The problem here is that interactions with them, especially those that offer choices, don’t have the same impact.
Game of Thrones on the other hand uses characters from the HBO show more and more often as the series goes on. The Wolf Among Us also used established characters, but played with the idea more, creating interesting scenarios where characters who should survive seemingly didn’t. While The Walking Dead featured characters from the comics, it quickly branched into its own story, allowing players to exist in a sort of pocket universe. One issue that has been unique to Game of Thrones is the fact that it takes place in such a well-known universe, and pulls characters directly from its source material. Still, even if we all end up in the same place at the end of this adventure, it has been an enjoyable one so far.
In most cases in Game of Thrones, at least those not involving characters from the show, it feels like we are actually getting at least a little bit of a shift in the narrative, though without the full season available it is tough to tell. Of course, whenever the matter of choice in games comes up, the question is always, how different does it truly make the game. This is true once again in Game of Thrones Episode 5 – A Nest of Vipers, with a couple of choices that made me stop and question which path to take. It doesn’t feel completely different than other graphic adventure games, but the choices being presented here seem to have more weight to them than those others. While the story progression might not be up to par with other Telltale offerings, one thing that Game of Thrones has always excelled at, even over its brethren, is the choice mechanic.
These moments can be a little jarring, feeling like sudden shifts that we should have seen play out, but it is much better than the alternative that we’ve seen in the other arcs. The other two running stories, those of Rodrik and Asher, thankfully don’t suffer the same fate, even jumping ahead a couple of times. However, they are still fairly lackluster, despite having the usual high quality voice acting and writing that Telltale is known for. Here she has a lot of run-ins with important characters from the show, but doesn’t really feel like an integral part of the overall narrative.īoth of these stories do still have some enjoyable parts, including Mira chatting with Tyrion, and Gared running into some Wights. Mira is likewise still caught up in the politics and intrigue of King’s Landing. After that though, little has truly pushed the narrative forward, with a few interesting set-pieces and story beats, but overall we’re still searching for the North Grove, just like we were back in Episode 2. At first Gared felt like a plot retread of Jon Snow’s storyline from the HBO show, only really coming into his own in Episode 4. This time around it is the usual suspects of Gared and Mira. That progress has been lacking quite a bit in this series, with each story suffering from it at times. Here though, while some events might cheapen your actions in the last episode, the end result is great progress plot-wise. Asher has been one of the more enjoyable stories in the game, while also being the focus of a lot of wheel-spinning in previous episodes.
The last of these is where we get the most action, and the most progress in the story. Elsewhere we check in with Mira, Gared, and Asher. Ramsay Snow makes yet another appearance at Ironroth, bringing his particular brand of insanity to the affair, while setting the stage for the finale. Without spoiling too much, it is not looking good for the Forresters and their allies. Game of Thrones Episode 5 opens immediately where the last episode left things. With Episode 5 – A Nest of Vipers the magic still isn’t completely there, but some great strides are taken to get it back. Some unknown piece of the Telltale and Game of Thrones magic hasn’t really been there, resulting in episodes that are decently entertaining, but don’t quite hold the same punch as Telltale’s other efforts. Combining this talent with the powerhouse that is HBO’s Game of Thrones only made sense, but something has been missing. The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us, and Tales from the Borderlands have all featured stellar writing that lent itself to a fantastic world.
Telltale has pretty consistently delivered the best stories in video games over the last few years. Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series heads into its penultimate episode with Episode 5 – A Nest of Vipers.