Review in Progress: Kingsroad from Game of Thrones

Sure, here’s a reimagined version of the article:

—

So, here I am, just diving into Game of Thrones: Kingsroad, poking around the Early Access. And yeah, it’s all building up to the big launch, but boy, I have thoughts. Lots of ‘em. Like, first off, Game of Thrones is all dragons and drama, right? So, you’d think this Netmarble game would be rolling in epicness. But after about 20 hours of wandering the North, I feel like I’m prepping for a final review. And — surprise, surprise — it’s not the crazy enemies or shady allies that have me twitchy. Nope, it’s the grind. The huge, grinding grind. Or maybe just feeding money into the digital ether. Ugh.

Set in that hot mess that is Season 4, you get to strut around as the last Tyre kid. Dad’s on the struggle bus health-wise, so you’re hunting for peeps to level you up from “bastard” to “leader.” Famous faces? Oh yeah, they’re everywhere — Jon Snow and Samwell Tarly. Even Roose and Ramsay Bolton pop up. They kind of walk you through the vibe of the show, in this quick tutorial thingy, throwing you right into the White Walker mess.

So, before you start playing the knight in frantic armor, you gotta pick your fighter type. You’ve got the sword dude, the ax guy, and the sneaky dagger mover — pretty much the classic trio. I went with the beefcake Sellsword, smashing through mob after mob. But if you’re one of those indecisive types (guilty as charged), you can swap it up anytime.

The character stuff is cool. You can mess with their faces, give ’em scars, and tweak their emo hair till you’re bored. Not as deep as Dragon’s Dogma 2 but, hey, still fun to play dress-up.

Just don’t go strutting into King’s Landing expecting confetti and a crown. Nope. You’ve got chores — quests, fighting baddies, snagging loot. Sounds dramatic, right? Yeah, except Kingsroad doesn’t quite pull it off. It feels more like a simulation than fantasy come to life. The grass kind of wiggles weirdly, and NPCs move like they’ve malfunctioned. And when you chat with them? Their faces wobble in ways that would freak out even the bravest knight.

And, oh wow, let me tell you about the skating! My character slides around like the ground’s got a slick of butter on it. It was kind of a joke at first, imagining my mount swerving down a road, but it got old. Quickly. I kept accidentally launching into enemy camps because the controls just weren’t playing ball.

Combat’s, um, familiar. Same faces, same fight patterns. It’s like déjà vu but not in a good way. Sometimes you get to do something sneaky, pick off a few foes, but mostly it’s rinse and repeat till you face a “boss.”

I have to say, some story bits tugged at my heartstrings — missing kids, rampaging bandits — that kind of stuff pulls you in. But then the fights kill the buzz with their predictability. The upgrade trees hold promise, though, so maybe there’s hope for something cool later.

There are some escape-from-reality moments, too. You know, platforming puzzles? Pretty neat little breaks from the hack-and-slash. Plus, sneaking around in ancient buildings for loot? Fun times. It’s like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla but… a bit diluted.

Oh, and about this whole momentum thing? It’s like Destiny’s Gear Score. Your stats gotta be on point. Sounds fair, right? Except, as per mobile game logic, the loot drought hits, and you’re stuck in a vortex of microtransactions. You die, you pay. You want to move faster? You pay. Annoying.

And y’know, sitting twenty hours deep, it feels like I barely scratched the surface. There’s so much more to poke at in the 1.0 version, but right now, one thing’s crystal clear: In Game of Thrones: Kingsroad, you bend the knee or cough up some dollars.