Telltale Games have returned with chapter two of their Game of Thrones series. This chapter is entitled, “The Lost Lords” and simply put, it is way better than the first chapter. Don't get me wrong, the while the first chapter was good all be it hampered with pacing problems and dry exposition. Oh and by “better” I’m mean there was more stuff to do other than listen to people talk. When this episode kicks off the House of Forrester is in a real bad way. The Boltons are being dicks and the family is fresh off some bad times. The death of Ethan Forrester still hangs in the air, the family has been split up, and family is looking for leadership in their most troubling time. Mira puts her loyalty to Margaery Tyrell to the test while keeping her family’s needs in mind.

Then there’s Gared, who has now reached the “The Wall”, a massive 300 mile structure that protects the seven kingdoms from Wildings. He struggles to find his place in “The Nights Watch” as he struggles to become a ranger and prove his worth.

This episode also brings the player their first peek of Asher Forrester, the exiled brother and a sellsword or mercenary for hire. He and his partner, Beskha are in Yunkai attempting to sell a former slave master for some quick cash. But their transaction hits a bump in the road by the name of The Lost Legion. After a blood drenched melee, Asher is reunited with his Uncle who informer the sellsword of his family’s dire statues.

Finally our main man Rodrik returns to the House of Forrester thanks to free ride on a corpse cart. Beaten and damn near cripple he struggles to stay strong in the eyes of the people and fill the role of lord all while keeping a relationship with Elaena Glenmore, whose house could mean life of death for his family and Ironwrath.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3TrYe9UamE

That’s just a quick summary of what to expect in the chapter. It’s hard to really cover the game without giving too much of the story away especially with that being the primary experience.

While it seems like it’s all over the place narrative wise, which it is but it’s not so “blah” as it was in the first chapter. Granted the narrative still moves at a slow pace but it’s not boring. It’s very easy to take it all in and you can slowly lose yourself as you become invested in the struggle of the Forrester family as you put some real thought into the characters possible narrative changing decisions. That’s really magic to keeping the player engaged. Now they’ll feel invested in the story instead of just watching it and siting back waiting for a handful of quick time events to break up the dialog.

This episode does a solid job of really showing the bleak situation that the Forrester family is in. You can see the layers of desperation starts to rear its ugly head at the discoveries of dead ends and lies. Just another day in the Seven Kingdoms I guess.

If you’re a Game of Thrones fan then this of course is a no brainer. If you enjoyed Episode One: From Iron and Ice, I believe this one improves on it and easily makes Episode Two: The Lost Lords worth your time.

Score: 3/5

Rated: Mature Developer: Telltale Games Publisher: Telltale Games Price: $4.99 USD or $24.99 USD for the Season Pass Release Date: 2/4/15 Platform Reviewed: X-Box One