It’s the final episode in Telltale Games’ take on the Game of Thrones franchise. Whilst the majority of their games take place over five episodes, in this case, there have been of course, six. Let’s hope this extra allowance for exposition and plot lines doesn’t interfere with their usual focus on pacing during ‘The Ice Dragon’.
With each of the characters strewn across the land, each trying to stem the inevitable onslaught of House Whitehill, things look bleak for the members of House Forrester. Factoring in the knowledge that anything to do with George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones series almost always ends in disaster and death for any beloved character, it’s suffice to say that things likely won’t go as you wish.
What with it being the final chapter in the series, I’ll try to go a little light on the actual events that occur throughout in order to avoid any particular major spoilers. Mira’s story arch takes a shocking turn during the end of the episode and finally takes place as probably my favourite character, particularly after a rather slow start. She’s posed with a few choices that will ultimately decide what form of person she is; it’s up to you and your previous selections to decide to either follow up on your promises or not. For me, I took the moral high ground, and was painfully pleased with the outcome. Especially as how her many predicaments in Kings Landing had grown upon me over the course of the series.
Gared Tuttle/Jon Snow’s ambitious quest to reach the fabled North Grove continues ever onwards too. After a few too many parallels between the two during the previous chapters, Gared’s tale, as with many others in the show itself, takes a turn for the occult; thankfully it distances the two a little more before it became farcical. Whilst you might not get any particular sense of closure from the ending of this individual’s tangent, it does at least feel as though a journey has been accomplished. Ultimately feeling like the central character throughout the episodes, puts a lot more pressure on the writers to come up with suitable interactions; sadly I do feel as though they’ve tried to cram in too many situations. It was heavily foretold in the first episode that he was to reach the North Grove, yet looking back; everything in-between feels more like filler to pad the length out for him.
Due to the absolute choice you’ll have made in the last episode regarding the other two playable characters, I’ll not reveal the consequences of the actions you’ll have to account for in this one. It’s safe to say that in this episode, you’ll finally have a chance at acting out some pent up revenge due to there being a majority of battle scenes throughout. It’s handled well and dishes out some truly tense moments that seemingly only Telltale Games can manage of late. Aping the show in every sense, it was great to see some of the more diverse choices pan out and see how it affected the finale.
That said however, whilst playing through the ending, it’s painfully clear that a second series was in mind. Some story arcs are left feeling mostly complete, yet others are essentially left on a cliff-hanger. Whilst this wasn’t entirely unexpected due to how much they’d have had to squeeze into this final chapter, it does leave a little sourness after having connected with them all for so long. There is an unusual, but very welcome voiceover upon completion that goes over your significant choices in respect to other peoples; it did somehow help give a little closure after a slightly underwhelming ending.
As an overall series, it had its ups and downs, the pacing of some characters made them feel slightly underdeveloped and underutilised. The loveable rogue Asher for example, he finally started to become less of a side plot in the previous chapter. Throughout his saga he’s had some of the best character relationships, mainly due to his connection with Beskha, who on her own, could easily have been more fleshed out than some of the games’ main cast. Mira for me, started out plain, but seeing her become so embroiled in the savage political minefield of King’s Landing, and her trying to figure out how to play each and every person at their own game, eventually made her sections the most enjoyable to me by far.
An issue I had at the start with the game as a whole, were their equivalent ‘real’ counterparts, which at the very beginning, you couldn’t help feel they were a little too close to. Throughout the series however, some have blossomed into their own unique personalities and distanced themselves from the stigma of comparison. Sadly though, Gared (not Jon Snow) Tuttle still borrows too heavily for my liking.
At the end of the day, I had a great time with Telltale’s take on Game of Thrones, it might not be their best work, but that’s only because everything they touch is held to such high acclaim. If you’re a fan of their work, or even just a Game of Thrones fan, (I’m pretty sure that there’s a few of those out there too) then give it a go and see how badly you can make things for House Forrester.
