I’ll be honest — as a longtime fan of Game of Thrones, I wasn’t exactly hyped when I first heard about this game. It’s been years since the show ended (and not on the highest note), and learning it was a free-to-play title didn’t help my expectations.

Still, I’m a sucker for open-world action RPGs, so I decided to give it a shot with the cheapest Founder’s Pack. I figured, worst case, I’d wasted a lunch.

At first glance, the combat didn’t totally click with me. Coming from games like The Witcher 3 and Elden Ring, I expected something a little tighter or more weighty. This felt more casual—more hack-and-slash. But then... something shifted.

The more I played, the more I realized the combat has layers. There’s real tactical variety depending on how you approach each fight, and while it’s not punishing like a Soulslike, it rewards smart play and character growth. Speaking of which, there are tons of ways to build and progress your characters. Hitting a wall and then overcoming it after a bit of grinding? Genuinely satisfying.

What really caught me off guard, though, was the narrative. It’s surprisingly rich and well-crafted — on par with AAA story-driven RPGs. If you’re a fan of Westeros, the writing and world-building here absolutely deliver. It feels like a respectful extension of the universe, not just a licensed cash-in.

As for monetization, I had my worries — and yes, there are some RNG-heavy elements that can be annoying. But overall, it wasn’t as bad as I feared. In fact, as someone with a busy life and limited playtime, the game’s progression pace actually suited me. It’s a game you can chip away at — one slice at a time — and still feel like you’re getting somewhere.

Bottom line:
If you come in expecting Elden Ring, you’ll probably bounce. But if you’re open to a slower-burning, narrative-rich GoT RPG with accessible action and some real depth, Game of Thrones: Kingsroad might surprise you — like it did me.

Brutally Honest Review of Game of Thrones: Kingsroad
(From someone who actually likes ASOIAF)

First off, this is a mobile game ported to PC—let’s get that out of the way. The graphics? They’re fine. Nothing mind-blowing, but good enough for what the game is aiming for.

Combat starts off kind of mid (6/10), but once you unlock the parry system(defense tree), it actually gets better—closer to a 6.5 or 7/10. It’s not groundbreaking, but it feels more interactive and satisfying.

As for microtransactions—honestly, they haven’t been overwhelming. A lot of stuff available, I don’t even know why you’d bother buying it. The only thing that seemed actually useful was extra storage space.

What surprised me most is the voice acting—genuinely better than expected. In fact, I’d say it’s better than Assassin’s Creed Shadows (English VO) and Avowed, based on what we’ve seen so far.

The story? It’s mildly interesting—just enough to keep me going. Nothing earth-shattering, but it works.

And finally, let’s talk about the “pay-to-win” complaints. The game isn’t PvP; it’s co-op. You’re not getting an advantage over other players, just maybe speeding up your own progress. To me, that’s not pay-to-win—that’s just pay-for-convenience. Even then it doesn’t feel grindy. So my definition of pay to win is very different to some people here.

So far? It’s a fun open-world Westeros game. It’s not perfect, but it’s decent.
Final score: 7/10.

decent game but pretty predatory to have pay to win mechanics on a paid game

TLDR; It is not a p2w game, at least not in the sense of participating in PvP. It is primarily a solo PvE with a decent story, earnable cosmetics (pretty much all currency can be earned from playing the game), character creation, quests and a nice representation of Westeros. Doesn't require knowledge of Game of Thrones to play.

I hope this review helps someone, I almost passed up on the game because of all the negative reviews and ended up pleasantly surprised. I hope that other people try it and see if they actually like it. If they don’t like it, that’s perfectly fine and completely okay.

I also know there’s people that will find the review funny, because, well…it’s Steam. I at least tried to give a completely honest opinion of the game’s mechanics.

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I'll try to keep this as brief as possible.

I'll go over what most of the negative reviews talk about. I took the time to actually consider what was available in the game before making an opinion.


The game will eventually be F2P, however, you are currently able to get 'early access' by purchasing 1 of 3 tiers ($25/$50/$90). You're getting items such as outfits (appearance varies slightly between male/female/class but the theme is generally the same), mounts, emoji, in-game currency (copper).

