I still want a Game of Thrones video game

I can only describe it as an act of self-flagellation when I started watching Game of Thrones again. It’s rare that I re-watch a drama series (I can watch a comedy again and again), and in most cases in the past it’s because my partner didn’t watch it straight away. But we both watched Game of Thrones when it aired. We watched separately and then met side by side throughout the show’s run. When the show was over, we turned to each other and said, “Was that it?” So why are we watching it again?

The factual answer is: “Because she wanted to.” I’m more of a movie watcher and can catch a lot of cool horror films, especially during this very spooky month. She usually chooses the TV series, and it’s the same with Game of Thrones. But more specifically, why she chose it and why I agreed to it is because Game of Thrones is actually very good.

It’s easy to forget how great Game of Thrones was

It was the most-watched TV show of the last decade, the biggest “water cooler” TV show of all time, and the most influential piece of fantasy since the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, if not the original novels themselves. It’s nothing new to you, that this show was good. But it’s amazing how the ending completely destroyed his reputation. Not only is it a bad ending, it’s also one that puts you off watching the series and destroys any cultural cache the series has accumulated up to that point.

This was a factor in our new watch. My wife was hesitant about choosing Game of Thrones because of how everything ended. I pointed out that as self-respecting people, we didn’t buy Season 8 on DVD, so our run could end at the end of Season 7. That was pleasant, and now our watch begins. I’ve seen shows with endings I didn’t like and general abandonment because the energy ran out near the end, but Game of Thrones’ dark finale is as unprecedented as its success.

I’ve never cared too much about the end point of things. As smart people have said, it’s all about the journey. I recently wrote about how I’m strongly opposed to any decisions we made in Dragon Age: Inquisition (or previous games) “not mattering” just because The Veilguard doesn’t allow world states to be imported. I know I don’t like the ending of Jaime, Tyrion and Bran’s stories or anything about Eurons. I know Varys has an inappropriate death. I know Arya and Sansa’s arcs are being undermined by a decline in their writing quality. I know Dany… well. Until then, I can still enjoy the stories they tell.

“Game of Thrones” was an absolute fumble, and “House of the Dragon” falls short

We know that too. Anyone who has seen Game of Thrones will remember Blackwater, The Rains Of Castamere, The Laws Of Gods And Man and Mockingbird. As independent episodes, and even in the context of the immediate episodes, they are brilliant. But re-watching the series makes me realize how little Game of Thrones exists in our current cultural landscape.

I read the books and gave up on ever getting another one. I was reluctant to watch House of the Dragon because I’m still upset about the ending of Game of Thrones, but it also felt like one of the less interesting planned spin-offs. It’s just Game of Thrones all over again – warring factions for the crown, a crazy family corrupted by power, and dragons ruling over everything. After this rewatch, it’s probably time to dive in, but I know it won’t quite scratch the itch.

Earlier this year, reports surfaced about a Game of Thrones MMO set in seasons four and five, and I was hesitant. An MMO doesn’t seem like the best way to experience this world, and putting it in the middle of the story we already know would only make it worse. I suggested a Song of Ice and Fire game at the time, one that picked up aspects of the show or explored the broader mythos, but honestly I’d take a game set in the middle of it if it was something more interesting and less likely- more of a cash cow than an MMO.

Game Of Thrones still needs a truly great game

There have been Game of Thrones games before. Telltale had a decent breakthrough by bringing a new family into the mix – the Stark banners of House Forrester. By including characters like Ramsay, Cersei, and Margaery, the film was clearly set in the reality of the series, but managed to feel like its own thing. Unfortunately, it was a mediocre effort by Telltale’s standards and it’s strange that Game of Thrones doesn’t have a better soldier in its army.

We’re now in a time where video game adaptations have a little more freedom. Guardians of the Galaxy and Marvel’s Avengers are both clearly inspired by the films’ interpretation of their characters, but tell a new story in a new universe. Saber Interactive is adapting “A Quiet Place” and “Jurassic Park” into new stories set in the universe of the films. Xbox’s big hitter of 2024 is an original Indiana Jones title. Game of Thrones has a universe that just begs to be explored in this way.

A Game of Thrones action-adventure game where you play as Robb Stark would be cool, regardless of whether the Red Wedding serves as an ending (or a beginning to an alternate narrative), but we could also see some stories from which the series was cut from another time in Westeros or from the perspective of a lowborn character whose fate is subject to the whims of the Wheel.

Rewatching Game of Thrones put me in the same mood as the first time – why aren’t there video games I can use to kill the brave men at my gates? Maybe my appetite will be spoiled again by the end. But I got used to the show again so quickly, and I’m sure many other fans would too if the games gave them half a chance.