The Banner Saga Reviews
The Banner Saga, while not absolutely perfect, ticks many boxes of what makes an RPG great. The story is deep and emotional, and the combat, marching and decision-making all have their own systems in place that work well by themselves and perfectly with each other. A game that will stay with you long after you finish.
The innovative battle system in The Banner Saga will have you hooked.
If you read my preview of the game late last year, there were a few things that didn't click with me about The Banner Saga. Yet playing through the full game, I wasn't noticing those issues as much. They're still there, but I was able to look past them. You can see the BioWare design influences heavily, and it's nice to see the focus shift to the overall story of the world and grand conflict, rather than individual personal stories. It creates a vast story that will change every time you play it, and your choices are surely going to play a part in the next two installments. But, yes, if the story and art style doesn't interest you, then the combat will absolutely draw you in.
Stoic's debut strategy RPG succeeds far more than it falters.
The designer Sid Meier famously said that a game is a series of interesting choices. It's a maxim fully embraced by The Banner Saga, which stitches those choices into its very fabric to form a tapestry that is wholly your own.
If anything, the game's limitations—the wooden conversations, the nonsensical and uneven means of resource management, the repetitive combat, the lack of real agency in determining your fate, the possibility of game-ending failure—become more glaring as it goes on, but unaccountably, they all add up to a coherent whole.
As an audio-visual experience, The Banner Saga is hard to beat. Tough choices and an elegant combat system help make the game fun and engaging right up to the end. With a few tweaks to the resource management system and some real soul-searching on enemy variety, Stoic could have a really terrific game on their hands. They're not there yet, but they're on the right track.
With beautiful hand-drawn animation and combat, The Banner Saga is a welcome relief to a gaming environment that is full of fast-paced and realistic scenarios. Making decisions and not knowing what the consequences of your decision keeps you on your guard through out the game. Given the slow pace of turn-based combat, I wish the game included a save function in the middle of combat. I also had a problem figuring out when the game last saved, but who needs saving when you are immersed in this epic story of hope and survival.
No, The Banner Saga hasn't reached its destination yet, but again: it's all about the journey.
The Banner Saga is a very good game with some obvious flaws. Some are due to budget, some are due to poor design. That doesn't stop the game from being fun, although it can make it occasionally frustrating. Still, it's worth playing and seeing and hearing.
The Banner Saga will find its fans in gamers who love ploughing through fantasy novels, and in those who just love a good strategy RPG.
Yeah, I love the world and the existential agony of it all, but I just don't think it's a particularly well-realised strategy game too.
You can nitpick The Banner Saga to death, but despite its flaws the game is a joy to play. People who are looking for a fantasy world with weight and depth will fall in love with Stoic's tale of man and varl pushed to the brink. This studios first attempt at a full single player campaign has demonstrated their skill, leaving me hoping there is more in store.
The Banner Saga is an absolutely gorgeous, engrossing RPG that features well-balanced and pleasingly tactical turn-based combat. It's a linear journey, but one that's definitely worth taking.
It grew on me, which I admit is both contradictory and paradoxical in a way, given that I have criticized the game for its redundant features, tediousness and lack of variety. The visuals are certainly compelling and the animation is the most captivating aspect of the game. In the end though, this says as much about the content as anything else. The presentation promises much and is highly polished but it lies at the surface, working to conceal the more problematic aspects of the actual game itself.
The Banner Saga is one of the most original games you'll play this year. That such a small team has managed to create a story that will be unique to every player is astonishing, and that the story actually makes you care even more so. Buy this game.
There are deeper strategy games, but few where you'll feel quite so invested in the outcome. Recommended.
If it were titled The Banner Saga: Chapter 1, then there'd be no argument worth mentioning in relation to its length or aspirational goals, and at this stage I can only assume that there is a new Banner Saga game, or Chapter 2, in the works. If there isn't then the choice of buying and playing this great game would become as futile as the ones made within the game itself -- namely, a lot of people will get hurt.
The Banner Saga's combination of well-designed strategy gameplay with grand storytelling make for an exceptional title.