I love plots. The Banner Saga has makings of a good plot, and interesting though chess-like battles. However, the seeming randomness of the effects of the plot choices made me put the game on hold. Seriously, if there was a way to say "Duh, whatever" to every plot question, I'd go for that by now, and feel I have the same amount of control over the results. What a pity. I wanted to love this game.

This game is very well made in every aspect. I enjoyed both the story and the gameplay. I recommend this game!

My girlfriend apparently had plans with me yesterday she says, anyway so instead of hanging out with her I played this game and beat it. She unfriended me on facebook because "she needed space"

10/10 would ditch my girlfriend again to play The Disgaea Trail again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The game is challenging
Good grid turned based combat
Decent resource management (supplies, items, and leveling up all use same currency)
Good role playing (choices throughout)
Great world full of lore that becomes more elaborate and fascinating the more you get into the game
Average waifu material
10/10 Husbandu material
Great artwork

I'd advise this game, it's certainly unique and it's a game that just about everyone should play.

The game is, visually, very beautiful and the world is very rich in depth, but the pacing of both the story and combat is slowly that it borders on tedium.

I've tried to like this game. Really, really tried. But the millionth time I hade to reload and rewatch the same cutscenes I couldn't take it anymore.
Something that usually appeals to me in tactical games is the ability to perfect each encounter, but in this game replaying an encounter is not made easy and enemy placement and turn order is randomized.

It's way too slow and frustrating. If manual saves were a feature maybe some of the tedium could be circumvented at least.

It's pretty to look at though.

Imagine Fire Emblem meets Mass Effect, written by J.R.R. Tolkien. Tough decision making and interesting plots and cahrecters make it the most interesting strategic rpg Steam has to offer.

The best word I could use to describe The Banner Saga would be, Bleak. I enjoyed my time playing it, but it is like The Road of turn based tactical games. This is much more true the further into the story you get. Times are hard, and that is the point of the game. You have to press on through situations that leave you feeling as if you are just barely hanging on. Pushing through the hardships of traveling to outrun the oncoming scourge that is leaving cities destroyed and people slain in its path.



The tactics system was put together very well and I loved the art direction. In battle you have the Varl who are larger and take up more tiles on the board, your archers, your spearsman, and menders which are like a mage. Each person has a different skill set with different powers and you are able to schedule their turns accordingly. Keeping the big bulky fighters out front to protect the archers and menders. Their is also a shield mechanic that causes less damage to be done the higher the number is. When attacking you can choose to attack the shield or the HP. There are also some special attacks that allow you to damage both. This was an interesting direction to take and I thought it worked really well with the rest of the system.


The story has many different routes that can be taken. Some options will lead to more desolate routes while others can keep your caravan full of mead and enjoying themselves on the road. Some choices can kill members of your crew off for good, so be sure to choose wisely if there are characters you highly value. I enjoyed this element of the game very much and loved reading through the dialogue. You jump between different stories following Rook, the cover character, & Hakon the Varl. It gives you a good look into the lives of the different types of characters in this world that you are traveling through.


While heading out onto the road you have to ensure that your caravan is packed with supplies and well rested. You can make camp at any point while on the road and rest your soldiers, train, or level up your heroes using renown. You can do all of these things when in town as well, and only in town can you restock your supplies. That is, unless you are lucky in your journey and run into one of many different opportunities to refill your wagons by honest or dishonest means. You need to stay on top of things in order to keep up the morale of the caravan, and trust me that gets harder and harder on this long and arduous journey. Resting, winning, & having supplies should do the trick, but at times that's easier said than done. If you do run out of supplies, be prepared to start losing clansmen & fighters by the day.


So although times get dark and the losses get heavy, The Banner Saga shines through with a triumphant story and terrific gameplay. It is all tied together with a very powerful ending aided by some amazing storytelling that I found to be very creative. I played on PC but it is available on all types of platforms. Xbox One, PS4, & mobile to name a few. So there you have it! There is no excuse to not check out The Banner Saga at some point in time, you can even play it on the bus, at jury duty, or while drunkenly perching on top of your roof while the neighbors call the police.


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This game looks like a boring book.

The visual and the combat are both pretty good, but you spend like 90% of the game reading (WITHOUT VOICES/SOUNDS) and the lore is not even interesting.

Soundtrack is bad too IMO.

Tactical Starvation: The Game

I'm a big fan of turn-based combat, which is why I initially picked up the game, but by the end I was more interested in the story and where it was going. The combat itself can be a little frustrating, but when you've sussed out all quirks it gets a little better. The story far outshines the combat though, with each choice having, unforeseen and often deadly, consequences that you just have to deal with.