Game of Thrones: Episode Two - The Lost Lords (PlayStation 4) Review

WARNING: Throughout this review there will likely be spoilers related to the previous episode, the review of which can be read here.

Telltale didn't disappoint on the first episode, living up to the works it is based on, much like George R. R. Martin ending the first episode by killing what seemed to be one of the main characters. Ethan's death was brutal and unavoidable. Along with Ethan's untimely demise, the previous episode left the rest of House Forrester on a dark path. Gared had been sent to the Nights Watch to save his life, but now he has a chance to find this "North Grove," if he can survive life at The Wall. Mira finds herself between Lannisters and Tyrells at Kings Landing, trying to win help for her family. The rest of the family are prisoners in their own home, where the Whitehills have now taken over. Finally, the second born son, Asher, is being recalled home to take over as head of the family, with his Uncle Malcolm sent to find him in Yunkai and bring him home.

The new episode has Gared, Mira, Asher, and a special surprise, as the playable characters. For the surprise, it's worth remembering the signature aspect of the Game of Thrones universe - unless a character dies on screen and their body is visible, they may not be quite dead, and even then there's always a chance they will find a way back.

Asher is introduced in this episode and is a fantastic character. Through some exposition it's set up why his family sent him away and what he's been doing, living as a Sellsword in Yunkai along with another sellsword "Beska," a heavy drinking, heavy fighting , foul mouthed woman. It's established they have been working together for four years and their camaraderie is well done. Asher being in Yunkai gives the opportunity for the game to show off another part of the world and not just Westeros - hopefully one that will be seen more of in later episodes.

Similarly, Gared travelling to The Wall shows more of the North, and with any luck later episodes will also deal with what goes on beyond The Wall. Gared has some great development here and opportunity for the player to craft how he will deal with the difficulties faced there. Mira's life seems to be filled with no right answers in King's Landing, where every "friend" made seems to result in more enemies made, too.

As with most Telltale titles, the second episode is very much setting up relationships and putting things in motion for pay-offs later. It's also likely episode three will contain a considerable amount of setup and exposition. It's not necessarily a bad thing but does make it feel a little slower. All the pieces are moving and building up to something, but what it could be is still unclear. The minutia of the choices and subsequent repercussions are not very apparent yet. There are a few moments with noticeable differences - most notably Mira seems to have the most drastic decisions for now, but, as with other such episode Telltale titles, it's usually from the third episode onwards that the consequences of the choices made really begin to show.

The Lost Lords does a superb job of making the player concerned about how one character's actions will have effects on the others. For instance, something that will help the current playable character could actually have very negative effects for another later on. The storytelling, as always, is top notch and it is developing the characters well into those the player will grow attached to, although they would possibly be wise not to. Each one has some serious and hard choices to make here that will clearly come back to bite later on in the series.

The interactivity in this release is quite brief with just some small fight scenes. Asher's combat scenes are smooth and dramatic and the story shows that a lot more fighting in Asher's future can be expected. The close of the episode includes the signature "Next Time" trailer for the upcoming third release, showing glimpses of where each of the characters will go - it looks very promising!