Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming (Review)

Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming is a free-to-play browser-based MMO strategy building game, where you are in charge of your own kingdom brought to life in the world of the hit television series, "Game of Thrones". You can fight others, expand your territory, collect resources, and even build alliances with other players. Announced at Gamescon 2018 on January 19th, 2019, and released on March 25th, the game is quite new. 

Inspiration

Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming is heavily inspired from the television series of a similar name, "Game of Thrones". You can play as several lords from the show such as Chris, Shiela, Sansa and Robb Stark, Arsian, and more. The currency, enemies, story, all of it is inspired from the television show. If you're a fan of Game of Thrones, you'll definitely be immersed. The game is officially licensed by HBO as well, the producer of the show. 



Gameplay

Fear not! Even if you have not watched the show, Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming offers much more. The core gameplay resembles traditional browser MMO's. The main goal of the game is to upgrade and expand your territory, while attacking others. You can engage in battles with other players and their armies, or seige AI controlled bases. You can participate in "Castle" sieges as well, where you send off your troops to attack a castle with other players, all in real time on one giant map! There is always something to do in this game, for example, while waiting for your troops to train, you can go scout enemy bases. Still, the game can get stale at parts. Worry not, for this is where alliances come through. Alliances let you team up with other players and create relationships with other alliances. So grab some friends, and sit tight!



Memorable Features

- Voice Acting

                       This game has really nice, yet limited voice acting. It's a nice little touch to hear Chris give a battlecry before using                           his special ability in battle. 

- Sound Effects

                       Similarly to the voice acting, the sound effects help immerse the player into the world of Game of Thrones. Most                             actions have some sort of sound effect, such as a hammering sound when a building is under construction. 

- Castle Sieges

                       Castle sieges essentially allow players to have a challenge, in the form of good coordination. Finally overthrowing                           that castle you and your friends have been sieging for a while can feel really rewarding. 







Conclusion

I don't usually like these type of MMO games, but Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming really takes the cake. There's not a single moment where you have nothing to do, and are constantly finding yourself face-to-face with characters from the television series. While the interface isn't the best, it runs smooth and isn't laggy or buggy at all. As an avid player of games, I can say that as a browser based MMO, this game gets a 7.5/10 from me. The reason some points are deducted is because of the repetitiveness of the game, as well as how it is not too unique in concept. There are many similar MMO building games out there, however, if you're a fan of Game of Thrones or like medieval warfare, this game is definitely for you. 

Trust me, and give it a whirl. It's surprisingly addicting and who knows, you might just end up falling in love.