Game of Thrones: Episode Three - The Sword in the Darkness Reviews

Game of Thrones: Episode Three - The Sword in the Darkness is ranked in the 67th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
8 / 10
Mar 22, 2015

Telltale's journey through Westeros has hit a high point.

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GamesBeat
Top Critic
85 / 100
Mar 22, 2015

This is probably the weakest episode yet, but only because of those very minor problems in the first section of the game. Don't take that as some kind of damning criticism because this is still a very good experience.

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7.5 / 10.0
Mar 23, 2015

Game of Thrones Episode 3 is a pretty solid entry in the series made by Telltale Games. It takes the overall story to some interesting new areas, but some aspects, such as the Rodrik sequences, tend to feel repetitive and uninspired. The next few episodes are shaping up to bring some even bigger events, so expect to see even more interesting developments in the future.

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8.5 / 10.0
Mar 24, 2015

The game of thrones is never an easy game to play, and while House Forrester is currently on the losing end of it, "The Sword in the Darkness" at least shows that hope may still remain for the family's safety by the season's end: even if it's only a silver lining.

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6 / 10
Mar 24, 2015

An episode where plenty goes on, but neither story nor characters are actually advanced a great deal. The Ironrath Forresters are still miserable hostages, Asher still needs an army, and Gared is still doing Nights Watch duties. A few revelations, plus Mira's dynamism, keep things from going stale.

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Dan Stapleton
Top Critic
7.7 / 10.0
Mar 24, 2015

Early excitement and newfound purpose puts Telltale's Game of Thrones back on track in Episode 3.

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5 / 10.0
Mar 24, 2015

At the middle point, Game of Thrones is losing its momentum and, except for Gared and elements of Rodrik's story, hasn't shown enough progression to get people excited for what's to come.

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8 / 10.0
Mar 24, 2015

Episode Three fulfills all the promises it needs to for fans of the Game of Thrones TV series, even if it doesn't necessarily give old school adventure game fans much to actually do in terms of interactivity.

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Mar 24, 2015

Game of Thrones Episode 3 is certainly the most consistent entry in the series, with great action and storytelling throughout. The issues from Episode 2 still crop up though, and more concrete progress is needed to truly satisfy.

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8.3 / 10.0
Mar 24, 2015

House Forrester is bloodied further in this episode, and Gared's story makes a fun turn into unexplored Game of Thrones territory

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8 / 10.0
Mar 24, 2015

We're now officially halfway through Telltale's trip through Westeros, and the twists and turns show no signs of stopping.

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Mar 24, 2015

The Sword in the Darkness stays the course for Telltale's Game of Thrones series, though it still feels like the story is waiting around for something to finally happen

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8 / 10.0
Mar 24, 2015

Gared's story culminates in a wonderful sequence that, again, I cannot detail without ruining things, but rest assured this is one of the finer climaxes Telltale's done. A stylishly paced scene of conflict that should definitely satisfy some need for justice – and lord knows this story could use some justice now and then.

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4.1 / 5.0
Mar 25, 2015

While Episode 3 of Telltale's A Game of Thrones still has some problems, it's certainly learning more about how the Game of Thrones narrative progresses. Its low points are still kind of disappointing and boring, but its high points are truly phenomenal. It's these set pieces like the fight with the dragon, the standoff against an invading house, and the fated confrontation atop the wall, that make Episode 3 a treat to play and make me very excited to see what Telltale has in store for Episode 4.

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8 / 10.0
Mar 25, 2015

But as a whole, the group finally has direction. Where the first two episodes took their time setting up the narrative machine, The Sword in the Darkness finally puts that machine into motion. Telltale's initial promise that each character's actions will ripple out and affect the others is coming to fruition. I only expect to see that even more with the next episode.

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8 / 10.0
Mar 25, 2015

The put-upon Forrester family keeps getting pushed, and in Episode Three you can decide whether a couple of them finally stand firm

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88%
Mar 25, 2015

Fans of the books and TV series will love taking part in Martin's world.

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Mar 25, 2015

Game of Thrones delivers intrigue like no other game can, and the third episode will leave players yearning to find out if their choices were the right ones to make – and that's how you know Telltale Games has done a phenomenal job.

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7.5 / 10.0
Mar 25, 2015

Game of Thrones: Episode 3 -The Sword in the Darkness puts the series in a good spot. Asher has a decent amount of action, and his straightforward story is a nice contrast to everyone else's tales. Mira's situation is as tense as ever, and it doesn't look like the game will let up anytime soon. Gared's tale has gotten traction and gone from boring to exciting in one fell swoop. Rodrik's part in the episode still feels like it's spinning its wheels, but if you played things out a certain way, the events at the end signal the beginning of a spark . As long as the pacing of episode releases is right, there's enough here to keep players invested while the TV show rolls on.

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6 / 10
Mar 26, 2015

Telltale's take on Game of Thrones feels quite low-key compared to some of the goings on in the main series, but this episode begins to move away from that being a problem and starts using it to its advantage, as it shows you different sides of familiar situations. There's still a lot of filler to get through, though, and it's very dialogue heavy with little to offer in terms of unique gameplay. Hopefully, now that we're getting past the halfway point, the next episode will be much more enjoyable.

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