As far as I can tell there isn't any PvP, so there isn't a 'pay to win'. You can buy a certain currency to get cosmetic armor or some of the mounts. Some of the cosmetics/mounts appear to be rewards for completing certain things in game (think WoW drops).

The Deluxe and Ultimate editions come with the battle pass premium for 28ish days or something - you do not have to pay extra for it.

If you want to upgrade your standard edition to Deluxe/Ultimate, you have to do it in-game for it to work properly. I originally tried to do it directly from the Steam store and found that it didn't work (refunded it and asked for help in the game discord).

The battle pass has a free and paid tier, the free tier includes crafting materials and other similar items. It also has a piece of mount equipment, same with the paid tier.

In regards to 'energy', it's similar to Genshin Impact/Wuthering/Honkai/etc. in that regard where you can grind materials but you have a resource that you use to be able to gather it after a boss fight. I assume it’s how F2P regulates how fast the player base progresses in terms of materials. That resource replenishes naturally, but you can still play the game normally, progress through the story quests, etc. There IS an option to pay for that resource along with certain in game currencies for those that don’t want to wait/want to progress a lot faster.

Fast travel usage requires the in game currency, copper. I want to say World of Warcraft uses the gold/silver/copper for fast travel as well?

When you die, there is an option to respawn with copper or respawn a little ways away (or something like that!). I do think the respawn system could be tweaked since the game plays more like a solo game outside of the in game chat + world boss. That kind of system works better if you have a teammate to find you and reduce you, otherwise it’s an unnecessary extra step.

The shop is NOT forced on you at any point in time. It isn't available at the start of the game, it just becomes available a little ways in and it doesn't even go out of its way to tell you this.

Multiplayer wise, you're playing solo until you have to fight a world boss. I'd consider this game more of a solo PvE (which I'm personally fine with).

Also, it's a PC game first as the mobile version hasn't released yet.

Controller bindings are..odd. You can rebind them, but, for example, there isn’t a way to change the confirmation button from Y/RB.

The game works on Steam Deck, but the controls don’t seem to be as responsive when navigating the menus/UI. Not sure why. You can’t really navigate any of the menus, equipment screens, etc because it just refuses to respond.

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Story-wise

The Game of Thrones TV series and the book series never really interested me even after watching an entire season. However, I did find the story to be rather enjoyable in Kingsroad and I'm actually interested to see how it turns out. You can make your own character (3 character slots, 1 for each class).

The game runs well enough with the only issue being lip synching not looking accurate for English and the dialogue lines kinda just assuming the female character is a man (master instead of lady, for example from your family's House).

I'd recommend the game easily for $25 or you could very well wait until it goes free in a few weeks.

Going into Game of Thrones: Kingsroad, I didn’t really know what to expect. However, after spending over 40 hours with the Steam Next Fest demo, I was pleasantly surprised by how engaging the combat turned out to be. Details about Kingsroad had been relatively scarce since its initial announcement at the Game Awards, and given that it was originally billed as a mobile game, I wasn’t holding my breath. Thankfully, it’s not solely mobile, and the PC version already feels like a promising experience, especially now in its early access phase.

Set around the events of Season 4, Kingsroad picks up where debatably some say the TV series started to shift in tone. While many players will likely be drawn in by the alternative storyline that expands on the aftermath of key moments like the Red Wedding, I found myself much more invested in the gameplay. For me, it wasn’t so much the plot that hooked me, but the thrill of sneaking through the wilderness of Westeros as an Assassin, taking out Wildlings and exploring the expansive map. The story is compelling, but it’s the combat and world exploration that has me looking forward to the full release.


One thing that stood out almost immediately was how Kingsroad manages to deliver a more dynamic combat system than I had anticipated. While the combat may not break new ground, it’s much more intricate than the straightforward button-mashing I was expecting. Each class has its own unique abilities, all of which are tied to cooldown timers. The Assassin class, in particular, was a blast to play – dodging and flipping around enemies made me feel like I was truly part of the Game of Thrones universe, channeling my inner Arya Stark. While the stealth mechanics are fun, I did notice that enemies could be a little too forgiving, often failing to notice me sneaking up on them.


