
For years, it seemed the only format worthy of HBO’s global TV mega-hit was a consequence-driven point-and-click adventure from Telltale Games. That prayer to the Seven was finally answered in 2014, but a second season was eventually cancelled amid internal collapse and we were soon left with nothing more than cheap mobile tie-ins and a terrible action-RPG that no one seems to remember exists. Doesn’t the biggest TV show in the world deserve better gaming representation?
Well, yes it does, and indie studio Nerial just happens to have just the game worthy of inheriting the digital Iron Throne. Enter Reigns: Game of Thrones, a card-swapping narrative adventure full of twists, turns, wildfire, dragons, betrayals and rains all the way from Castamere. By taking the simple binary choice system and randomised storylines of the original Reigns and its brilliant sequel, Reigns: Her Majesty (which were previously bundled together on Switch in Reigns: Kings & Queens) and splicing it with the dark fantasy world of George R.R. Martin’s literary saga, you’re left with something so perfectly suited it’s practically offensive.

For those who haven’t played the series before, Reigns: Game of Thrones is the bastard child of Tinder and a choose-your-own-adventure book. Told through the visions of red priestess Melisandre, you begin your reign in the shoes of stormborn dragon mama Daenerys Targaryen as she claims the Iron Throne. You’ll also unlock eight other major characters from the saga as you meet certain objectives generated at the start of each run. While the game doesn’t drop you into a specific era of the books or show, it does use events from the latter seasons as narrative anchor points so certain story beats mentioned should be considered highly spoilerific for those who haven’t watched season seven.
So you begin each run already in possession of the crown, but keeping it on your head (and your head upon your shoulders) is another matter entirely. What lies ahead is the rigmarole of royal diplomacy (receiving ambassadors and establishing treaties), the cloak-and-dagger game of inter-house politics (using the Iron Bank to cut off credit to your enemies and exploiting Varys’ little birds to seek powerful secrets), the protection of your borders (dealing with the always rowdy Iron Islands and keeping the troublesome Dornish at arms length), the waging of war (leading armies into battle and orchestrating them from afar) and so much more. Cersei wasn’t kidding when she explained the rules of the titular game. And dying is often far more common an outcome than victory…

Each action is presented as a card. You can either swipe left to deny or right to agree with certain options. There’s no right or wrong option here, and each new binary choice is often based upon the ones you’ve made previously. You might decide to decline the advances of one of the Sand Snakes, but by doing so force her to return home embittered, planting the seeds for a future attack. You might choose to spend coin rebuilding the Great Sept, but run out of funds later down the line when you need to properly arm your military. Tactics play a vital role, but chance and luck are also along for the ride.
Each character begins with their own specific conditions or narrative backstory (Tyrion’s history as Master of Coin sometimes affords him a stronger relationship with the Iron Bank, and thus a much healthier set of coffers), while Jon Snow and Sansa will respectively begin with a greater set of alliances among those in the North. On top of this, you’ll need to balance four metres at all times – military power, religious purity, popularity among the people and royal wealth. Each decision will increase or decrease each one, and should a single metre be completely drained, a grisly end is usually not far behind.

