| Game of Thrones: Kingsroad | |||
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| Release Date | Gameplay & Story | Pre-Register & Pre-Order | Review |
Game of Thrones: Kingsroad brings players back to Westeros as a bastard of House Tyre. Read on to learn everything we know, our review of the demo, and more.
Everything We Know About Game of Thrones: Kingsroad
Game of Thrones: Kingsroad Plot
Set within the established timeline of Game of Thrones' fourth season, Kingsroad introduces players to an original narrative. Players assume the role of a bastard from the lesser Northern House Tyre, navigating a personal journey intertwined with the larger conflicts of Westeros. These conflicts include the struggle for the Iron Throne, the encroaching threat of the White Walkers, and the complex web of alliances and rivalries among the various factions. Players will encounter and interact with recognizable characters like Jon Snow, Tyrion Lannister, and Daenerys Targaryen, whose influence may impact the player's journey.
Game of Thrones: Kingsroad Gameplay
Kingsroad offers players a choice of three distinct character classes—Knight, Sellsword, and Assassin—each with its own unique combat styles and abilities. Initial gameplay footage indicates the Knight utilizes a longsword, the Sellsword favors a more aggressive approach with a battle axe, and the Assassin relies on the speed and precision that comes with dual-wielding daggers. As players progress through the game, they will gain access to a bow and the ability to sneak around enemies and execute stealth attacks.
Game of Thrones: Kingsroad Release Date
Releases Q2 2025
Game of Thrones: Kingsroad is slated for release on PC and mobile devices in Q2 2025, placing its launch between April and June.
Game of Thrones: Kingsroad Review [Demo]
Winter Can’t Come Soon Enough
After Telltale Games’ Game of Thrones Season 1 was left without a sequel due to the studio’s sudden closure, fans of A Song of Ice and Fire have been waiting—sometimes patiently, often not—for a video game that could do justice to the series’ lore and world. But instead, what we’ve gotten over the years are a handful of cash grabs, games that slapped the Game of Thrones logo on their packaging and called it a day. Case in point: Game of Thrones: Slots Casino. Because nothing screams "Westerosi power struggles" like a digital slot machine.
It’s such a shame! A Song of Ice and Fire has such a rich setting—sprawling across Westeros and Essos, filled to the brim with deception, war, and uneasy alliances. It’s a no-brainer that fans would want a proper RPG or strategy game, something akin to Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, where they can carve their own path through the Seven Kingdoms.
Game of Thrones Kingsroad is a new title that at least tries to scratch that itch. Developed and published by Netmarble—the same folks behind Solo Leveling: ARISE—the game certainly holds promise.
If you’re wondering why I said "tries," well, the mention of its developer might give you an idea. Netmarble is known for mobile and live-service games, so tempering expectations here might be wise, especially if these aren’t the kinds of games you’d want to play.
Still, with House of the Dragon Season 3 not releasing until 2026 and The Winds of Winter continuing to exist as a theoretical concept in George R. R. Martin’s head rather than an actual book, Kingsroad at least gives us something to pass the time, and at most, an actually compelling game that looks and feels as though it’s been handled properly by its developers.
No Throne, Just Road
Game of Thrones: Kingsroad is set during the events of the show’s fourth season—arguably the last truly great season before things started to fall off. You are a bastard from House Tyre, a lesser Northern house barely known beyond its lands. Sent to Castle Black on an errand by your father, Ser Marrok, what should have been a simple task quickly spirals into something far greater. Before long, your personal struggle becomes entangled in the grander conflicts shaping the realm—from the power plays of noble houses to the looming terror beyond the Wall. Familiar faces from the show make their appearances, including Jon Snow, Ramsay Bolton, and Samwell Tarly, and these cameos do well enough to show that you’re now part of the larger forces at play in Westeros.
Narratively at least, Kingsroad succeeds in making you feel like a small piece in a much larger story. Unlike so many power-hungry lords vying for the Iron Throne, you’re no chosen one, no secret heir—just another bastard trying to survive in a world that chews up and spits out the weak. The game’s narrative captures this well, constantly reminding you of your insignificance in the face of political machinations and the ever-present threat of White Walkers.
What's really neat is that some of your choices, whether during main or side quests, change how scenes play out. It's a bit light on the RPG depth, if you ask me, but those choices are there, and I'm hopeful Netmarble will build on them to make future quests feel truly impactful.
