The banner saga reviews full#
The banner saga reviews series#

Though obtuse, it is a beautiful game to behold, with a likeable cast of characters and satisfying gameplay. The game is streamlined, alternating between character conversations, battles and 2D scenes of your group trudging drearily along their path, with the odd animated scene for good measure. It’s strange and at odds with the brutal narrative, though at least the story is kept moving at a swift pace. Lose a battle and the game continues regardless without offering a second chance. What’s more, there are no game over screens here. Not so here: instead they’re merely injured for a set number of battles, lowering their stats. In many games of this type, your characters permanently die if they fall in battle. It’s a smart system that’s actually quite simple to get to grips with. The main hook is choosing to break an enemy’s shield, or deal direct damage: breaking a shield gives you a higher likelihood of your attacks hitting, but as strength and health are tied together in the same stat you’ll want to deal heavy damage to prevent enemies from damaging you in return. Fights are turn-based, with characters laid out on a grid, able to move a set number of squares and attack enemies with a range of weapons and abilities that require strategy to fully utilise. Really, it feels like an interactive novel, the rich storytelling punctuated by battles and accompanied by an epic (if underused) score.Īn optional tutorial explains the very basics of the battle system, but it’s otherwise intimidating.

It is wonderfully descriptive, adding literary details to enhance the simple graphics and creating believable characters with cloudy motives. It’s the writing that really makes The Banner Saga so gripping. Parallel to this is the Varl Iver, escorting the Valka Juno and her apprentice Eyvind on a perilous quest that could save the world. Keeping the peace is no easy feat, and soon the city is besieged by the Dredge and a surrounding darkness. The hunter Rook, now head of his caravan, has reached the city of Arberrang where warring factions scheme and plot. In this third game, the narrative is split in two. But this low fantasy has moments of excitement too, heightened by the beautiful animated art.

As is typical of Norse mythology it is apocalyptic and melancholic in tone, full of misery and death.

The series is set in a Norse-inspired world of perpetual twilight, abandoned by the gods and inhabited by men, magic-wielding Valka, giant Varl, the centaur horseborn, and an evil ancient race known as the Dredge. The Banner Saga is (initially at least) a complex beast and without prior knowledge of the series, you’ll be drowning in character and place names, insurmountable story arcs, and a daunting battle system overflowing with numbers. For newcomers, you can watch a recap video in the main menu, but it’s all too brief.įrom there, it begins with Chapter 16 and you’re thrown immediately into the midst of plot. You’re prompted at the start to import your save file from the previous games, allowing you to continue the quest with your story choices and army of characters.

Likewise, you shouldn’t start the Banner Saga with this third and final game in the trilogy. And you wouldn’t start Star Wars with Return Of The Jedi. You wouldn’t start Lord of the Rings with The Return Of The King.

The banner saga reviews full#

The banner saga reviews series#