The Banner Saga Review - The Gods are Dead
- Thread starter JonB
- Start date
This is exactly what I was hoping to hear about this game. I've been watching it for a while and I've been cautiously optimistic about it. I love me some turn based strategy and we get precious few good ones. It'll be nice to have another game to play besides running Enemy Within or FE:Awakening for the fifth time.
That came out quietly. Tried the multiplayer when it came out on its own, couldn't decide whether I liked the game or not due to constant connection issues and it resetting data all the time >_< Will have a look at the full game though!
Anyone know if those issues remain?
Anyone know if those issues remain?
I absolutely love this game. It is just gorgeous, the music is great (though sometimes repetitive in long battles) and the roleplaying and battles are great (though sometimes a bit unfair), too.
edit: After finishing it, the only thing I did not like was that it forces you to use two characters for the final battle (one of which I found pretty useless through the game and had only on lvl 2, making the boss fight a bit tricky).
edit: After finishing it, the only thing I did not like was that it forces you to use two characters for the final battle (one of which I found pretty useless through the game and had only on lvl 2, making the boss fight a bit tricky).
That's interesting, thanks for letting me knowJonB said:
I thought it was a demo for a multiplayer mode that would be in the final game.
Thanks for the review, looks like an interesting game, but if I may offer one small opinion on the review as a whole.
Not mentioning the genre of the game until paragraph 6 made it very difficult to appreciate the previous paragraphs while reading them. If I have no idea what the gameplay is about at all, I cannot really judge comments about learning curve etc.
Possibly I am amongst the minority, if so, feel free to ignore this comment.
Not mentioning the genre of the game until paragraph 6 made it very difficult to appreciate the previous paragraphs while reading them. If I have no idea what the gameplay is about at all, I cannot really judge comments about learning curve etc.
Possibly I am amongst the minority, if so, feel free to ignore this comment.
When I read reviews like and the review of Broken Age make me feel a special kind of warmth, the warmth of knowing all those people who have said "Just wait, a bunch of these Kickstarter projects are going to fail and no one will back Kickstarted games anymore" are wrong. So wrong.
I didn't back it but I can't wait to buy it. I love me some turn based strategy games.
I didn't back it but I can't wait to buy it. I love me some turn based strategy games.
The more I hear about this game, the more I want to get it.
Not only does the art style make me cry tears of manliness, but it hits all of my buttons, and it looks like it is more meaty than Shadowrun Returns was, not to mention, that it is part of a trilogy.
I WANT THIS GAME DANGIT
Not only does the art style make me cry tears of manliness, but it hits all of my buttons, and it looks like it is more meaty than Shadowrun Returns was, not to mention, that it is part of a trilogy.
I WANT THIS GAME DANGIT
A lesson learned on my part - You are typically better off not buying any items because you will be stretched too thin on renown (Which makes it a little frustrating; buying an item not knowing you can't equip it until you have enough renown... And knowing you probably never will)
My thoughts on the game:
"This is without a doubt the best game I have played in some time. Equal parts chose your own adventure, tactical combat and Oregon Trail it is very much it's own game. The art style I found amazing. Think western animation before it was influenced by Japan with Vikings and you are close. It was beautiful and cohesive in all parts of the game and this is a rare thing to find.
I played the game on normal and it has been some time since a game on normal challenged me. This one did and it was that much more rewarding when I finished it. I will be playing this again more times to explore other choices.
The game drops you in the middle of a story but that did not bother me and by the end I was very much invested in it."
Your mileage will vary.
"This is without a doubt the best game I have played in some time. Equal parts chose your own adventure, tactical combat and Oregon Trail it is very much it's own game. The art style I found amazing. Think western animation before it was influenced by Japan with Vikings and you are close. It was beautiful and cohesive in all parts of the game and this is a rare thing to find.
I played the game on normal and it has been some time since a game on normal challenged me. This one did and it was that much more rewarding when I finished it. I will be playing this again more times to explore other choices.
The game drops you in the middle of a story but that did not bother me and by the end I was very much invested in it."
Your mileage will vary.
When I first saw the trailer: "This gives me Fire Emblem vibes. To the wishlist."
After seeing your recommendation, I think I'll have to get it.
After seeing your recommendation, I think I'll have to get it.
Yeah Banner Saga is really good. The only complain i have about the game is that it can sometimes be pretty difficult to tell what a decision actually means, making you chose something you didn't want.
For example without major spoilers:
The enemy is inside a town. Your buddy advises you to lure the enemies out to fight them on open field. You then get two option which come down to: "Charge in" "Keep distance".
Based on the advice i just got i thought "keep distance" meant that i would try to lure the enemy out of the town. But it actually meant sneaking around the town and avoiding confrontation alltogether, which i didn't want.
For example without major spoilers:
The enemy is inside a town. Your buddy advises you to lure the enemies out to fight them on open field. You then get two option which come down to: "Charge in" "Keep distance".
Based on the advice i just got i thought "keep distance" meant that i would try to lure the enemy out of the town. But it actually meant sneaking around the town and avoiding confrontation alltogether, which i didn't want.
Thats just bad design right there. Since you have more heroes than slots, you get favorites, and if you get the wrong favorites...the game punishes you for it. Bad, bad design.rofltehcat said:
I'm not overly fond of the "turn based" gameplay either. I think its extremely annoying (so far) that the enemy get so many actions if I outnumber them. It makes me feel cheated when I down a couple of enemies and do not get rewarded with more actions than them. Rather completely the opposite, the remaining opponents get more turns to keep us moving troops every second turn, which gives them the opportunity to pummel troops I dont get to move.
Its probably nice in case I am outnumbered myself, but it feels cheap and badly balanced.
The system of armor, strength/health and willpower is very cool though and I like it a lot. The music and atmosphere is spot on as well. With a bit more polish and a little less rng to the fighting...it would be a 10.
PS: Feel like giving me a hint in a spoiler tag or PM about which toons to level for the finale?
Just finished marathoning my way through the game. It's every bit as great and beautiful as people are saying. However, I wasn't aware that it was a part of a planned trilogy, so the ending caught me a bit off-guard. No spoilers, of course.
It was basically all the parts I loved about the actual gameplay (re: non-Social Link stuff) of Fire Emblem, with some added in Oregon Trail-y bits that just sweeten the deal. Also, gloriously manly viking giants roaming around everywhere. Somebody at Stoic has been reading my dream journal.
It was basically all the parts I loved about the actual gameplay (re: non-Social Link stuff) of Fire Emblem, with some added in Oregon Trail-y bits that just sweeten the deal. Also, gloriously manly viking giants roaming around everywhere. Somebody at Stoic has been reading my dream journal.
tzimize said:
Just make sure that you've got your daughter decently well-leveled. Depending on choices, as far as I can tell, she may be necessary. My end-game party was Iver, Rook, Hakon, Oddlief, Alette, and the mender guy whose name I forget.
Been playing and enjoying the heck out of this game. On the final fight and a little stuck right now, because I think I spent too much renown on supplies and not enough on character promotions. The game's so gorgeous though that even if I have to restart from the very beginning I don't really have a problem with that.
I agree with Jon, the renown system is this game's only snag. Just about everything else is a SRPG fan's wet-dream.
I agree with Jon, the renown system is this game's only snag. Just about everything else is a SRPG fan's wet-dream.