Game of Thrones: Episode 3 – The Sword in the Darkness Review – Dragon! (PS4)

Game of Thrones: Episode 3 – The Sword in the Darkness begins with a dragon. You probably already guessed that, actually, considering the headline image for the episode is a dragon, but I’m just going to say it again. Episode 3 begins with a dragon, and it doesn’t really get any less intense from there. While the first two episodes certainly had their fair share of anxiety-inducing moments, Episode 3 will have you at the edge of your seat throughout the entire game, and that is wonderful.

Connecting Characters

From the beginning dragon, to countless political issues, to some intense battles, the third episode has a lot of heart pounding moments. Each character — Roderick, Mira, Asher, and Gared — each have some pretty big problems that they need to personally deal with, while at the same time they are continuing their efforts to save house Forrester. Roderick, still injured, must try to find a way to deal with the Whitehills that have invaded his home. Mira is still looking for a way to secure outside funds for House Forrester, and Asher is supposed to be raising an army to help drive out the Whitehills. While I found it a little tricky to see how Gared connected to the House Forrester plot in the first two episodes, it becomes incredibly clear in Episode 3 as to how he is supposed to help save House Forrester. 

Each character has a highly defined purpose in Episode 3, and this helps bring each separate character plotline together. While I found some of the transitions to be a bit confusing in the second episode, the refined character goals in the third episode help make these transition more natural and more understandable. At the same time, events are starting to move much quicker in this episode compared to previous episodes, making the story seem less drawn out. Instead of feeling like a political documentary, Episode 3 feels like an actual Game of Thrones episode.

Don’t Choose Wisely

However, even though the overarching story is starting to become more refined and quicker, I still felt that my choices really didn’t have an impact on its outcome. Without giving too much away, I will say that many of the choices you make will lead to the (almost) exact same result. No matter what you say, no matter what you do, your destiny has already been chosen for you. Sure, characters will react differently depending on, say, if you stand up to the Whitehills or if you bow down to them, but in the end the Whitehills will end up doing what they were planning on doing anyway. Part of me wants to believe that this is because House Forrester is incredibly weak, and so do not have the power to change the outcome of anything at the moment. But, another part of me thinks that this is just the way that the game is set up, and, unfortunately, it will not have some of the intense decisions and results that The Walking Dead games had.

Despite the lack of choices, Game of Thrones: Episode 3 is probably the best episode of the bunch. It gives its main characters more purpose, tightens the overarching plot, and moves at a much faster pace than the last two episodes. Thanks to many truly impassioned moments, Episode 3 will leave you full of anxiety and wanting to jump right into the next episode. If you have enjoyed the first two episodes, you should definitely pick up Game of Thrones: Episode 3 – The Sword in the Darkness.

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