A World in War
One of the things I liked most is how some moments in Kingsroad aren’t tied to main quests or even side quests, yet they still demand choices from you. And by gods, they’re so good, as they add layers of depth to the world you’re in. Take one particular event I stumbled upon: in a small Northern village, I encountered a Bolton sympathizer—a cruel enforcer executing people on the spot for something as trivial as badmouthing the Bolton name, the current Wardens of the North. You can ignore him or call him out, but either way, he still carries out his brutal work. But then, hours later, in an entirely different location, I ran into him again, this time hanging a family near their home. No quest marker, no objective, just another grim scene unfolding before me.
Once again, I had a choice—let him continue or step in. I chose to kill him. And that was it. No triumphant music, no pop-up declaring "Quest Completed," no acknowledgement from the game. Just silence. The war rages on, and my actions, however justified, were just another drop in an ocean of violence.
I loved this part of my playthrough, as it reinforced the idea that the world didn’t revolve around me. I’m not some chosen hero blessed with plot armor like the Traveler from Genshin Impact or the Trailblazer from Honkai: Star Rail. I’m just a bastard from a minor Northern house, trying to survive like everyone else. The war has left people hardened, desperate, and utterly indifferent to my presence. No one stops to celebrate my victories or mourn my losses. They have their own problems to deal with—just like me.
Personally, these moments are what make Kingsroad’s narrative so great… just don’t start scrutinizing the finer details.
Too Much, Too soon
If you’re the type to hit the game with a well-timed "Uhm, actually…," you’ll find plenty to nitpick here. From a lore perspective, Kingsroad moves at its own pace, often ignoring the slow-burn patience that defines many of A Song of Ice and Fire’s moments. As mentioned, the game is set during the fourth season of Game of Thrones, a time when tensions between the Night’s Watch and the Wildlings are at their peak, and the North is still reeling from Robb Stark’s death. Given this, the idea that characters would already be engaging with White Walkers feels… off. If memory serves, by this point in the show, Jon Snow had only encountered Wights—the reanimated corpses controlled by the White Walkers—not the overlords themselves.
They shouldn’t be anywhere near the Wall at this point, as they have only reached Hardhome by the fifth season of the show. Yet, in Kingsroad, they’re somehow right there, just a stone’s throw away from the Wall. Why, then, even wait for Winter before invading Castle Black? I mean, if the Wildlings could do it, why can’t they? It genuinely feels like an oversight—one that, much like the later seasons of the show, prioritizes spectacle over what was previously established.
Sure, the added conflict is undeniably exciting, and the opening sequence alone had my jaw on the floor, but it also speeds up events in a way that diminishes the looming dread the White Walkers were meant to inspire. It’s a classic case of too much, too soon—something that the Game of Thrones series itself is all too familiar with.
Batman: Arkham City Meets Westeros
Regardless of how it handles its story, I have to admit—I had a really fun time with the game.
At the start, you choose between three job classes: Sellsword, Knight, and Assassin. The Sellsword has a more brutal fighting style, reminiscent of the Wildlings and the Dothraki. Knights are well-balanced, with a mix of offense and defense. Assassins, on the other hand, are quick and agile, dual-wielding daggers to overwhelm foes with rapid strikes. Each class also gets a ranged weapon: Sellswords use bows, Knights have crossbows, and Assassins throw daggers. Functionally, they’re all just different flavors of the same thing, but they add a nice touch of variety.
For my demo playthrough, I mostly stuck with the Assassin. Their speed and fluidity made combat more engaging, and frankly, they were just fun to play. But the other classes aren’t slackers either—Sellswords crush their enemies with two-handed axes, while Knights are ideal for a more defensive playstyle, perfect as a beginner-friendly class.
Combat itself feels like a fusion between the Batman: Arkham-style free-flow fighting and some mechanics from live-service games like Star Wars: The Old Republic and—dare I say it—Genshin Impact. You have a basic attack, a heavy attack, and a set of skills that consume a mana-like resource called Rage. This resource is easy to replenish just by attacking enemies.
It’s surprisingly simple, yet surprisingly satisfying. Throw in co-op battles where you team up with other players to fight against large enemies, and the game starts feeling like a single-player RPG with MMO-like elements layered on top—a mix that, at least in my time with it, worked well.
AI is so Dumb that Stealth is Pointless
I wish I could say the same for the game’s stealth mechanics, but unfortunately, they feel completely half-baked. Sneaking around technically works—you can pull off stealth attacks with ease—but the enemy AI is so comically oblivious that it drains any tension from the experience. I expected at least a sliver of awareness from my foes, maybe some sign that they’d noticed their comrades dropping like flies just a few feet away. But no. Enemies barely react, even when they’re staring directly at a fresh corpse. They don’t investigate their surroundings like the Hitman games, where guards actually notice when something’s amiss. Here, they just stand around waiting for the player to walk right in front of their vision.
