As an offshoot of the television series, the Telltale game is trying to replicate the rhythm of the scenes from Game of Thrones. First, we get a little bit of the Asher in Yunkai storyline, then a little of Rodrik at Ironwrath, a bit of Gerard at The Wall, then King’s Landing with Mira, before we’re back to Ironwrath, and so on and so forth. “Iron From Ice” didn’t quite capture this back and forth flow of the soap operatic style that Game of Thrones and other television shows in the recent decade have elevated beyond that of daytime television purgatory. It’s the same form, but with focus put on other aspects besides tension that fails to advance the plot. “The Lost Lords” nails this flow in ways that the first episode failed to do. It held on too long to the events at one location before cutting to the action at another. The scenes here are much shorter, flow better, and nicely hide the fact that not much of the plot advances.
Things do happen over the course of “The Lost Lords,” but not a lot in terms of traditional plotting. We are introduced to two new playable characters — to compensate for the events of the last episode. The aforementioned Asher Forrester, in voluntary exile now playing the mercenary in Essos, and Rodrik, thought to be dead at the Twins, but not quite, as he is deposited back in his home in Ironwrath. Asher is a Han Solo figure. You might be able to shape who he is now and how he’s grown in his time away from the Seven Kingdoms, but he will always have that same cocky swagger and brash personality. His battle partner Beskha is herself a treat to behold, and their partnership is a pleasure watch unfold. Rodrik is not quite as easily defined, though he is in a more difficult position. Injured, scarred, and weak, he now finds himself missing a father and a brother as well as in charge of the estate. He has to play the game of thrones from a weakened position and an ill favored one.
They are the new additions to the game alongside last episode’s Gerard Tuttle, now at The Wall and taking the black, and Mira Forrester, handmaiden to Margery Tyrell, navigating the deceptive halls of King’s Landing. Gerard does meet Jon Snow at The Wall and we get our cameo from him and honestly, without the threat of repercussions or the anchor of his loyalty to the Forresters he is just not as interesting as the rest of the cast. Though part of that is that at this point in the story The Wall is just waiting for things to happen. Mira’s story on the other hand continues to be the big question mark. She’s interesting, her placement amongst the other movers and shakers of Westeros is interesting, yet there it remains unclear where her plotline is going. Mystery and deception is a big part of her storyline, so that unknown factor is a boon for now. However, too much mystery could lead to that part of the game floundering for purpose beyond concerning ourselves with Mira’s fate.
That may sound a bit callous, as I do find her to be likable character, so her fate should matter to me. However, Game of Thrones is about bigger things than the fate of individuals, no matter how much we may like them. That’s why there are so many point-of-view characters, to give us access to all that is going on in as many places as possible and to highlight all that is happening and how it all interconnects. There are a few nods in the dialogue to how her efforts could matter to the wider fate of the Forrester family. Tyrion’s offer in particular is a cornerstone to this engagement, but again, we will see how important that ends up being going forward.
I’m seeing dramatic irony more and more in narrative based games as of late. I see it in Unrest, Life is Strange, Kentucky Route Zero, and now I’m seeing it pop up in Telltale’s recent offerings. If you’ve been keeping up with the television show or are ahead of the rest of us thanks to the books, you know the fates of the canonical characters, Tyrion in particular, what happens to them and what they do. In the face of that, we as the player, have more information than the characters could ever hope to have, no matter how many little birds they have fluttering around the castle. It creates an interesting dynamic regarding how the player makes their choices. If you’re not up to speed on the world of Game of Thrones, then it’s business as usual. For me, it’s just that extra dollop of tension and classical tragedy added on top of the whole experience.
Additionally, Game of Thrones is offering me something new in the adventure game genre, something even other Telltale games haven’t offered. What are the modus operandi of their games? The Walking Dead was about escape, one could argue survival, but usually survival in the form of escaping some place or someone. The Wolf Among Us was about investigation and Tales From the Borderlands is about initiating chaos. There’s an entire genre that has formed around that first approach to games, they’re called escape the room games. Presented differently, maybe, but with the same fundamental core. Investigation is the cornerstone of plenty of games that base themselves around detectives, the Tex Murphy series and Beneath a Steel Sky come to mind. As for initiating chaos, you don’t have to look further than Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle and the rest of LucasArts back catalog.
Game of Thrones is giving us something different in the adventure game genre. We are finally engaging with intrigue. Yes, “The Lost Lords” starts off with a quick time event action sequence, but much of the rest of it is about setting the pieces up to be able to make moves later. We are making arrangements to gather an army, what would be considered a lesser episode in the television show as these events would only be setting things up for the blowout centerpiece dramatic and action oriented episodes later on. However, by putting the player in charge, the setup is fascinating in itself. I’m not watching characters read each other while they avoid saying what they mean. That’s now my job. I think that’s better than whatever else a Game of Thrones game could offer us.