ame of Thrones. After playing Batman I still had a craving for some visual novel goodness. Considering House of Dragons season 2 is right around the corner (I'm yet to watch the first) and I'm introducing my partner to the original show, I thought it'd be a great time to get back into it. I remember playing the first episode when it originally came it, but I never got around to the follow up episodes. It reminds me of why I hate episodic content for games so much and just started to wait for the final game. Especially considering how episode 1 ends with Ramsay shafting the current Lord Forrester, the second youngest son, Ethan. As for the game itself, the characters are very well written for Game of Thrones standards, which is a tall order. I enjoyed all the characters and their performance. Rodrik Forrester who survived the Red Wedding; in whom the noble Forrester legacy survives. You must balance the survival of your family and house. Will you be a broken bird trying to survive the new world under the Boltons are hold on to the proud and honourable tradition of your house. I did a good job playing the Game of Thrones; and once recovered from the Red Wedding Rodrik has his badass moment sacrificing himself to save Asher and the house. Asher is a little bit more of a loose gun; exiled to Essos for his risky behaviour on the Forrester name. He's been asked to recruit a new army and ends up in the same camp as the one and only Daenerys Targaryen. He doesn't get his mercenary company from her, but he does get some blood thirsty newly freed pit fighters. Mira was also cool, watching her interact with Sera, her hand maid as well as old favourites like Tyrion, Cersei, Margery, and presumably Varys through the coal boy Tom. They do a good job of making King's Landing feel civilized, and yet more dangerous than House Forrester or Essos at times.
Garret killed men who killed his family; bannerman of the Boltons; and as a result must be sent to the Wall as he's a risk to House Forrester. In doing so he's given a mission to find the Northern Grove; the dying which of Lord Forrester who died at the red wedding. The Northern Grove is protector by two of the Lord's bastards. One is a warg with a polar bear called, Shadow. Name is pretty lame but everything else about him is cool. The sister also has the ability to control undead via the Northen Grove, an interesting power and secret. The side characters are also fantastic; especially Sera Flowers in how you navigate your relationship with her and you maintain he as a loyal and useful friend, while you both balance your favour with Margery Tyrell. She is a bastard with her own agenda, to find a husband and not remain nameless "trash" forever. Finn and Cotter, brothers of the night watch are fantastic. Initially antagonistic you can win them over. The one man who survived that murdered Garret's family is sent to the night's watch and tries to get revenge on Garret for snitching. Garret kills him, and as a result is imprisoned pending his execution under order of Ice Fingers. So Cotter and Finn help break him out and the go to the North Grove. Turns out Cotter is a wilding and has a sister, who is also on of my favourite characters, especially in her design with her ashen her. She's a young wildling who's very capable and has survived on her own even amongst White Walkers.
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The art is absolutely breathtaking with its water colour style.
They do a good job intertwining actual characters like Dany, Margery, Jon, Tyrion, Cersei without them getting in the way. Sometimes it does feel hopeless with characters like Ramsay Snow just around the corner. But at the same time they do a reasonable job balancing it. Ramsay clearly a sadist, would be happy to see the houses kill each other and to the victor go the spoils. Basically removing the unkillable boogieman from the equation, a smart move. But it still presents the problem of the show's canon. Why wouldn't I be subservient to Ramsay, I know I can't win. Why wouldn't I manipulate Tyrion for Cersei, I know the outcome. Luckily these are few and far between with focus on the new characters and smaller houses, which is a fantastic angle. All in all it's a mini Game of Thrones, and you feel like you're moving the chess pieces to assemble forces, acquire funds and favour, marrying houses, etc. This approach could have easily carried through the show with a new season following every season of the show. Especially with 5 seasons (should have been more) to follow after the first game season started. We could have seen Forresters join the watch and eventually Jon Stark in the battle of the bastard, restoring his name.
Speaking of characters the villains are equally well written. The White Hill are proud, arrogant and warlike. They use to have a forest of their own but they're poor craftsman and they wasted all their Ironwood, hence the name White Hill. Ludd and his 4th son Gryff are both arrogant pieces of scum who get off on power tripping and antagonizing anyone they can. They do a good job of making you hate them just as much as Joffery, Ramsay and the worst of Game of Thrones. Making it all the more harder when the option for peace comes. Towards the end of the game Rodrik had died and I was beyond caring. Asher was a killer and all I could see was red. Nevermind that his childhood love proposed another way, to wed the houses and undermine his father, Ludd needed to die. Unfortunately this does not happen but I did get to kill Gryff and Ludd's commander who got the final blow on Rodrik. Rodrik, Elissa, Ethan, Mira and Asher on the doorstep all dead and for nothing as Ludd lives on. I would have been okay if we got the sequel it was trying to setup where Asher gets revenge and takes back his house. Also with Garret and the bastards marching south. But I'll never get that. Oh well I suppose no happy ending.
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| You're dead you son of a... |
The biggest criticism and only major one I have of this game is perfectly shown in Asher or Rodrik, you get to choose who lives and dies. And here in lies the problem, your choices up until this point have no bearing and don't matter, there is no outcome in which both live. Characters will say something like "Mira failed to stop the sellswords" but that's a lie and it all comes down to the final choices. I have no issue with that, just stop pretending like they do matter. To add insult to injury characters have the exact same lines and animations in how they die. No individual character, just swap the models. We have the same issue with Duncan (or Royland) betraying you and leaking information to the White Hill's to "save House Forrester" because you didn't make him the Sentinel. Nothing will change this. And no matter which sentinel you choose it has no actual consequence other than who betrays you. Or if Asher you choose to wed Gwyn, Ludd won't listen to reason and everything occurs as it did. The only difference is she picks you up instead of Elissa in the end. In the end I enjoyed the story and characters for what it was, even if the ending left a sour taste in my mouth. It's pretty clear the outdated "your choices matter" speech bubbles illusion had started to fade and people were getting sick of it.
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| A sequel would have been nice. |
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