Game of Thrones: Episode Three - The Sword in the Darkness

Overview

Game of Thrones’ third episode succeeds in making you feel like the rest of the season is hinging on the decisions you make. It marks the narrative apex so far, the highest dramatic climax, with its barrage of tough choices in rapid succession. You can’t help but feel bad for these characters; it looks like there’s no way for them to win.

-- As reviewed by GameSpot

TechSpot Metascore

Based on 11 expert reviews

Excellent:

1
Good:

8
Average:

0
Bad:

2

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Last revision on June 24, 2017

Reviewers Liked

Consequences of previous choices finally come to fruition
Gared gains purpose

Reviewers Didn't Like

Exploration scenes are rushed, less time to poke around
Repetition of events

Expert reviews and ratings

"The Sword in the Darkness" is Game of Thrones' best episode to date, but at the midpoint of the series, I feel like tensions are just beginning to boil. By now, even the slower narrative threads are ramping up in intensity. Telltale has spent six to seven hours building up a number of conflicts that are clearly about to explode.

By Polygon on April 09, 2015

The Sword in the Darkness does nothing to change that, but it does push the quality bar just a hair higher, elevating itself all the way into “I guess that wasn’t terrible” territory. With better pacing, more interesting plot lines and more focused interactions, The Sword in the Darkness is easily the best episode of Telltale’s Game of Thrones yet; it’s not “good” by any means yet, but it’s getting dangerously close.

By HardcoreGamer on April 01, 2015

When Telltale Games created their videogame adaption of The Walking Dead, they wisely chose to spin off from the original source material to do what they wanted with their original cast. The one exception to this was the first episode, where familiar...

By DarkZero on March 29, 2015

Great: Impressive efforts with a few noticeable problems holding it back. Won't astound everyone, but is worth your time and cash....

By Destructoid on March 25, 2015

100

“Words are wind, Asher. It's choices that define who you are.” That's a line plucked from the third episode of Telltale's latest adventure game, Game of Thrones. The man who said this was nearly burned to death by a dragon when I chose not to rescue him...

By gotgame.com on March 25, 2015

Telltale's A Game of Thrones: Episode 3 has definitely learned from Episode 2 's shortcomings. While it still struggles with the multi-character format, it certainly has learned a bit more about its own pacing. The high points of this episode are...

By Cheat Code Central on March 25, 2015

By GameSpot on March 24, 2015

This episode mostly consists of conversations, but moves along at a nice pace, thanks in large to the tough choices tied to most of the conflicts at hand. Given that I often chose to poke the hornet’s nest (repeatedly in one sequence), I leave this episode unconvinced my characters will survive another day.

By GameInformer on March 24, 2015

Everything you've been fighting for up to this point is finally in front of you. The third episode of Telltale's Game of Thrones will decide whether or not you get what you want, and whether or not you need to stop thinking and just start running.The...

By GameSpot on March 23, 2015

I like it, and I don't think it's a stretch to say that I'm now looking forward to the next installment of Telltale's series than I am to the HBO show. As a book reader, I have a pretty good idea of where HBO's latest season is headed, but this, at last, feels like something entirely new.

By PCGamer on March 24, 2015

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