wedding, where Houses Forrester and Glover find themselves amidst an onslaught from House Frey's men. You flee for your life, and return home to find your family slaughtered by Bolton men. With that, you head to the only place you now know as home, and that is to House Forrester at Ironrath. Your wounds are healed and after some deliberation it is decided that you must go to The Wall (at least that was what happened with me as I had killed most of Bolton's men upon finding they've murdered my family - probably not a smart decision, but a justified one in my opinion. Bolton's be damned!) To save the Forresters status, and your own hide (lest it be removed by Ramsay Snow himself) you acquiesce and head north. It is here that you find that you will not be playing one, but multiple members of the Forrester family and their loyal servants.

Switch to Ethan Forrester, now the heir to the Forrester House as the eldest son and current house head was killed in the Red Wedding massacre. Ethan is a sobering experience comparable to that of Arya Stark in the show as he begins to struggle with his loss of innocence in the wake of inheriting so much responsibility. Still, Ethan is a wonderful and proud young noble and I felt that having him accept his duties with grace would best suit a lord of his stature. He was fun to play, especially when experiencing the dynamic between him and his twin sister Talia, and the youngest child Ryon. Their interaction is sweeter than most I'm familiar with in the Game of Thrones universe, and I was a fool to not anticipate from that what horrible fate was to come.

During the time of Ethan learning his new duties there's some classic problem solving that never really felt like it mattered. Dealing with a soldier who had been caught robbing a supply shed, choosing a Sentinel (I choose Tuttle, though truthfully neither seemed like a good fit for the role and were almost cartoonishly opposed to one another's ideals) and the decisions that stemmed from the encroaching issue with the Boltons/Ramsay Snow.

This was where I began to suspect in earnest that this game was on rails. Perhaps later episodes will prove otherwise, but I doubt it.

King's Landing

Enter now Mira Forrester who is handmaiden to Margaery Tyrell.


Can I just stop for a quick moment here and state how odd I felt this setup was? I understand that the Forrester house is from a lesser nobility line, but they were still nobles nonetheless. Why would the eldest daughter be a handmaiden? Furthermore, why would she be a handmaiden to Margaery Tyrell? The Forresters did not seem to have any connection to the great house from Highgarden at all, and there was no hint that any of the women under Margaery's employ while in King's Landing bore any significance at all in the show or the books. Perhaps this was the only way to get familiar characters into the fray so early on, so I digress, but I felt that this could have been done better.

Mira receives a letter from her mother while in King's Landing insisting that she try to convince Margaery Tyrell to request mercy on the Forrester's behalf. It seems they are okay with abandoning their fealty to the Starks now that Robb and Catelyn were dead - another detail that irked me - and pledge allegiance to Joffrey, but worried they would not be permitted to do so given past allegiances. Mira does extend this concern to Margaery after some time, proving herself to not be entirely weak willed, but at the end of the chapter this does not go as planned, leaving both Mira and Margaery in a rather precarious state while under the Lannister's roof.

Meanwhile, Ramsay Snow arrives at Ironrath for no particular reason other than to be Ramsay Snow. Tuttle, my new useless Sentinel, tells me that I need to play nice, whilst the Master at Arms Royland Degore tells me that I need to be firm and keep my foot down. I did my best to make Ethan walk the path that seemed best suited to his character. He was both parts firm but also surrendering where it felt was the best places to appease Snow's ego. I thought I had done a good job, even up to the point of demanding that Talia be left and Ethan take her place as a prisoner as Ramsay seemed wanton to do.

It seems that no matter what choices I would have made in the end, poor Ethan was doomed to die. I was admittedly shocked when Ramsay drove a knife into Ethan's throat, and upset that I had not had any indication of what I had done wrong during gameplay. This left the Forresters without an heir, and without any hope of aid from Kings Landing.  Episode two may prove to be better as Asher Forrester will come into play, but at this point I'm not sure how much I can enjoy a story based game where the story is already determined for me.

I'm more or less watching an interactive TV show at this point, but perhaps this is how all Telltale games truly are and I haven't noticed until now?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! I'll return eventually with a review and synopsis of episode two.