8 Videogames to Fill that Game of Thrones Hole in Your Life
Photos courtesy of HBO
So you’re about to say goodbye to Game of Thrones. This last season might be a bummer (people really seem to hate it), but still, it’s always a little sad when something that’s been a part of your life as long as that show has goes away. It’ll leave a void, and you’re going to feel it, at least at first.
What are you going to do with that free time? How are you going to replace that mix of magic and intrigue in a fake medieval setting that you’ve poured tens of hours into over the last eight years? You could always read George R. R. Martin’s books (no relation), if you haven’t already, but that’s one hell of a commitment, especially since so many people seem positive that he won’t actually finish the story. You could rewatch the TV show from the start, but do you really want to be that person who just relives the same shows over and over? (I mean, yeah, The Wire’s great, but there are other shows out there, too, folks.)
You could try playing an official Game of Thrones videogame, but look at this list: other than Reigns: Game of Thrones, it’s not exactly a hit lineup we’re talking about. Hell, probably the most famous Game of Thrones games—Game of Thrones: A Telltale Game Series can’t even be bought on any digital storefronts anymore. You’d have to actually track it down in a retail store, like it was still the 20th century, or something.
Still, there’s something to this videogame idea. The Game of Thrones tie-ins might not do it, but you can find so many games that share much of the show’s attitude and aesthetics, and that are actually good, to boot. So let’s run down some of the best options for games that might help you get over your post-Game of Thrones hangover, even if they have absolutely nothing to do with Westeros or the White Walkers.
A Plague Tale: Innocence
What does gruesome violence, real-world politics, gradually increasing supernatural elements, and a heroic teenager with revenge on her mind sound like? Exactly. A Plague Tale doesn’t give itself over to fantasy as thoroughly as Game of Thrones did—it’s even rooted in a real historical setting, despite its entirely fictional (and ultimately fanciful) story—but its main thread resembles the plight of the younger Stark children, and it doesn’t shirk away from the shocking and grotesque.
The Witcher 3
One of the best-reviewed games of this decade is part of a deep, sprawling fantasy epic full of sex, violence and moral ambiguity. It embraces its medieval trappings as thoroughly as Game of Thrones, but with a greater emphasis on fantasy elements, including dwarves and elves as the like. That doesn’t make its stories any less believable or harrowing, though, or any less appropriate as a Game of Thrones surrogate.
Dragon Age
The Dragon Age series is more high fantasy than Game of Thrones typically got. It’s a Bioware game, though, so unsurprisingly it’s as long and deep and perhaps even as well-written as a few seasons of the TV show. There are a few to pick from but we’d recommend Dragon Age: Inquisition or the original, Dragon Age: Origins. Some people love the second one that came between those two, but we’d have a hard time pushing that on anybody we liked or respected.