Even though there are only three playable classes in the game so far, this doesn’t feel like a limitation. The class progression system is surprisingly deep, with Trait Trees that allow you to specialize in Attack, Defense, or Support. Each class also has its own set of skills, which you can slot into four available skill slots, giving you room to experiment with different builds. I particularly appreciated how you can switch between classes whenever you like, adding variety to the gameplay and ensuring that each run feels different depending on the class you’re focusing on.

The PC version feels optimized for a broad RPG experience, with plenty of quests – main story quests, side missions, faction quests, and even estate managing/upgrading. There’s always something to do, and the rewards are satisfying, ranging from crafting materials to weapons and armor. This progression system, combined with the fluid combat, makes Kingsroad a much more enjoyable RPG experience than any other Game of Thrones videogame out there.


Visually, Kingsroad is stunning, especially for an early access game. The world of Westeros is beautifully rendered, and exploring it is a joy in itself. From Castle Black to the open wilderness, the game captures the gritty, foreboding atmosphere of the TV show with impressive attention to detail. However, there are signs that Kingsroad was originally designed with mobile in mind. The menus and in-game currency system scream “mobile-first,” and the game’s structure leans heavily toward microtransactions.

Despite the game’s mobile roots and the looming specter of microtransactions, the core gameplay loop is satisfying. Combat is smooth, the world is engaging, and there’s plenty of content to dive into.


Game of Thrones: Kingsroad may have started as a mobile project, but the early access PC version offers more than I expected. The combat and exploration elements are fun and offer far more depth than initially meets the eye. While the story may be a big draw for fans of the series, it’s the gameplay that will keep me coming back. It’s a shame that the game is somewhat bogged down by mobile game mechanics, but if you’re willing to look past that, Kingsroad has a lot to offer.

I have actually played this—over 60 hours in just the last two weeks. Not a quick refund after one death, not a knee-jerk rage post after the tutorial. I gave it a proper go, and honestly, a lot of the negativity out there is just noise.

Most people writing negative reviews either bounced off within an hour or are just echoing the same complaints without taking the time to understand the systems. It’s easy to throw around words like “pay to win” when you do not even know what you are supposedly winning.

This is a primarily single-player ARPG. The only time you see other players is in group dungeons or raids. There is no PvP right now, so the entire "pay to win" narrative makes no sense. Who are you even beating? Yourself? If anything, the players spending money are helping everyone else out by carrying group content and keeping the game alive. It is more “pay to help” than anything else.

Yeah, the energy system is a bit rough. It caps how long you can grind before needing to wait or switch things up. But it is not the end of the world. There is still plenty to do—exploring, crafting, gearing up, side content. It slows you down, sure, but it doesn’t stop you from enjoying the game unless you’re determined to be mad about it.

And yes, there are a bunch of currencies, but that is standard in any online RPG. Once you actually spend a few hours in the game, they start to make sense. People acting like this is some impossible-to-understand system clearly never got far enough to even try.

The monetization can be aggressive in spots, but nothing is outright paywalled. You can progress completely free if you are willing to play the game the way it is meant to be played. Craft, upgrade, farm materials, and build your character. If your idea of progression is just smashing through the story without engaging with the actual systems, that is on you—not the game.

The combat is fun, the world feels like Westeros, and the visuals are great. This is not just a mobile game with a Game of Thrones skin—it has actual depth and gameplay, even if it borrows some mechanics from mobile MMOs. It is far from perfect, but also far from the trainwreck people make it out to be.

Bottom line—if you are a fan of ARPGs and can handle some grind and a bit of monetization, give it a fair go. The loudest complaints are coming from people who either did not actually play it or just do not understand the genre. Stick with it, learn the systems, and you might actually enjoy it like I did.

What Is This Game?:

In short, this a singer player game where you play through a story in the Game of Thrones universe which includes Co-Op combat like boss fights but disclaimer, most of the gameplay is single player content.

Quick Summary Review:

I'm 10 hours into the game and I must say I'm really enjoying the variety of things to do within the game and most importantly get myself sunken into a Game of Thrones unique story.
This isn't a revolutionary game but if your looking for your next Game of Thrones itch this will do for now! (until we get a AAA GOT game)

Rating Summary:

Beginner Friendly - 8/10 - Due to this also being a mobile game import they have to make this easy for people to pick up. So far I've only had to google a few odd little bits to learn what things mean but expect that you can play through the game without any worries.

