Fans are mixed to positive on the new video game Game of Thrones: Kingsroad

Game of Thrones: Kingsroad, a new Game of Thrones video game developed by Netmarble, is now in Early Access, and the reviews from fans are coming in.

The Game of Thrones franchise has a mixed history when it comes to video games. In some ways, Kingsroad looks like the most ambitious attempt yet. You play as the heir to a minor house in the North, and must work your way up the political ladder of Westeros to make your forture. Along the way, you'll into iconic characters from the show like Jon Snow and Cersei Lannister, fight foes both human and beastly, and explore the the open world that is the Seven Kingdoms.

Game of Thrones: Kingsroad is available for both mobile devices and PC. The fact that it's a mobile game has rubbed some fans the wrong way, as we can see by sampling a few fan reviews on the Steam page. "[W]ould not recommend games full of micro transactions so many different currencies," writes one player. "The game basically makes you buy some stuff like inventory upgrade and so on in order to play AND TO CLAIM YOUR BATTLE PASS REWARDS!!! Just for 1 outfit will cost you a huge price of £40 or if u want a cool mount £20."

Free-to-play mobile games are indeed known for including lots of micro-transactions, and it sounds like Game of Thrones: Kingsroad is part of that cohort. "There are 101 different currencies with pay to win features," writes another player. "Equipping new items doesn't change the look of your character. To get a new look on your character you need to either unlock a custom look or buy them with money. RP coins are used to get rewards and such from boss encounters, if you reach 0 RP you need to either pay to get more or wait IRL until they replenish. Then there are tons of mobile game-like events, like daily logins which gives you some currencies."

At the same time, some players were able to look past this issue and enjoy the game underneath:

• “The fact that I can ride a horse from the Wall in the North all the way down to the far South of Westeros without a single loading screen completely sold me on this game. On top of that, I’m blown away by how accurately they recreated the locations — Castle Black and Winterfell are literally 1:1 copies from the show.” (Via NME)
• "They nailed the setting and feel of GOT, it helps that it has the epic show music to do the heavy lifting. But the voice acting is good sometimes great and the likeness of the show characters is done well. For the visuals it's not bad for a game that is to be run on a mobile chip. Once again they have nailed the vibes and to me that's all that matters." (Steam)
• "So happy I chose to ignore the bad reviews and try it for myself. I love the world, its beautiful and the map goes from the nights watch all the way down to sun spear. Combat is good, reminds me of assassins creed odyssey. quests are interesting enough and involves a lot of statecraft type tasks along with the usual bandit camp clearings and bounty's. Its not a revolutionary game but its solid for what it is and I'm enjoying my time with it." (Steam)
• "The game is certainly no AAA title but does that matter? If you ever wanted to be part of the GOT world this is as close as you will get. I'm loving ever minute I spend playing it. The PC client is top notch and the controls have been made for PC not ported from mobile as some people will have you believe. The game has tons of options to buy stuff from the cash shop from costumes to pay for convenience items and battle passes. None of it is needed to enjoy and play the game." (Steam)

Overall, there are more positive than negative reviews on Steam, although you'll note that even a lot of the positive ones qualify their praise by saying something like "The game is certainly no AAA title but does that matter?" There's a sense that if you go into Game of Thrones: Kingsroad with your expectations in check, you'll have a good time.

But the problem some people are having is that Game of Thrones is an expansive enough franchise that it deserves something more than "good enough." As one player put it, "[W]e get a mobile game rather than something meant for consoles. To think they had the opportunity to capitalize on this IP and still haven't done so is such a shame. Just like Jon Snow, they know nothing. As a long time GOT fan, my disappointment knows no bounds." Or to quote a fan on Reddit, "Imagine a Game Of Thrones RPG on the same level of Hogwarts Legacy. THAT is what we need"

I daresay that a huge, polished console video game set in the world of Game of Thrones would probably be a hit, especially if it came out a few years ago when the show's popularity was at its peak. But hey, it's never too late. For now, it sounds like Game of Thrones: Kingsroad will satisfy people who go in knowing what to expect.

There's no official release date set for Game of Thrones: Kingsroad as of yet, although it's coming out later this year.

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