Game Review

Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming is a browser based MMO strategy empire building game designed and published by Yoozoo Interactive. Based on the television series as well as the A Song of Ice and Fire books, you play as the leader of your own House and your main goal is to gain influence and power in Westeros. Build your castle, muster your troops, level up your lords and commanders as you fight for dominance and prestige.

 

MANAGE YOUR OWN CASTLE

The first thing you will need to learn when playing a Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming is how to manage your castle with efficiency. This is where you recruit units, research technologies and produce ressources - all key elements of the game - and you do so by constructing buildings. The catch is that it takes real time to either build or upgrade your buildings, and the more powerful they get, the more time it takes. You can speed up progression by using diamonds (an in-game currency) or by using daily logins gifts. Using those on the right buildings and/or at the right time is key, as you don’t get an unlimited supply of diamonds or boosts.

 

 

LEVEL UP YOUR LORDS AND COMMANDERS

 

Lords are your main characters. They will gain levels as you progress through the game, at which point you will be able to spend talent points to improve their combat abilities or their castle building efficiency. You can also equip them with gear (that you earn or craft) to boost their stats. Having strong lords will go a long way in having you gain enough power to be a force in the kingdom.

 

Commanders are iconic characters from the series and books (or original characters that were created for the game). They will fight for you, command your units in battle or man your castle to upgrade its defense. They all have unique special abilities that can be upgraded as they gain levels. You will be able to obtain them by purchasing packs in the store or by playing PVE campaigns. Be sure to run those daily as you have a limited amount of stamina to spend on campaigns each day.

 

 

FIGHT FOR THE CONTROL OF WESTEROS

 

PVP is what a Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming is all about. After the tutorial’s grace period is over, any other player in the kingdom will be able to attack you, so you better be ready to defend yourself by then. And after you reach level 10, other players will be able to capture your lords if they are defeated in combat (something you will want to avoid at all costs). As you take on other players’ lineups, you will be able to climb the rankings, which might end up giving you an allowance of premium diamonds if you position yourself high enough on the leaderboard.

 

There are 4 types of units in a Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming (infantry, spearmen, cavalry, bowmen) and the game uses a unit counter system that is similar to rock/paper/scissors: infantry counters spearmen, spearmen counters cavalry, cavalry counters infantry. Bowmen do not get countered by any unit, making them pretty powerful. It is important to note that commanders have their own specialization and that they do count in the unit counter system. You will need to have them join the right formation in order to get the best out of them. Combat is automated by default, but you can also decide to control the action and unleash your commanders special abilities as you see fit.

 

JOIN AN ALLIANCE

 

To really benefit from the MMO portion of the game, you will need to be social, open up your world chat and join an alliance (the equivalent of a guild). Players in an alliance can grow their empire together, trade resources as well as defend one another - all good things when you are trying to grow your House’s power. Every pack purchased in the store or any PVE neutral rebel leaders defeated by a member of your alliance will grant the whole alliance with gifts, another big incentive to not play solo and on your own.

 

 

WHAT’S THE ENDGAME?

 

After all this has been said, you might want to ask “Ok that’s all cool, but what do I ultimately build, upgrade and fight for?”. Well this is a Game of Thrones isn’t it? You lords and ladies fight for the very control of Westeros.

 

Every 7 days (real time), a Castle Siege event takes place where alliances fight for the control of the eight major cities of Westeros (King’s Landing, Sunspear, Riverrun, Storm’s End, Highgarden, Casterly Rock, the Eyrie, Winterfell). When captured by an alliance, these major cities grant buffs or boosts to every member of the alliance, buffs that will last the entire week (until the next Castle Siege event).

 

Out of the 8 major cities, King’s Landing is the big prize. The leader of the alliance that captured it becomes the king and is allowed to give titles to other players (either in the alliance itself or to other players in the kingdom). These titles will either give boosts or debuffs to those they are given to, making the taking of King’s Landing a very profitable endeavor. Picture yourself giving the title of Fool (and the penalties that come with it) to that player who’s been pestering you since you started playing. Pretty satisfying.

 

 

TO CONCLUDE

Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming is a great game. If you’re a fan of the tv series and/or the books, you will appreciate being able to play as your favorite iconic characters. The game accurately recreates the tension and intrigue that is so unique to Westeros and the endgame can be pretty exhilarating. There is some aspect of pay-to-win, but the game can be played for free the whole way through. As in other games, you just need to go for what you’re after and persevere. All in all, I think it's a game every Game of Thrones fan should play. It is pretty cool and unique.