Review in Progress: Kingsroad from Game of Thrones

Hey, so I’ve been diving into Game of Thrones: Kingsroad lately—this isn’t the final review, by the way. Just my ramblings after messing around with the Early Access. And, uh, spoiler? I’m kinda worried about what’s coming next. Not because of some big bad villain lurking in the shadows, but because—get this—you basically gotta grind forever or shell out some serious cash.

So, right, you jump into this world as the lone heir of House Tyre. Your dad’s not doing too hot, and suddenly it’s up to you to ditch the “bastard” tag and take charge. Cool, right? You run into folks like Jon Snow (he’s always popping up) and the Boltons, who are just as slimy as ever. The game kicks you off with this whirlwind tutorial that sorta just throws White Walkers at you and reminds you Westeros is always a mess.

Here’s where things got weird. You start by picking a character type—kinda like picking your fighter in a brawling game—but the choices are classic. Knight, Sellsword, Assassin. I went with Sellsword, maybe channeling my inner Tormund, but the best part? You can actually swap between classes whenever. So, if you mess up, no sweat. Start a new character. But yeah, you have to re-do missions for each one—which, eh, I guess is fine.

I didn’t expect a character creator this intense. We’re talking facial muscle sliders, beard options… it was kinda like, wait, why am I having fun styling my warrior child? Not quite Dragon’s Dogma standards, but better than most. Though, it’s funny how much time you can waste just giving your character the right battle scars.

Now, let’s chat about Westeros here. At first, it’s like you’re in a painting—until it turns into, I dunno, a swirling blur. Grass does this weird appearing act, and NPCs? They can be unnervingly dead-eyed or too animated. Imagine a bad robot trying to pretend it’s human.

Walk into King’s Landing and think you’re just gonna scoop up power? Nope. You’ve got quests, bandit-clearing, all that jazz. But the execution feels… off. It’s like, wouldn’t it be nice if this felt substantial? The scenery is great until it isn’t. Spend too long in one spot and it feels like whole areas start to glitch out on purpose.

Oh, and moving around? Bit like ice-skating but on dirt. My mount skids like it’s in some slapstick comedy. At first, it’s funny—cue the “banana peel slip” sound effect—but fast forward an hour, and you’re just grumbling as you tumble into enemy camps like, really?

Combat’s a fair bit of déjà vu. We’re talking the same enemies over and over. Bosses? They look familiar, too. Now and then a fight wants you to think—separate some enemies to win—but mostly it’s a pile-on.

Story bits? Those cutscenes tug at you. Like missing kids and bandits, a real pull-at-the-heartstrings deal. But when you’re trudging through a sea of repeated fights, even that loses shine. There are upgrade paths too. Might get better later, who knows.

But then, hold up—a spark of fun gets nudged in there with some platforming puzzles. They’re scattered about, hidden doors, chests with lore. For a sec, it kinda turns into a baby Assassin’s Creed—run here, find that.

Barriers, though. They got something called Momentum Levels, which is like being told “NO ENTRY” until you’re beefed up enough. So far, so predictable. Early missions give loot then stop, leaving you high and dry unless you pay. Surprise, surprise, right?

Microtransactions, ugh—flooding in. Want to resurrect faster? Pay. Want to fast travel without doing much? Better be reaching for that wallet. Everything’s designed to make you cough up.

Underneath all those neon “buy this” signs? There’s actually hints of a cool game. Riding around, sometimes it feels like you’re in this epic world—if only for a few minutes till, wham, a big “pay here” reminder hits you.

Lemme end on a hopeful note, though. Past 20 hours in and still… there’s a lot left to see. I’m hanging on to check out what else the full game has before making any big calls. At the moment? It’s a matter of pay or perish. Who knew Westeros would be so darn expensive?