Story - 9/10 - The whole reason I've picked up this game. Keep in mind I've only just started but the story is really drawing me in.
Extra bonus for the side quests as they are generally interesting and not something I just skip.

Combat - 7/10 - The combat is simple on the surface but still offers a challenging experience. They've found a great balance of being a more relaxed experience but also ensuring I can't just spam my way through combat.

Replayability - 6/10 - What makes me come back? Personally for me the storyline. If your not playing it for that reason I could see this struggling to keep retaining players. However, they have daily quests, challenges, bosses to keep you grinding.

Micro-transactions - 5/10 - The game does include transactions with the battle-passes etc but I haven't found myself having to spend money like the other reviews on here made me feel to believe. However, with the RP system if you want to grind some parts of the game they do force payments.

Pay To Win - 6.5/10 - The game is a solo experience so paying for upgrades doesn't really matter as of my review. Yes you can make purchases which will upgrade your gear faster and have an easy experience but so far just generally playing the game has been absolutely fine. The game does include bits which just should come as standard and leaves me worried how grindy this will get late game if i don't make purchases.

Voice Acting - 7/10 - As you have seen the game includes our beloved characters from the show but they've used other voice actors. I must say the majority of the ones I have encountered have done a good job of not breaking the characters immersion I know from the show. Are they an exact copy? No, but I think in most cases they've done a decent job.

Summary:

Overall Rating - 7/10 - I've enjoyed the variety of different tasks included within the game and most importantly been sucked into the great writing! Yes the micro transactions is a let down but so far I've not seen it take an impact on my gameplay but only time will tell on this.

Should I Get This Game:

The game is going to be free soon so if your a Game of Thrones fan my simple answer is YES!

Disclaimer:

Please note before purchasing, the game is free on mobile and will be free on PC soon.
Therefore, if your not sure about purchasing, I would recommend just waiting for this to come out for free.

This is a review from my experience so far, regarding longevity please refer to another guide but hopefully this helps the casual player thinking of getting this game

Thank you for taking the time to read my review and hopefully this has helped you make a decision on if the game is worth trying, if there's any other aspects of the game you'd like my thoughts on or any questions please do let me know and I'll try my best to assist.

Game of Thrones: Kingsroad is an attempt to bring HBO's Game of Thrones into an open-world, adventure RPG, with Souls-like combat. Originally developed for mobile, the game has since expanded onto PC, bringing a surprisingly solid experience. While it may not be a AAA title, at full release it will be free, and so far it has delivered an interesting blend of engaging combat, authentic environments, and a decent RPG experience that I think fans of the franchise could appreciate.

At its core, Kingsroad follows a Souls-like gameplay formula with a strong emphasis on deliberate, weighty combat. The difficulty is well-balanced, rewarding careful positioning and timing. My main criticism thus far is the timing for parrying is a bit too early in the enemy's animation and should be pushed further back.

Outside of combat, Kingsroad has plenty of content to explore. Bandit camps, ruins, enemy wave survival, and dungeons give players various ways to engage with the world, which despite the repetitive nature I generally found to be enjoyable. The dungeons serve as grinding spots for higher quality gear, often featuring a single boss fight, though a few have multi-stage encounters with meaningful decisions impacting rewards and progression. Overall I'd say If you enjoyed a game like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, you’ll likely find the exploration elements satisfying.

While the narrative won’t win any awards, it is engaging enough to keep players invested and I was pleasantly surprised at how well some scenes were animated and voice-acted. Before release, some said that Kingsroad would just be a generic RPG with a Game of Thrones skin, but that assessment feels inaccurate to me. The story integrates well with the events of the show while ensuring player actions feel impactful without contradicting established canon. The portrayal of the show's main characters varies in but I would say that they're all the very least serviceably represented, I never felt like a character's portrayal was butchered.

The story feels well-integrated into the game as a whole, it's long (I'm halfway though at this point and honestly if I wanted I could slow-down and do more side activities) and certainly feels like the gameplay was built around it rather than the other way around. Side-quests are surprisingly enjoyable with some featuring brief storylines that fit in with the dark and gritty themes of GOT.

