Game of Thrones: Episode One - Iron From Ice Reviews
Game of Thrones Ep 1: Iron from Ice is a strong start for Telltale's adventure in George R. R. Martin's fantasy world.
An uninspiring start to the season, that even fans of the show will find stilted and tedious. Although they can still foster high hopes for later episodes.
An intriguing and suspenseful first look into the Forresters' lives that hits all of the tones that Telltale and George R. R. Martin are known for
'Iron from Ice' is a rocky start to a promising story
Game of Thrones' first episode is a slow-burn beginning to a bloody political thriller with an original cast that shines.
All the same, Iron From Ice succeeds far more often than it falters. It's yet another Telltale game that lives in those difficult moments, when you're glad it's your on-screen character standing there and not you.
Adapting a prestige cable drama like Game of Thrones is no easy feat and could have easily ended in embarrassment for Telltale Games. Thankfully, they've done a very good job of capturing the show's often depressing essence, setting the stage for an intriguing story to come. With the show's fifth season still four months out, Iron from Ice proves itself a very good appetizer for one of the most popular series on television despite the occasional technical hiccup.
This video game adaptation of Game of Thrones is solid enough to be mandatory for fans of the series, but should be considered carefully by fans of the adventure genre.
Still, that narrative is the focus, and it is strong. If Zer0 Sum left me looking forward to future episodes of Tales from the Borderlands because things are going to get awesome, Iron From Ice does the polar opposite for Game of Thrones. The bad situation that House Forrester is in is only going to get worse. It feels like a punch to the gut, and it sets the stage for an intensely emotionally draining experience. In spite of its blemishes, so far it looks like Game of Thrones: A Telltale Game Series deserves its place in the A Song of Ice and Fire lore.
The premiere episode in Telltale's Game of Thrones series does a lot of things right. Certainly, it manages to capture the political overtones as well as the high fantasy setting of the series it is based on, and it does them justice, bringing in new characters and plots not adapted from the book series. That's an achievement in itself, and while it doesn't stray too much from Telltale's formula, it adapts an excellent property to something which we've seen hit the mark time and time again.
Fans of the TV show can breath a sigh of relief as, even with graphical hiccups, the foundation for an engrossing story is there.
Despite the high standard of the property and developer, Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series Episode 1 - Iron From Ice manages to hold up to nearly every expectation and delivers a gaming experience on par with the HBO show.
Give me more. Let me undo what I have done. Telltale, I need to see what happens next, and I need to make sure that I can fix it.
All told though, no previous Telltale game has made me feel this tense and this wary. It's dangerous. Its pacing is nothing at all like the show's, but its ever-looming dread very much is. I only hope the rest of the series similarly refuses to pull punches.
The game channels the TV show – complete with a surrogate Stark family – but does it hew too close to carve out its own identity?
Iron From Ice is a strong start to the series, which some promising narrative setups, a believable atmosphere, and one particularly shocking moment that made my jaw drop.
Despite graphical hiccups and some decisions that don't affect the end result, the series premiere of Telltale's 'Game of Thrones' is worth the journey.
Experienced Telltale fans and achievement hunters probably know exactly what to expect here; an easy completion. All of the achievements are automatically unlocked through natural progression, so players can sit back, "relax", and "enjoy" the story. And what a story it is. While my ending left my jaw on the floor and a burning desire to "set things right", it held me captivated for just over two hours.
Game of Thrones: Episode 1 - Iron from Ice is certainly not bad by any stretch of the imagination, but it hits nowhere near as hard as it maybe should have. Bits and pieces show promise for future episodes – particularly the conclusion – but all of the pieces are not yet in place. With more playable characters and an extra episode in this season, there's definitely potential here – it's just not been realised so far.