It quickly became clear that stealth wasn’t worth the effort. Why waste time tiptoeing when I could just go in with dual daggers, slicing through enemies with reckless abandon? Charging headfirst into battle not only felt easier, but also way more fun.
That’s the real problem—stealth doesn’t feel like a viable or rewarding playstyle. A good stealth system should make you feel clever, like you’re outsmarting your enemies, weaving through the shadows, and executing takedowns. Kingsroad, on the other hand, treats stealth like an afterthought.
Looks Too Good for a “Mobile Game”
At the very least, stealth takedowns look fantastic. In fact, the entire game looks great. Even with settings tuned for performance, the game’s world remains stunning. The action is often so well-executed that I sometimes forget I’m playing what is, at its core, a live-service mobile game in the vein of Wuthering Waves or Genshin Impact. The combat animations are fluid, enemy designs are detailed, and the sheer scale of the environments makes it hard to believe this game is meant to run on mobile hardware.
And yet, the developers insist that the mobile version will retain the same level of graphical fidelity. If that’s true—if they somehow manage to squeeze this level of visual splendor onto a smartphone screen without making it look like a PlayStation 3 game—I’ll have nothing but praise for them.
Loading Times Longer Than the Long Night
That said, the demo wasn’t without its technical hiccups. Performance issues crop up frequently, particularly in cutscenes, where load times can drag on for so long that I genuinely thought the game had crashed more than once.
Texture pop-ins are also a problem. Every time a cutscene starts, the game takes its sweet time loading high-resolution assets, which makes everything look muddy and unfinished for a couple of seconds. Initially, I assumed the problem was on my end. My hardware, while decent, isn’t exactly top-of-the-line. But after reading reports from players with cutting-edge GPUs experiencing the exact same issues, it became clear that there’s a clear problem with the game’s optimization.
Still, I have no reason to believe these presentation issues won’t be ironed out before the game’s full release. With some optimization, Kingsroad could easily become one of the most visually impressive live-service games out there—on both PC and mobile.
A Throne Built on Microtransactions
After the undeniably cinematic opening sequence, however, the live-service mechanics slowly begin to creep in. Daily missions appear, stamina systems reminiscent of Genshin Impact's resin make their entrance, and a progression model clearly rooted in monetization structures starts to take shape. And unfortunately, the game’s mobile live-service nature could prove to be its greatest downfall.
The demo offers a glimpse into its monetization model, and it’s clear that many aspects of the game are designed to push you toward spending money. Cosmetics, mounts, and even gameplay conveniences are locked behind in-game currency. It’s a game that’s clearly built with microtransactions in mind, and its struggle will likely be finding the balance between monetizing certain aspects of the game and catering to those who aren’t really interested in such things. It doesn’t carry the same gacha appeal as its competitors, but it also doesn’t quite feel like a full-fledged AAA title either—more like a handheld Assassin’s Creed game in terms of gameplay.
There’s plenty to love about Game of Thrones: Kingsroad, but there’s also a fair bit to be cautious about. The Game of Thrones brand doesn’t exactly scream live-service game, so players coming in expecting something more akin to Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 might find the transition jarring. Given this, I suspect Kingsroad will face an uphill battle keeping players engaged well after its full release. Here’s hoping it doesn’t fall into the same trap as Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, where the live-service model, combined with players expectations, led to it shutting down.
But I can’t deny that the game is fun. In fact, it’s so much fun that I’m already thinking about how to juggle this with all the other live-service games I’m playing daily. Yes, there are plenty of issues—mainly in its presentation and certain gameplay mechanics—but I’m optimistic that these will be fixed by the time the game officially launches.
And with that, I can only hope that Winter arrives sooner rather than later… and brings more than just the chills.
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Game of Thrones: Kingsroad Product Information
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| Title | GAME OF THRONES: KINGSROAD |
|---|---|
| Release Date | Q2 2025 |
| Developer | Netmarble Neo |
| Publisher | Netmarble |
| Supported Platforms | PC (via Steam) Mobile Devices (Android and iOS) |
| Genre | Action-Adventure, RPG |
| Number of Players | Single-Player (1) Online Co-Op (1-4) |
| ESRB Rating | ESRB RP (Likely Mature 17+) |
| Official Website | Official Website for Game of Thrones: Kingsroad |