Sometimes, your demise will come about because of a particular decision you made previously. Heading on a ship to Dorne to settle a potential war might see your monarch disappear on the journey, never to be seen again. You might arrive in the north to aid your allies in Winterfell, only to be slain and resurrected as a wight. You might demote a certain lord and suddenly find yourself being filled with blades in a bloody bout of political restructuring. Death is a constant companion, always lurking out of sight, but always ready to embrace you. In that regard, Reigns: Game of Thrones is less about winning and more about surviving enough moons to die with pride.
As as the case with previous versions of Reigns, the game's biggest weakness is its longevity; while there are a dizzying number of potential routes through the story, after a few days of solid play you'll have exhausted (almost) all of them. This was less of an issue on smartphones, where you'd play in short bursts, but on Switch, the game's lack of staying power is more cruelly exposed. Having said that, it's so well-written and downright unpredictable that you'll readily forgive this shortcoming.
Conclusion
As an officially licensed game – complete with character likenesses in Reigns’ angular portrait format and Ramin Djawadi's instantly recognisable score – Reigns: Game of Thrones is about as close as you’ll come to living the day-to-day life of a Westeros monarch, short of visiting the Seven Kingdoms for real. By bringing in key characters and events from the books and show, you’re given enough authenticity that exploring storylines only ever teased in the source material (such as seeing Jamie on the throne or a more compassionate version of Cersei) feel just as meaningful.
Comments 22
One of these days I'm going to have to just read up on GoT to see what the hype is all about.
Tinder has never been this intese
Ok now I'm sold. Super excited for the start of the final series on Sunday.
@Kalmaro
You really should. I think the show is one of the greatest pieces of motion picture entertainment ever created.
I didn’t realize what all the hype was about for years, until finally I decided to subscribe to HBO Now for $15 for a month, and I binge-watched all 6 seasons up to that point. It was incredible.
The final, 8th season releases in a couple days, or at least, the first episode of the final season. So about two months from now you’ll be able to sub to HBO Now for a single month, Watch all 8 seasons and simply opt to not auto-renew
@JaxonH So what's the hype about? Looks like a Shakespearian dungeons and dragons to me.
@nintendolie
It's kind of hard to explain to someone who hasn't experienced it.
Let's just say the story is fantastic, characters amazing, and the buildup of plot is the most intracate web I've ever seen. Main characters of entire seasons die off and you realize they were never main characters at all, just another strand in an ever larger elaborate web of interweaving narrative. So many characters completely unrelated. Dozens upon dozens upon dozens... and all their paths cross somehow, some way, in a buildup that takes years and years over the course of multiple seasons.
By the time you get to the final season, you've experienced so much... so much has happened to so many characters, so many have died or situations have drastically changed, it feels like an epic narrative of all epic narratives. Makes the Lord of the Rings trilogy seem like Humpy Dumpty.
@JaxonH So people like GoT because of the complexity? I hate convoluted story that drags forever, I'll pass.
@Kalmaro Agreed, man, I checked out after a few 1st season eps. I hear it got loads better once the fantasy elements took more of the focus
@sleepinglion the strength of the show is definitely in the characters and intricate plotting. The fantasy is more of a slow tease to lure you in. At first you watch because you’re waiting for dragons to turn up, and by the time they do something cool, you’re invested in the people and the politics.
@gaga64 It's on my list of shows to make a better effort with. It wouldn't be a phenomenon if it was average. Even looking back on some of my favorite genre shows, they had slow starts. The first two seasons of Star Trek TNG are a chore every single time, but man, did it ever improve in Season 3
I happened to buy this on Steam the other day shortly before it was announced for Switch. I still haven't started it, but I'm looking forward to it considering the good reviews.
@nintendolie
It's not convoluted. Its complex, yes, but not convoluted.
And the fact it's an 8 season show tells you how long the story has been going on.
Unlike most other shows that long, there's a grand overarching plot that moves forward each season, really important stuff.
I used to be so massively into GoT but honestly, I’ve lost my hype for the final season. There’s been some great shows in the offseason and it feels like ages since it’s been on. Plus all my favourite characters are dead hahaha. Roll on the Kingkiller TV show.
I like complex, interwoven genre plots in stuff like "Gargoyles," but from everything I've heard, the show is too dark for my tastes. I'm not into all the dark politics, betrayals, murder, and other forms of bloodshed, and considering it's on HBO, the violence is probably too graphic for my tastes, as well.
@JaxonH How did you have time to watch GoT w/ all the gaming you do? Hopefully you watched it on your big screen TV and not some handheld device at work. My wife and I binge watched seasons 1-3 just before 4 and since then we've been watching every Sunday night. Since December we rewatched all 7 w/ our oldest son, youngest is still too young. You didn't mention season 7, hope you didn't miss that one. We'll be watching every Sunday night the next 6 weeks. Very excited.
And I see you just had another blizzard, winter is always coming for you. ❄
@nintendolie Complex doesn't mean convoluted. I think you made up your mind before you even commented the first time
@rjejr
Yup, I'm all current up through 7. Gonna wait for the full season to finish and then sub for a month and binge watch all 6 episodes in a weekend.
The snow didnt stick yesterday, thank goodness. It's been relentless this winter though. Every 5 days in Jan and Feb was another 6-8 inches it seems.
@Kalmaro I tried but could not get past the Drogo guy raping an under age girl.
@DementedAvenger2 I made up my mind many years ago, still waiting for someone to give me a reason to watch the show.
Can you kill the Usurper of Dragons? If so, it may be the greatest thing ever.
@nintendolie
No one really cares if you watch the show or not.
@Spudtendo You care enough to reply.
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