After the solid foundation laid down by Iron From Ice, the miserable exploits of House Forrester continue in the second episode of Telltale’s Game of Thrones series, The Lost Lords. And only two months after the first episode! How unusually expedient.

SPOILER WARNING: The following review contains spoilers for Episode 1: Iron From Ice. If you haven’t yet had the pleasure of playing the first episode, do not read on.

As in the first episode, The Lost Lords focuses on several different protagonists dotted across the varied world. Unfortunately, after the tragic loss of Ethan, it’s only fitting that we gain a few characters for the new episode.

As well as the returning Gared Tuttle, who was unceremoniously sent to the infamous ‘Wall’ for defending his family, and Mira Forrester, daughter of the murdered Lord of the Forrester House and handmaiden to King’s betrothed Margaery Tyrell, two new protagonists have been thrown into the mix.

Asher Forrester, the exiled brother of Ethan who was alluded to in the first episode, is a sell-sword eking out a living in Essos who is called upon to rally to the aid of the family who cast him out. It is implied that his actions will determine the fate of House Forrester in episodes to come, but in The Lost Lords he is given about ten minutes of screen-time and doesn’t achieve anything. I won’t spoil the reveal of the second additional protagonist, but it’s a decent twist.

Once again, those of you who (like me) have limited experience with the Game of Thrones universe will feel as if you’ve been mugged by medieval sounding names, but The Lost Lords puts a lot of effort into explaining the many different characters, their backgrounds and most importantly, their motives.

A handy tip for those unfamiliar with the characters from the acclaimed TV series is that you can tell which characters are licensed by if they take a random interest in one of the player characters, as Jon Snow does with Gared when he arrives at ‘The Wall’

I said in my review of Iron From Ice that it was all set-up and no pay off, with the emphasis on establishing House Forrester’s perilous position. Surprisingly, The Lost Lords feels even less climactic than the first episode, happy to constantly hint at bubbling tensions and conflicts on the horizon without feeling the need to give the player a taste of what’s to come. Perhaps in three or four episodes, I’ll be grateful for the leg-work put in by The Lost Lords, but it felt like a holding pattern.

Gared arrives at ‘The Wall’ for ranger training, which involves the introduction of a few new interesting characters, such as Frost-fingers, the embittered overseer of new recruits, but doesn’t really go anywhere. We’re no closer to the mysterious ‘North Grove’ when the episode ends.

Asher is persuaded to return to Ironrath in a bid to save his besieged family, but has to gather an army of mercenaries first. Unfortunately, due to his brief participation in the episode he only has enough time for a fight and a brisk walk.

Mira, who was the least interesting protagonist in Iron From Ice, surprisingly takes the spotlight. After meeting Tyrion Lannister, the sharp-tongued uncle of King Joffrey, she conspires with him to aid her family whilst making some dangerous enemies in King’s Reach. Her particular deeds inject some much needed drama into the lethargic second episode.

If there’s one thing Telltale’s Game of Thrones has excelled at thus far, it’s creating truly dislikeable villains. After Ramsay Snow made us wince when he brutally slew Ethan in the last episode, Ludd Whitehill, the lord of the treacherous House Whitehill who relentlessly victimises the Forresters, makes you grind your teeth in anger. He is obnoxious and infuriating, and I’m willing to stick with the series as long as I get the chance to drive a sword through his stomach.

Talking of swords, the combat in Game of Thrones is going to be a serious issue. Like all Telltale games, conflicts are resolved with QTEs. However, in The Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us, the emphasis is mostly on the relationships between characters, and any combat feels either frantic and desperate, or reckless and undesirable respectably.

Game of Thrones is set in a universe defined by conflict and populated with sword-wielding men. As a result, there is an emphasis on combat and the few fights there are in the episode just aren’t fun, especially when they feel token. Asher is introduced to the player through a huge bloodbath that didn’t really need to happen. Telltale would be advised to include as little combat as possible, rather than going the extra mile to squeeze battles in when they aren’t necessary.

The Lost Lords also lacked any of Telltale’s trademark tough decisions. There are moments where the player is given a significant choice, such as when Mira has the opportunity to forge a letter that would have aided her family, but they feel more like traps than valid choices.

Sure, you could choose forgery, but any veteran of Telltale games will know that a choice like that will have severe and immediate consequences. Indeed, if you choose not to forge the letter, a few moments later a character basically says “Oh, I expected you to be doing something subversive so I could punish you for it”.

Despite its clunky combat sections and lack of excitement, The Lost Lords does help continue to build up the anticipation of the inevitable collision of the wide roster of characters and their varied agendas. It also allows to player the pleasure of being able to explore the world further, using the strength of its setting to full advantage.

Regrettably, that doesn’t detract from the fact that when the episode concluded with a cringe-worthy song, all I could say was ‘is that it?’. Telltale have done a decent job of establishing House Forrester and promising excitement, but with the third episode they really need to start delivering. The Lost Lords is filled with characters who talk about what they intend to do, and what they fear might happen, but not much actually does.

5/10

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