Banner Saga Review

  Indie titles have been one of the greatest gifts to the modern gaming industry in their ability to bend the conventions and make unique games.  The Banner Saga by Stoic Studio takes a tactics based game and strips it down to a solid piece of gameplay.  While it doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles, what it does have is well put together. 

The Game:   

  The Banner Saga is a tactics game mixed with decision making and resource management.  You will be a hero commanding a small army against the evil Dredge that has come in mass to attack the land of Man and Varl.  You will need resources to feed your caravan of fighters and peasants; you can get them through either making the right decisions in a scenario or buying them with prestige.  You will need to keep your caravan's morale up as well, which helps in battle.  This can also be affected by decisions or you can rest in towns or a camp you set up.

  Towns are sprinkled through the game where you can rest or level your heroes.  Most of them have markets where you can buy more resources.  There are also items with special abilities you can arm your heroes with.

  Prestige is gained through fights or making a decision that your people react well to. It is required when leveling up a hero as well as buying resources so you have to ration how you use it.

  The combat system is a turn-based system where your heroes are set on a grid.  The turn order is in the bottom left hand of the screen so you can plan on your next moves. Players have the ability to move and attack during their turn.  They can also forgo this and save up Will.  Will allows for a hero to do extra damage or special moves if you choose to do so.  

My Thoughts:

  The art style of The Banner Saga reminded me a lot of these old religious videos I had to watch at church when I was a bit younger.  It was most likely this initial impression that caused me to hold up on the game and I am sorry I did.  Not only was the art far more clean but it came with writing and a story that was great.  The pinnacle of the game, though, lies with the way you make decisions to get your people from one place to the next.

  In the journey, you are constantly given scenarios where you get to pick from a few answers.  It's really hard to predict exactly what will happen and that's what makes this game far more interesting than just a regular turn-based strategy game.  My instinct was to a benevolent leader and take my people to freedom in a peaceful way.  This wasn't always possible and it really creates this feeling of investment into what you are doing. You are not just controlling the battles, you are controlling these peoples' paths forward.  This mechanic caused me to be stressed, annoyed, and scared and I loved every moment of it.

  The combat was simple and started to feel a little repetitive near the end, but since the game wasn't too long, it didn't.  There was enough uniqueness amongst the characters that there was quite a bit of strategy in each combat situation.  Really though, Varl are so overpowered that if you do not have one you are not going to see the results you would with them.   Just use the Varl and a few ranged humans and you tend to win.

  The mix of music from time to time really adds an impact.  The story is pretty compelling and the importance of choices really sink you into it.

  The Banner Saga was a great indie title.  I enjoyed the game even at points I was frustrated that my decisions would kick my ass later; these decisions really made the game.  It was a clean bug-free title and really enjoyed playing it.

TL;DR:

  The Banner Saga is a turn-based strategy RPG with resource management sprinkled in.  It's a well put together indie game and if you have been on the fence as a I was, jump over it.