Review

Game of Thrones: Episode 3: The Sword in the Darkness

Telltale’s latest chapter in their Game of Thrones episodic series, The Sword in the Darkness, was a treat. It seems with every episode that releases it gets harder and harder to make decisions. This is the first one that doesn’t include a new playable character, allowing the focus to be on the developing conflict as opposed to introductions. With the struggle for power shifting heavily between characters…well, let’s just say that this is definitely the most nerve racking episode yet!

The Sword in the Darkness starts off like other episodes, with a lot of action. Asher along with Malcolm and Beskha are off to Meereen in search of an army to help the Forrester family, but the legion who’s looking to extract their revenge is right behind them. At the wall Gared struggles to control his shaky relationship with Fin. After they take their vows at the wall more recruits are brought in and an unexpected reunion occurs. Mira is in King’s landing on a very special day. The day of the purple wedding. Everything seems fine until a tragic event strikes and Mira’s situation changes drastically. Rodrick wakes up to a commotion in Ironrath caused by the Whitehill men, forcing him to decide how to control the situation without provoking a fight. One of which that he’d be ill prepared for. Gared and Asher are still in the same position in terms of power but, Mira and Rodrick are clearly losing theirs. One thing is for certain and that’s that the player has really tough decisions to make.

Action and suspense is still strong in The Sword in the Darkness but, in a different way than The Lost Lords. While the last episode centered more on combat, this one leans more being suspenseful. A lot of the decisions this time around make you choose between your pride or protecting your family and friends. Most of the time I was making decisions there was a bead of sweat going down my forehead as I patiently awaited their outcome. Speaking of waiting, one thing that was nice was the pace of the story as far as transitions are concerned. They were less jarring, making it easier to follow along.

While there is no new playable character, Telltale finally introduces a fan favorite – The Mother of Dragons, Daenerys Targaryen. Like other popular characters she is voiced by the actress that plays her on the show (Emilia Clarke). And as always, the voice acting is top notch. Visually, this episode is similar to the previous ones, though Daenerys’ in-game model looks really good. As far as the gameplay goes, everyone’s decisions seem to weigh more than before. This could be because we’ve met that middle road; with only three more episodes to go, things can only get crazier from here. I’m eagerly awaiting the release of Sons of Winter, just to see how my choices affected the story.