Game of Thrones: Episode Five - A Nest of Vipers Reviews
Game of Thrones Episode 5 takes a turn south with some out-of-character portrayals and lack of forward momentum.
The penultimate episode of the first Game of Thrones season takes gamers on an emotional rollercoaster with devastating choices, exciting combat, and a pleasing plotline.
A disappointing chapter in an otherwise outstanding series
Game of Thrones' fifth episode is a return to what we expect from something attached to the HBO series: bloodshed, intrigue, and bitter heartbreak.
'A Nest of Vipers' prioritizes the story over your choices
The technical problems of episodes past — the variable frame rate, incessant hitching, visual glitches, etc — persist here, but at this point, we're so used to them that it hardly feels worthy of a callout here. Mostly it's just a bummer that A Nest of Vipers doesn't continue the steady uptick in quality we saw over the previous two episodes, but Episode Five nonetheless proves itself a necessary step in the lead-up to the season's conclusion next episode.
Despite the bugs and painful moments, I love the story that Telltale and I are weaving together. I'm always a sucker for characters, and I'll forgive even the weakest and dumbest plots if a storyteller delivers believable, likable (or understandably dislikable) people who I want to get to know better.
A vast improvement on episode four, and gets the series back to where it should be, containing emotional moments and lots of action.
It's strange. Detailing all of A Nest of Vipers' parts makes it sound about average, if not even a little disappointing compared to the previous episode. But this one ends up working well as a cohesive unit, even if some pieces fall flat. This episode has its highs and its lows, but it still leaves an unforgettable impression.
It's hard to say whether this episode of Telltale's Game of Thrones series is a genuine standout piece of work amongst their other stuff, or is simply elevated due to some of the other episodes in this series being far less exciting. Nevertheless, it's still a thrilling experience, and looks to be working towards a superb finale for the series.
Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series Episode 5 - A Nest of Vipers isn't the best episode of the flawed, but engaging series, but it is still up there with the best of them. A couple of issues persist, such as show characters causing narrative confusion, and one or two stories not really progressing all that much, but overall fans should find themselves happy with the direction the series is going.
The next-to-last episode of Telltale's take on George R.R. Martin's fantasy universe will leave you sweating over life and death decisions
Episode Six is going to have to pull out all the stops to regain the ground lost here. I'm hoping it does.
However, despite the occasionally poor animations and the poor handling of the passage of time, Telltale's Game of Thrones: Episode 5 – A Nest of Vipers presents its players with some stressful, tough choices, and uses QTEs in an fun way. It will be exciting to see where the last episode will take House Forrester, and whether they will meet their downfall or their saving grace.
At this juncture, fans who've bought into this game series owe it to themselves to see it through, but I can't help but feel that Telltale is imitating the tantalizing and oft-parodied abuse of GRRM all too well. With the constant second guessing, heart-breaking choices, and general feeling of dread and terribleness, it's hard to see a positive outcome around the corner for the series... but that's to be expected. This is Game of Thrones, and when you play the game you either win or you die. With one episode left, I'd say that proposition is about a 50-50 bet.
The penultimate episode of Game of Thrones is a bit of a mess. While there's a lot of meat in this instalment, it still ends up tasting a bit bland. Between oddly behaving characters, technical issues, and poor plotting, this feels like Telltale's least inspired release in some time.
A Nest of Vipers keeps the story-telling train chugging along nicely whilst getting it closer to the endgame. Another good episode in the bag and leaves plenty to look forward to in the series finale.
I'm still hopeful for a fulfilling closure to the emotional roller coaster that the game has subjected players to so far. I just hope that it involves giving a dish to the Whitehills that's best served cold. Perhaps with a frozen cherry on top. Hey, Iron from Ice, man.
With an increase in action, Game of Thrones: Episode 5 - A Nest of Vipers exists as an improvement over the series' recent episodes, and sets up a potentially grand finale with a shocking ending.
With the arrival of the penultimate episode of Game of Thrones comes a rush of mixed feelings. I don't want it to be over, but House Forrester needs resolution.