Game of Thrones Episode Six: The Ice Dragon review round up

With the release of Episode Six: The Ice Dragon, Telltale’s first season of Game of Thrones has come to an end. Was it any good? Is it worth making the long trip to Westeros for the drama, backstabbing, and even more drama and backstabbing? Let’s see what the critics think…

Oh, please take note that some of the blurbs may contain spoilers. Be sure to avert your eyes if you are looking to play the game yourself at some stage.

Destructoid – 7/10

The Ice Dragon caps off a year of fretting and worrying. Telltale’s take on Game of Thrones has been spot-on in that regard. Now that it’s over it’s almost a relief, even with a bleak end.

Gamespot – 8/10

In the end, Telltale’s Game of Thrones succeeds in telling a violent, sad story that feels very much at home in the world of Westeros. By the finale, the danger feels real and your choices feel like they have mattered. At times the episodes pass over ground well-trodden by the original series and the game feels more like an adaptation of the source material than a standalone story, but the introduction of several unpredictable plot twists makes up for the predictability of its earlier episodes. Telltale’s Game of Thrones delivers grand battles and unavoidable heartbreak, and despite some out-of-place or overused elements from the source material, it’s a journey in Westeros worth having.

IGN – 6.7

We knew this wasn’t going to end in happiness for the Forresters – if it had, I’d be crying foul that it didn’t feel like Game of Thrones at all. The problem is that sense of inevitability mixes with the lack of resolution for major parts of the plot in an unappealing way. Most of what this uneven season finale has to offer is found in a few strong moments and continued hope for answers to questions in a hypothetical season 2.

The Jimquisition – 5/10

As a big fan of Telltale’s work, and a Game of Thrones aficionado, I found this to be a dismal letdown. I expected better – hell, I at least expected to feel something at the end of this chapter. Instead, I feel nothing. I’m just completely apathetic to the whole thing, and I feel no reason to be excited about a second season because, well… it’ll just be more of the same, if past experience is any indicator.

PC Gamer – 65/100 (for the whole season)

I don’t regret my time with Game of Thrones. It captures the hopelessness of the main series well (although at times it threatens to venture into parody), and in the absence of any true resolutions, I appreciate that it let me vent my frustrations by ramming Valyrian steel through the skull of an insufferable asshole with the help of the usual button prompts and arrow keys. Deep down, I want to look forward to another season. I kind of want to finally see what’s so special about the North Grove. But after almost a year of misery piled on misery and after months of placing my hopes on cliffhangers that lead to nothing substantial, right now I’m convinced that winter can’t come for this world quickly enough.

It seems pretty mixed to me, or rather, that Game of Thrones isn’t anything spectacular (at least not when compared to Tales from the Borderlands which got rave reviews). Still, I will probably pick it up on the next Steam sale. I’m curious to see exactly how Telltale handled this brutal world and setting.

Last Updated: November 18, 2015