After an explosive first episode, and a second episode that suffered from severe growing pains, Telltale’s Game of Thrones uses its third episode, The Sword in the Darkness, to establish what will, hopefully, be a consistent pace and cast. This episode does have its fair share of faults, but, on the whole, is an enjoyable experience, that makes good use of its plot and characters. The rest of the game is typical Telltale fare, so most will know whether or not that formula appeals to them by this point.
The strongest parts of Game of Thrones‘ story so far have been those that do not incorporate characters and story elements from the show. The trend continues in this episode, with Asher and Rodrik’s stories being far and away the most engaging. Asher’s brazen, adventurous life is the perfect juxtaposition to Rodrik, who is calculating, and capable of keeping a cool head. As interesting and well done as this contrast is, it is ultimately damaging to the game. Both characters are engaging in their own right, but their differences undermine decision making. Their personalities seem truly set in stone, and there does not seem to be much room for the player to actually craft their own characters.
For the first time since this series began, and indeed, for the first time in a Telltale game, I felt like my choices didn’t matter. This isn’t inherently a problem, but so much of Telltale’s allure is the fact that the player determines the story. In The Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us, it was possible to achieve different outcomes based on your choices in nearly every situation. But in Game of Thrones, there are simply too many scripted scenes. One scene in particular, concerning Gared, comes to mind – where you have no choice but to resolve a character conflict in a specific way, which in turn forces another plot line in a direction that I had done my best to avoid, and I felt truly undermined.
Such is the nature of the property, I guess, and being a vehement fan of both the books and the show, I should be used to story arcs ending unfavorably. And it’s not like the plot is poorly executed, in fact, the writing remains as solid as ever. It’s just a bummer, to me at least, that even the illusion of choice is so quickly dismantled. Whereas in the first two episodes I really felt like I was sculpting characters within the universe, here I felt like I was just playing out an episode of the show that had been written for me. I could make decisions when it came to minor character interactions, but not only were these largely irrelevant, they created some inconsistencies within the universe.
On a brighter note, the writers finally convinced me to get on board with Mira’s character and plot. There seem to be more intricacies added in this episode than existed over the course of the previous two, and that’s great. Mira was starting to slip into a role equivalent to that of Sansa Stark – helpless and boring. Fortunately, her story unfolded in a very interesting manner, in spite of it being impacted by a key story event from the show/books. Telltale’s handling of this specific instance, which I will avoid spoiling, was masterful, in that it very well could have resulted in Mira’s character losing all relevance. Instead, there really seems to be some newfound relevance to the events unfolding at King’s Landing, and that’s good.
As for Rodrik, we have more of the same as episodes one and two. However, with a faster pace than last episode, it really feels like things are coming to a head between the Whitehills and the Forresters, especially if the climactic confrontation between Rodrik and Gryff in this episode is anything to go by. The subterfuge and political gambling that has characterized this part of the story is still present, and exceptionally well handled. The same is very true of Asher’s adventures in Meereen. There are some very cool interactions here – including the one choice that might actually matter. It may not directly impact how the plot turns out, but it should impact character development in some very intriguing ways. That said, not much actually happens. Asher’s plot treads a little bit of water here, and ultimately ends up feeling like a fetch quest, but at least the writing remains interesting.
On many occasions, it’s easy to forget that this is a game. On the one hand, this is a testament to how good the story telling is – but I’ve beaten that point to death over the course of my reviews of this series. On the other hand, it is a massive detriment to the game. While Telltale games aren’t known for their gameplay, Game of Thrones probably has the least of it. Even dialogue choices aren’t as common as they are in other Telltale games. Most of the time spent with this game will be watching events and conversations unfold in front of your eyes, while occasionally being asked to interact with the world. For the most part, that’s fine, but it does end up feeling a little bit lazy on the part of Telltale.
All of this makes The Sword in the Darkness really hard to evaluate. A Song of Ice and Fire fans will undoubtedly love it, as there’s a lot here for them to enjoy. However, for those unfamiliar with the world, and looking for a hardcore gaming experience, this shouldn’t even be a consideration. I loved it, but as I get deeper into this series, I can’t help but wonder if this entire affair would have been better served as a 4-5 episode spin off mini-series of Game of Thrones.
