HBO’s “Game Of Thrones” based off George RR Martin’s “A Song Of Ice & Fire” book series has become a world wide phenomenon. The wait in between seasons, and the fate of beloved characters has fans itching for more year and after year.

Video Game publisher Telltale, known for their takes on other known franchises such as “The Walking Dead”, “The Wolf Among Us” and just recently “Batman” was quick to step in and introduce their video game version to accompany the HBO series.

“Game Of Thrones: A TellTale Game Series” was released as a complete season separated in 6 episodes released every month or two throughout 2014 and 2015. Each and every fan of “Game of Thrones”, its many different characters and various storylines have to give this game a go, even more so now considering the Seventh Season of the show will be delayed in 2017.

Here are 12 reasons why you should give “Game Of Thrones: A TellTale Game Series” a go:

12 – It’s Canon To The Show

One of the main selling points that Telltale used to develop and eventually market this game was the direct canon to the HBO series. Whereas their already released “Walking Dead” games (3 so far) are all canon to the comic books and not the AMC television series, for “Game Of Thrones”, the game follows the same universe as in the HBO series and not the George RR Martin “A Song Of Ice And Fire” book series. As of Season 6 of the show, many differences between the books and Game of Thrones exist, some good, and some not as good…

Now not only is the story canon to the show by itself, but the main actors of the show have also lent their voices and appearances to the game itself, making the canon connection even more official. These include Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister), Lena Heady (Cersei Lannister), Natalie Dormer (Margaery Tyrell), Kit Harrington (Jon Snow) and Iwan Rheon (Ramsey Snow).

11 – Best Way To Scratch Your Game Of Thrones Itch In Between Seasons

We just mentioned that the game follows the same universe in which the HBO show “Game of Thrones” takes place. The biggest pain with “Game of Thrones” isn’t so much all the deaths and events that occur that shock us, also they do indeed do their fair share of damage.

No! The biggest pain comes when the Season Finale ends, sometimes on a huge cliffhanger (Seasons 2 and 5 in particular) and reminds us that it will be 9 solid months before a new Season is to begin again. With Season 7 now delayed even more to allow shoots to occur in Winter, this itch is now getting longer for the next 2 years.

Luckily, Telltale’s game can temporarily satisfy that itch all Thrones Fans yearn for. It obviously won’t replace the show entirely, but seeing the characters and interacting with them will give you a sensible relief before the next season is to begin in 2017.

10 – Different Vantage Points On Key Events

The story of the game complements the HBO show very well, and takes place near the end of Season 3, running in parallel with Season 4 both in Westeros & Essos. The game actually begins right as The Red Wedding is happening. Your characters are loyal to the Starks, and hence are stationed outside the Twins where the notorious massacre would occur.

You get to experience this key event from the main story through a different vantage point as the madness is unleashed from the treasonous Freys upon the Northerners.

Later throughout the game, you’ll also get to witness the Purple Wedding from Season 4 where King Joffrey Baratheon (Finally) gets killed by poison. You’ll witness Tyrion’s arrest differently from the show, and the aftermath of the King’s death will affect your character’s story in very unlikely ways.

Remember that long travelling shot introducing the re-opening of the Fighting Pits of Meereen in “The Dance Of Dragons”, the penultimate episode of Season 5? Any and every casual watcher of the show might overlook the broken face on the statue of the Harpy.

At some point in the game (Without giving too much away), an event involving your characters will occur with what happens to that statue as its outcome. By having it as an Easter Egg in the show, HBO has officially acknowledged the Telltale game’s story to its very own. Only by playing the game would someone have been able to see the link between the two.

Another Easter Egg, which we will not reveal in detail to avoid spoilers, involve Margaery and her maids when confronting Cersei Lannister in the beginning of Season 5.

9 – You’ll Get Attached And Devastated, Just As In The Series

Who could forget the devastation felt when Lord Eddard Stark lost his head? What about the Red Wedding, or Tyrion’s Trial By Combat between Oberyn Martell and The Mountain?

All 3 of these events shook us right to the core, as key characters we had grown attached to were brutally and unjustly taken away. The powerlessness struck a nerve unlike any other piece of fiction ever could.

Telltale’s story was overseen by the man himself, George RR Martin, who consulted them on the writing. That means you will have similar moments where characters you grow attached to get taken from you, but in an even worse way: in some cases, you will have to make the choice yourself to commit a cruel act similar to what GRRM does to his characters.

Since there are no book source material to base yourself on, the shock value will come completely out of left field, and will make you hate yourself just the same way the show would, if not more, considering that in some cases, you will be the one choosing the devastating outcome.

8 – New Insightful Characters From A (New) Noble House

You will meet Lord and Lady Forrester, as well as their 6 children Rodrick, Asher, Meera, Ethan, Talya and Ryon, as well as Gared Tuttle, a loyal squire to the House whose uncle also serves in the counsel.

The Forresters were only mentioned once in GRRM’s books as a Northern Family loyal to Starks. In the game, you’ll get to play different members and close friends of that family in different locations throughout Westeros and Essos.

The Forresters live in an isolated area in The North called the Northswood. Their siege is at Ironwrath, their Sigil is an Ironwood Tree and their words/call to arms are “Iron From Ice”, words you will hear often in the story.

Ironwood from the Northswood is a solid wood that is used to produced strong and tough shields used by many armies in Westeros. It is the main resource and source of wealth of the Forresters.

Now that House Stark is gone and considered a treasonous house by the Crown, many opportunists will attempt to take over this very profitable resource from the Forrester family.