Graphically, Kingsroad is serviceable but not spectacular. The graphics are not bad at all, but don't expect to be amazed. Character lip-syncing is atrocious though, and lips rarely move in accordance with the dialogue. Not to mention that Character models have clearly been reused, you will see a lot of the same npcs and enemies throughout your journey and it really harms immersion.

That being said, the game shines in its environmental design. Locations like White Harbor, The Red Keep, and Oldtown are pretty cool and feel like faithful representations of what these places could have looked like in the show. Exploring these locations is a highlight of the game for me, making the game worthwhile for Game of Thrones fans purely for the world-building alone.

The soundtrack primarily consists of tracks from the show, possibly mixed with original compositions that blend seamlessly. It does its job well, though nothing stands out as particularly memorable or new. The music maintains the signature Game of Thrones atmosphere, which helps ground the experience.

This game should have been released as a singleplayer game. The Multiplayer features are barebones and irrelevant to the game's core gameplay, you can clearly tell that they only included these features to justify having micro-transactions. On top of that, the pricing is egregious and predatory, with outfits costing more than 20 euros. You can progress the story with no issues if you're a F2p player, spending is certainly not required to enjoy the Game of Thrones aspect of this game. However, if you want to compete on the leaderboards and power rankings, that's where all the whales will dominate. There's no PvP whatsoever and you're just compared by stats. Personally, I just avoid the store and don't care about leaderboards, the rewards for being at the top are pretty inconsequential compared to the rewards you can get by just doing activities in-game.

Simply for the fact that its currently the best representation of an open-world GOT thus far, I think that Kingsroad has solid long-term potential, particularly if it continues to expand. Currently, about half of the North and the Reach are implemented, and although that already feels large when you're exploring, the developers have committed to adding more content over time. If they deliver on this promise, the game could become a long-standing RPG experience.

If you enjoy Souls-like gameplay and want to experience the GOT world, then this could be a game that you would return to once in a while.

Wait until the game becomes free at full release. Game of Thrones: Kingsroad is easily the best mobile-to-PC adaptation I’ve played. It may not reach AAA standards, but considering it will be free at full release, it doesn’t need to. The solid combat, authentic world, and ability to avoid its terrible monetization make it a worthwhile experience for any Game of Thrones fan.

It definitely feels like the developers, despite the limitations that executives placed on their budget, technology, and monetization practices, were passionate about delivering a good game.

If you're eager to play it now during early access, stick to the standard edition—there’s no need to pay extra. Assuming the developers avoid the temptation of tying story progression to monetization, Kingsroad is a game worth keeping an eye on.

Rating: 7.5/10 – A surprisingly decent RPG experience with room to grow, as long as you consider that this is an open-world Game of Thrones experience that will be free at release.

The game is fun but you have to understand what it is. It is a game that has generally good voice acting and story but is designed with many mobile game aspects in mind. It is a FREE TO PLAY game that will be free after early access. Buying it now is essentially spending money on microtransactions in order to play the game early.

The game is fun and getting stronger is satisfying. However, if you are expecting a game where you can keep grinding non-stop this won't be it. Each day you will eventually hit a wall where you have run out of RP (Reward Points) and cannot gain rewards from combat. There is a bunch of field content to complete as well such as ruin puzzles and quests but eventually you'll run through all of those.

The game can be called pay to win because you can just spend money to play more, get extra rewards and fast track your momentum (power). However, there is a complete lack of PvP so the only way paying players affect your game is by helping you complete dungeons and world boss events faster.

It also makes 100% sense to just wait for release and play it for free and never put any money into the game

I don't typically write reviews because I honestly don't care what people think lol. I'm adding my 2 cents since the trolls are out in force bashing this game saying it's a mobile port and p2w etc etc. The game is certainly no AAA title but does that matter? If you ever wanted to be part of the GOT world this is as close as you will get. I'm loving ever minute I spend playing it. The PC client is top notch and the controls have been made for PC not ported from mobile as some people will have you believe. The game has tons of options to buy stuff from the cash shop from costumes to pay for convenience items and battle passes. None of it is needed to enjoy and play the game. At it's core it's a single player game with some coop so what are you winning by spending money in the cash shop? Play the game and enjoy the world of GOT and ignore the trolls who just love to hate.