Hey everyone! I just finished Game of Thrones (the role playing game) and I decided to post a little review on Steam but will also leave it here.
First of all, and as always, I'm sorry for the lack of a better English vocabulary as it's not my native language.
Link:
http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198043835726/recommended/208730/
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Without viewing any sort significant gameplay or information before starting the Game of Thrones it became quite an unexpected surprise. If you have a soft spot for these sort of games then I believe this one deserve a humble chance. You will play as two very different characters in different time frames until you reach a point where they will meet in the story. The game offers you a lot of content to read and if you are a fan of the Books or the TV show this will be something you will simply should keep on your radar. There is a vast amount of Lore regarding the cities and the people who live in them, the religion or their beliefs as well, the characters and the different house banners and so on.
There is a lot of talk so I found this game to be very relaxing to play in a nice session after a long, tiresome day. You answer the questions by choosing one of the possible outcomes and they are written in first person. From the main quests to the secondary ones you will be faced with some choices to be made. Some will decide the faith of people, others will let you seek revenge or prove that you are merciful and fair. Expect to be a lot of political games where even when trust is earned you should always suspect everyone, after all, everyone wants their share of wealth. I did some of the secondary quests but not all them. They are mostly focused in side stories and are not boring at all as opposed to those fetch quests where you need to gather ingredients or something similar. Usually, it’s about someone needing help, recruiting members to the Wall, see why someone did something or seek more information that can be useful for you in the future.
The main story is divided in Chapters which offers a great time frame if you just want to play bit here and there. You can start a chapter and be done with it, get some rest and on the next day advance a bit more. I admit that as I was advancing in the game I got surprised more than once for the outcomes I was facing. This is Game of Thrones so you should always expecting deaths from those you love or care while playing the game. Trust no one and remember to not follow only your heart as you might be betrayed for being too gentle.
The combat is slower than any other similar RPG but it can be tactic as well during combat you can open your Abilities wheel and select what moves or skills you want to do. The game won’t fully stop but you will enter in a very slow motion giving you time to make the best strategy for your enemies. Different weapons are good or bad depending on what sort of armor your enemy is wearing. A heavy armor is resistant to swords since it can’t be pierced but are weaker to blunt weapons so pay attention to this in order to end the combat quicker.
The way healing works is also very creative in my opinion. You can get some flasks but they will be empty. Then, you will have to go to a store who sell potions in order to fill them with what you desire. You can fill them with poison, oil in order to burn your enemies and other healing herbs and medicine like the famous milk of the poppy. You can replace already filled bottles with other things if you desire. This is crucial for some harder fights and will help you in the long run.
The voice acting however is very poor, especially in the sad or dramatic scenes. During certain critical events I really tried to let myself get immersed by the things that were happening but the poor voice acting broke the immersion I was trying to achieve. That often used moment of “Noooooo!” is rather embarrassing and anger, sadness or fury moments are not strong enough to make some scenes more believable. It’s a shame because a game with such emphasis on story elements you really want to feel the tension you witness when watching the TV series or when reading the books but I’m afraid that sometimes this simply won’t do. You will notice some voices from the show like Varys the Spider but even with familiar voices, as soon other characters start to talk in a more emotional sense it won’t feel immersive. As for the normal and non-emotional conversations I believe it’s more than doable.
The visuals are also nothing to be amazed but this did not bother me at all. I played the game at 1080p and while it’s nothing to be stunned about I noticed some really nice details like when you are carrying a shield in your back and you see the scratches in it or the reflections of the sun in that golden lion shield from the Lannisters. While this is not a game to be played for the visuals I also saw my fair share of people trespassing doors, my dog getting his head between the iron of gates and other small glitches. Nothing game breaking, you just see that it’s something that could have been more polished. Because it’s in the deep of the lore that you will find the bigger satisfaction I ended up ignoring these small technical issues and I focused on my decisions, the stories and most of all, the outcomes based on what I said or done.
If you are a fan of the theme then I believe this game deservers a fair chance. It took me around 20 hours to finish (one of) the endings and I know there’s some replay value if you wish to see a different ending in the last couple of chapters.
And i have feeling that i will want to buy Mad Max game after watching movie XD