The Forrester Family Tree.

7 – New Clans, Families And Sellswords From Westeros And Essos

Also introduced are many other secondary characters that complement the Forresters and their journey in Westeros and Essos. For example, Beshka pictured above, is a Sellsword from Essos whose stern and cocky attitude has made her a fan favorite from her very introduction; a female equivalent for Daario Naharis if you will.

Since Westeros and Essos can never have enough of group of mercenary Sellswords to lend their services, the Lost Legion will serve as a tough and worthy opponent for one of our Forrester protagonists.

Back in Westeros. House Whitehill will also be introduced as the main antagonists of the story. House Whitehill is loyal to House Bolton, whose Lord Roose Bolton is now the New Warden of the North for his treason against the Starks. The competition between the two Houses will be over the Ironwood forests that made House Forrester such a wealthy and respected one. Conflicts and Alliances will ensue with these new characters.

6 – Your Hate For Ramsey And Cersei Will Grow (As If It Weren’t High Enough Already)

Just when you thought you couldn’t hate the new Queen of the Seven Kingdoms and the legitimized Bolton bastard even more, the Telltale game will add more fuel to that fire of hate & anger aimed at these two characters.

Now granted we know of Ramsey’s fate following the Battle of the Bastards in Season 6, so it is obvious that no action nor decision made in this game will yield to his (or even Cersei’s) demise. Yet interacting with them in their own respective storylines will add tension that only these characters can be capable of creating.

Keep note that at the time of the game’s story, Ramsey has not yet been legitimized as a Bolton, so him still being called “Snow” makes him more dangerous than ever. Ramsey always acted in such a sadistic way in order to not ever be perceived weak by his father Roose, or any other of his bannermen; it would serve as compensation for being a bastard with no real claim.

The game will make sure you enjoy him getting eaten by his kennels in the 6th season penultimate episode of the HBO series even more satisfying.

5 – You Don’t Need To Be A Gamer To Enjoy It

TellTale is known in the Video Game industry for centering their games on storytelling rather than gameplay.

Whichever platform you choose to play this game on, whether it be on your computer, your home console (PS3, PS4, Xbox360, Xbox One), or even your mobile phone or tablet, the gameplay will feel natural and intuitive.

Most of the game consists of quick time events where you are asked to press the right button or direction at the right time, as well as making time sensitive choices that will affect the continuation of the story.

The occasional moving around and interactions with the environment your character is in will not distract a non gamer away for how simple they are to handle.

Each choice you make will define what happens next in the story. They will define how other characters perceive you, and hence will drive the story in different directions, all dependent on your judgement. They are the main element in this game…

4 – You Control The Story Through Your Choices.

For example, and without spoiling too much, you will have one instance where your character who’s in a position of power and leadership has to deal with a thief who has been caught stealing from the rations. What you decide to do with him will define the rest of your interactions with the other characters around him.

Show mercy and the people will love you; however, you will lose your soldiers’ respect. Execute him and your people will resent you, even though your army will respect your stern authority. Send him to the Wall and you just lost a man that could have been used as a soldier or a farmer for your House.

Some decisions you make will not only define what happens next, but will also haunt you forever in a way the books or series never could; since you are simply a watcher. Here, your interactions are what yields the results.

3 – Each Episode Is At Least 3 Hours Long

Get your flagons of wine ready! If 10 episodes of 1 hour each seem like never enough for HBO to offer us, well, Telltale has so far offered us in their First Season a total of 6 episodes that each run around 3 hours each.

The entire game runs approximately the length of 2 seasons of the HBO series, with Season 2 announced by Telltale and under way.

Playing an episode a night can have you complete the entire story in less than a week. Although, as we previously mentioned, some events will leave you devastated in the same way the show did, so much, that you might find yourself in need of a break in between episodes. The same way the Red Wedding or Ned Stark’s death had done for the books and the TV series.

2 – Fairly Priced On All Platforms

The game retails roughly between 15$ to 30$ on all platforms. Amazon has it for around 15$ for consoles (PS4 and Xbox One) as well as 30$ for PC.

For PC however, we recommend either Steam or HumbleStore as both these sites tend to offer PC games at lower prices. During their infamous Steam Sales, that game, along with any other Telltale game can be priced as low as 7$, so it’s definitely worth checking out.

The game doesn’t require as many resources as most modern games would, so you wouldn’t need a top of the line PC to run it smoothly. While the PS4 and XBoxOne versions both offer stunning experiences for the game, the best option by far in terms of quality would definitely be the PC version with maxed settings on a computer that can easily handle it.


The game is also available on the AppStore for iOS and the Google Play Store for Android. On mobile though, the first episode should cost you 5$, and the remaining 5 episodes can be purchased as InApp purchases for another 5$ each, or as a discounted bundle: around 20$ for all remaining 5 episodes.

1 – You’ll Feel The Same Rush As When You First Watched The Show

As you play the game, you will feel the exact same feeling you had when watching the HBO series. Especially since both occur in the same canon universe and share many common traits and events with the main story. The love and hate you have for some characters in the show will be either enhanced or transferred to the many new characters introduced by Telltale.

The game is a phenomenal complement to HBO’s epic soon to be complete masterpiece that every true “Game of Thrones” fan should experience while we wait for either Season 7 to premiere, or Book 6, “The Winds of Winter” to be published. Telltale did a phenomenal job on creating this side story for the fans to enjoy, and Season 2 should have even more in store once published.