It was a few years ago when I first came across this game, The Banner Saga. I picked it up, played it for a bit, and quite enjoyed it. But, as happens too often, finding the spare time to play became more and more difficult and I set it aside for a while. The next time I picked it up, I had forgotten all the controls and had no idea what was going on. Another common problem I find with video games now-a-days, if I set it aside and come back to it months later, I’ve forgotten everything. But I’m not here to babble about getting old.
I always knew I wanted to give it another shot. From the first few minutes, I knew this game was for me. And so I always planned to return to it. It was merely a matter of finding the time. I can’t remember how long it’s been since I first tried, but I can confidently say it’s been at least three years. Finally, this past June, I decided it was time.
Right from the start I was pulled in by this incredible, stylized artwork. In the background this epic instrumental music is playing as a caravan of horned giants plods across the screen, leaving behind a dark forest. They enter a snowy expanse, slowly rolling a cart across a bridge, to arrive at a massive hill fort.
That is of course, after a bit of exposition. And what exposition it is. A quick few words to inform the player of this world and the stakes. The image of the world map fills the screen and text begins to scroll.
The Gods are Dead
Anyone that knows me, knows that my attention was gained with that opening line. Yeah I’m easy. It goes on to inform the player of some brief history. Those horned giants, the Varl, have made peace with the Humans, though it’s an uneasy peace at best. Another race of creatures known as the Dredge are a blight upon the land, and Varl and Human have come together with the existence of a mutual enemy.
But then, the sun stopped.
And we fall back to that opening I already discussed. A voiceover starts, telling the player about the sun stopping in the sky. You follow that Varl, Ubin, as he enters the Human city of Strand, where he is to meet the Governor and collect taxes for the Varl King.
We then see our first cutscene. And I think this is where I initially knew, I would play this game through. One day, if not then, I would eventually come back and finish this game. The animation is this beautiful artwork, that reminds me of old animated fantasy. Some Bakshi stuff like Fire and Ice. Or maybe a hint of Heavy Metal, but less revealing.
The cutscene plays out. Brigands have attacked. Infighting is plaguing the clans.
And we fall into the combat for this tutorial section.
Gameplay- Combat
We switch over to a grid upon which our characters are placed. As well as our enemies. Relatively straight forward, turn-based, tactical combat. Once you get used to it, it’s pretty easy to follow. Each character has various skills. Be careful not to accidentally click something, there is no going back. There are also few saves (and all autosaves) so really, this game drives home the sense of living with your decisions. One downside I would say, there were several battles in which the outcome was affected by accidentally clicking the wrong square, sending my character to the wrong place, thereby wasting their turn. Often with disastrous consequences.
I do enjoy tactics/strategy games. But they’re not necessarily my favorite genre. I’m generally pretty damned awful at them. But come to think about it, as I get older I’m kinda awful at games in general. Maybe it’s the hand-eye coordination starting to go. Maybe my attention span is thinning. Maybe I’m just shit at video games. Who knows, who cares? I’m just looking to have fun, and perhaps enjoy a good story. And I WILL NOT hesitate to switch a game into the easiest possible mode there is. That said, easy, in The Banner Saga, is still pretty damn tough.
Gameplay- Interactive Storytelling
Now the story! The story is what drew me in. From the beginning, and right on through to the end, the story and the player’s involvement are spectacular.
The basic gameplay loop of The Banner Saga involves those days of travel, as you watch your caravan roll across the screen. Throughout this time, prompts will pop up on the screen, you’ll read a scenario, and be given several options to choose from in order to resolve the scenario. Then you’ll enter a settlement, more prompts will pop up. Conversations will occur between your character and others, each with more choices to make. And there will be battles. Then it’s back on the road with death ever nipping at your heels.
Those Dialogues
The outcomes will vary. Greatly. While on the march the UI will monitor the size of your clan (including “Clansmen” which are basically civilians, “Fighters” your army size that will be very important for certain sections, and “Varl” more fighters, they also add to your army size, but again, are horned giants). Also monitored, are morale, rations, number of days passed, and renown.
The choices you make in those prompts and conversations will affect all of this.
And that’s one of the best things. The choices you make will affect all of this. Now, I only just finished this game yesterday. I have only played through once, and haven’t tried the other options. For all I know it could just be the illusion of choice (thought I highly doubt that, as there are so many factors that hold sway in the end). But even if it’s just the illusion, the important part is, it FEELS like your choices matter. There’s a weight that looms each time those dialogue boxes pop up. Will I infuriate an ally? Will they leave my party? Will I (as the leader of this caravan) send countless innocents to their deaths?
And the answer is: YES.
It is a resounding yes. And it gets dark. So very dark. You grow attached to so many of these characters, and then you need to make these decisions. And there is no guarantee they will survive.
I’m going to start wrapping this review up. I don’t want to go too much into the story. There is so much here. The worldbuilding is rich and in depth and engaging. It pulls you in immediately. As the journey goes on it unravels, revealing more and more twists and turns, surprising you right up to the end. It wraps it’s icy tendrils around you, as it dangles the fates of characters you have spent days and days with. Years even, because it makes those days traveled in your caravan seem so real. You end up run down, haggard with the burden of leadership, the toll of trying to save all these people, (or did you just cast them aside? Were your leaders callous opportunists? They could very well have been), that those hours of gameplay feel like those two hundred plus days of travel.
Multiple story lines unfold. They meet and split once more. From sorrowful goodbyes to epic battles. Just as you think it can’t get any more intense, another page turns like a club to the back of the head.
But I fear touching too much on any elements of the story would risk spoilers. So I will leave it at that. I highly recommend this game. Whether your a fan of turn-based strategy/tactics games, or just want a damn good story, this game is amazing. I think I can fairly confidently say this is a new favorite. When those final credits of the last installment of the trilogy rolled, the story felt complete. And I sat there staring at my screen like an idiot, shocked and wondering “what if?”
The Banner Saga is available in pretty much all formats, I believe. Consoles, PC, even mobile. I strongly suggest y’all give it a shot.
For those of you that have read any of my Vermin of the Old Empire stories, you’ll notice a rather blatant easter egg. A character first appears in The Pawn, he’s mentioned in The Dregs, and will feature briefly in The Blaggards when it’s done. A proud skald and warrior of the Madgevillian Axe Guard. Varl.
This story/game will stick with me. The lore, the world building, the characters, the plot… I’d almost say it is flawless.
10 out of 10 (or 5 out of 5, whatever, I’ve no established rating system. Just try this fucking game). And remember, even on ‘easy’ it’s pretty damn hard. But the point is to push on. Accept your losses and trudge, ever onward. Because the darkness comes for us all, and there is no time to look back.
A song:
