What’s the Consensus on The Banner Saga Trilogy as a Whole?

[Chromie]

Banner Saga Trilogy - Deluxe Pack on Steam

store.steampowered.com

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A meager $10 for 3 games, 3 soundtracks, and some other digital extras. This isn't a series I've seen much people talk about though But even so, 3 games. They continued making them for a reason right? Are there any Banner Saga fans? What are the good things about the game? The bad? I know Austin Wintory composed the music which is another thing that makes me more interested in the series. I love the art and good tactical combat is always fun.

SO what does Era think?

 

[Ryuelli]

I really liked the first one, but the second one took forever to come out and I never ended up picking it up. It's definitely a series I plan on revisiting at some point though. The art is gorgeous.

 

[Deleted member 58846]

Really, really good. Gameplay is fun, the storytelling is great, love the art style and the music (and the richness in lore and world building feels right out of a fantasy novel), plus some great choice and consequence.

Would recommend.

 

[Deleted member 9857]

I really need to get back to it, I got distracted during the second game but everything was fantastic

 

[Tambini]

I really liked the first one, but the second one took forever to come out and I never ended up picking it up. It's definitely a series I plan on revisiting at some point though. The art is gorgeous.

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Same here, but the 2nd is only £1.87 so I'm gonna buy it right now! Might have to replay the first one cus I think your choices carry over

 

[LavaBadger]

I loved the whole thing. Played all of them at once.

 

[PaulloDEC]

I loved all three, and ten bucks for the set is an absolute steal.

 

[MrPhiliasfrog]

It's a really good trilogy. I bought it on the switch with no expectations and was extremely impressed by the whole package.

And for that price, I'll go for it if I were you.

 

[Lunaray]

Excellent. Really brilliant work for a very small studio.

However, I will say that while the third game is the best game gameplay-wise, the way gameplay decisions impacts the story works in a way that feels counterintuitive to me.

Spoiler: Mechanical aspect of the last act of Banner Saga 3

The game withholds A LOT of story beats at the end if you have managed your party's resources well. This just feels completely unintuitive to me; we are punished for playing the game well.

 

[sredgrin]

Great story, presentation, characters.

Sadly boring gameplay when it comes to battles. I admire what they were going for but it just isn't all that interesting or fun.

 

[LonestarZues]

Enjoyed all 3 as well. Great strategic gameplay along with a banging soundtrack. Loved how your choices carried over and the story was well done as well. Would recommend.

 

[Lulu]

I suddenly want to buy this

 

[Chromie]

Really, really good. Gameplay is fun, the storytelling is great, love the art style and the music (and the richness in lore and world building feels right out of a fantasy novel), plus some great choice and consequence.

Would recommend.

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It's a really good trilogy. I bought it on the switch with no expectations and was extremely impressed by the whole package.

And for that price, I'll go for it if I were you.

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I loved the whole thing. Played all of them at once.

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I loved all three, and ten bucks for the set is an absolute steal.

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Good to know. Since you all seem to have finished it, can I get some non-spoilery ideas on the story? What can I expect? Is it a satisfying end? On a scale of 1 to Mass Effect 3.

 

[Strings]

I got pretty tired of it halfway through the second and gave up on it. I -really- hate the mechanics of the combat system where you're inexplicably incentivised to keep as many enemies alive as possible, but on tiny slivers of health so they do no damage.

 

[LavaBadger]

Good to know. Since you all seem to have finished it, can I get some non-spoilery ideas on the story? What can I expect? Is it a satisfying end? On a scale of 1 to Mass Effect 3.

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I'm extremely confused by your scale.

I found all the big decisions you make along the way to be interesting and meaningful. The story took some twists and turns that pushed it beyond generic fantasy fare, and while I think satisfaction with the ending is likely down to the choices you made along the way and the characters, I found it very satisfying.

 

[MrPhiliasfrog]

Good to know. Since you all seem to have finished it, can I get some non-spoilery ideas on the story? What can I expect? Is it a satisfying end? On a scale of 1 to Mass Effect 3.

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Lol about mass effect.

Regarding the story without spoiling anything, I'd say that it's great and worth experiencing, it also has a satisfying ending.

 

[Chromie]

I'm extremely confused by your scale.

I found all the big decisions you make along the way to be interesting and meaningful. The story took some twists and turns that pushed it beyond generic fantasy fare, and while I think satisfaction with the ending is likely down to the choices you made along the way and the characters, I found it very satisfying.

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Just a joke because some former BioWare devs founded Stoic.

But an ending influenced by 3 games worth of decision making does appeal to me.

 

[Deleted member 58846]

Good to know. Since you all seem to have finished it, can I get some non-spoilery ideas on the story? What can I expect? Is it a satisfying end? On a scale of 1 to Mass Effect 3.

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Bit hard to answer without spoilers and also because the story changes based on your choices fairly meaningfully. I'd say I liked the ending and came away satisfied, though, again, based on your choices, YMMV

 

[Salty Catfish]

I got pretty tired of it halfway through the second and gave up on it. I -really- hate the mechanics of the combat system where you're inexplicably incentivised to keep as many enemies alive as possible, but on tiny slivers of health so they do no damage.

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This was the deal breaker for me as well. I loved the art style and the general tone, but the combat system just felt completely ass backwards in that regard.

 

[Sinatar]

Gorgeous art and music, dull as dishwater gameplay.

The combat is an absolute snoozefest.

 

[middlegray]

Tremendous games

 

[nogoodnamesleft]

Could my non gamer wife enjoy this or is it too hard?

 

[hydruxo]

I've always been tempted to try these because I love vikings and the art is stunning, but I've been a little wary because I don't know if I'd like the gameplay. Good to hear all three games seem to be worth playing though. Might have to pick the trilogy up.

 

[PlumCantaloupe]

Loved them. Art and sound is amazing, and I enjoyed the battles, story, and choosing between story branches. I just haven't played the third though I have it on Steam (helped with BS3 Kickstarter) as I played the first two on an iPad

I really don't understand why they didn't finish the trilogy on one of their supported platforms ...

 

[jaekeem]

it's ok. nothing special gameplay or story wise imo. nice art.

 

[Snormy]

I think the games are great. It took me a little while to get into it but once the hooks are in I couldn't stop. The combat is quite good imo. That is, it is balanced enough that you don't feel truly fucked for your mistakes most of the time. The stress isn't constant despite the story being pretty grim. This is certainly no x-com in that regard.

The story I feel are pretty good as stand alones. It isn't particularly grand and there are plenty of questions unanswered but focusing on the survival and journey of the characters was enough for me.

One of the issues with episodic games is that if you play them one after the other you go from a climatic point of the ending from the previous one to another slow build up with minor time skip. Some characters disappear or new characters show up and it takes a little bit to pick up again. This isn't necessarily bad but it can burn out I think. Especially as your new heroes may not be as strong as some of the old ones.

I suddenly want to buy this

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I bought the first on sale and grabbed the other two shortly after release and had a blast. At the current sale I recommend it easily.

 

[Deleted member 1659]

Love the first one. Likely would have loved the sequels as well but they took a long time to come out which killed the momentum I built up from Banner Saga 1. Will probably go back to it one day.

 

[Gush]

Really liked the first one and loved the second one.

Keep meaning to get around to the third, but I'd need to replay the first two to get the most out of it I think

 

[skeezx]

quite underrated maybe even the most underrated/'hidden gem' games of the gen, or at least 2 and 3 are as so many good games kind of shoved them off the radar by then

but like most everything else making 50 threads about it a week doesn't really get anywhere they were good games and that's that

 

[Chromie]

I think the games are great. It took me a little while to get into it but once the hooks are in I couldn't stop. The combat is quite good imo. That is, it is balanced enough that you don't feel truly fucked for your mistakes most of the time. The stress isn't constant despite the story being pretty grim. This is certainly no x-com in that regard.

The story I feel are pretty good as stand alones. It isn't particularly grand and there are plenty of questions unanswered but focusing on the survival and journey of the characters was enough for me.

One of the issues with episodic games is that if you play them one after the other you go from a climatic point of the ending from the previous one to another slow build up with minor time skip. Some characters disappear or new characters show up and it takes a little bit to pick up again. This isn't necessarily bad but it can burn out I think. Especially as your new heroes may not be as strong as some of the old ones.


I bought the first on sale and grabbed the other two shortly after release and had a blast. At the current sale I recommend it easily.

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Thanks, this is very helpful.

I have X-Com 1 and 2. I love it but I'm not looking for something like that so good combat that doesn't emulate X-com is a good thing for me. If the story chooses to focus on survival and characters, I'm fine with that. If it's handled well then it's all that matters.


This isn't something I'd play back to back either. Just like with Dark Souls, which I just bought a month ago, I'll play other games in between them otherwise I'll burn myself out.

 

[Snormy]

Thanks, this is very helpful.

I have X-Com 1 and 2. I love it but I'm not looking for something like that so good combat that doesn't emulate X-com is a good thing for me. If the story chooses to focus on survival and characters, I'm fine with that. If it's handled well then it's all that matters.


This isn't something I'd play back to back either. Just like with Dark Souls, which I just bought a month ago, I'll play other games in between them otherwise I'll burn myself out.

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I don't want you to get the wrong impression from the mention of X-COM. X-com's combat suits it very well in that the rng adds another layer of stress to everything. TBS's combat very simple by comparison and it is easy to achieve victory in most cases. What is far harder is knowing which grey area story choice will not fuck you over in some way.

The story is also more continuous than Dark Souls so sometimes it is harder to not want to dive back in.

All that said, I hope you enjoy it!

 

[Balphon]

They're good! Art is fantastic, the setting is interesting, and the core conceit of having a series of caravans rushed along by crises works well.

The battle system is a little quirky and can be unforgiving, but it's manageable once you get used to it.

 

[Wet Jimmy]

An excellent series - with the caveat I've been slack and haven't completed the third one.

 

[Philippo]

Played 1 in 2016, replayed the entire trilogy on Switch last year.

I already liked the first, but ended up loving the entire trilogy.
It goes places, both physical and narrative, and especially the 3rd act sells the dread everyone feels about impending doom, I remember making a comparison with GoT lol

The only big complaint I had is that some choices are too "hard", as in it's too difficult to predict the outcome of your decision, sometimes you give some food to people and then someone dies, or a party member betrays you and so on. I think choice-based games should be able to not tell you flat out what happens but at least give you enough to understand what should happen.

Some characters I really loved like Iver, Rook/Alette, Bolverk, Folka, Ludin, but especially Eyvind/Juno became a favorite couple of mine this gen.

Also, I want to kiss Austin Wintory for his work on this series, really.

 

[KushalaDaora]

Played 1 in 2016, replayed the entire trilogy on Switch last year.

I already liked the first, but ended up loving the entire trilogy.
It goes places, both physical and narrative, and especially the 3rd act sells the dread everyone feels about impending doom, I remember making a comparison with GoT lol

The only big complaint I had is that some choices are too "hard", as in it's too difficult to predict the outcome of your decision, sometimes you give some food to people and then someone dies, or a party member betrays you and so on. I think choice-based games should be able to not tell you flat out what happens but at least give you enough to understand what should happen.

Some characters I really loved like Iver, Rook/Alette, Bolverk, Folka, Ludin, but especially Eyvind/Juno became a favorite couple of mine this gen.

Also, I want to kiss Austin Wintory for his work on this series, really.

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I'm a sucker for emotional story.

I watched the trailer for the first game and between the dialogue (by the red haired lady) and the music, the trailergave me a chill.

Should I go for it ?

 

[Philippo]

I'm a sucker for emotional story.

I watched the trailer for the first game and between the dialogue (by the red haired lady) and the music, the trailergave me a chill.

Should I go for it ?

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Absolutely, there were more than a couple of moments across the series that got me hella emotional.

Be aware that there is a lot of political/societal/how-do-we-deal-with-our-people talk as well, so sometimes it might feel less "emotional".

 

[Tailzo]

Looks like it can run on my old m surface pro 2. A tempting deal for sure.

 

[KushalaDaora]

Absolutely, there were more than a couple of moments across the series that got me hella emotional.

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I just rewatched the trailer and somehow got really emotional.

You just sold me on the game...

 

[nacimento]

Excellent trilogy. Great characters and art, good plot and ganeplay.

 

[Gorgosh]

Excellent Trilogy with a good overreaching story and a good conclusion.

 

[oxymoron]

Great story, presentation, characters.

Sadly boring gameplay when it comes to battles. I admire what they were going for but it just isn't all that interesting or fun.

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I've only played the first one, but yeah, this is how I felt. The game was gorgeous, but the actual gameplay parts of it were tedious and boring, and the pace of the game was absolutely glacial.

 

[stefanomusilli96]

I played all three back to back on GamePass. Overall I loved the experience, but there are two major problems holding it back for me.

The first is that the combat is very badly balanced. Most of the time in the game I felt like I was being put in unwinnable fights. In these games, losing a fight almost never leads to a game over, you just keep playing and your defeat is acknowledged in the story. The problem is that it can lead to giant streaks of losses, since a lost fight grants you no rewards, and therefore you can't level up your characters. It felt like your characters always had to be above a specific level in order to win a fight, and if they aren't you're just going to lose no matter how many times you try. Because of the open ended nature of the game, you are inevitably going to be under-leveled and that will lead to fewer rewards, fewer level ups, more losses etc. It's a massive design oversight. I played on Hard, I absolutely recommend playing on lower difficulties.

The second big issue I have is a spoiler.

Spoiler

The third game obviously has multiple endings. The way it does it is an example on how not to do multiple endings in my opinion. I got the bad ending, for the reasons I listed above. The bad ending involves pretty much all surviving main characters dying off-screen in a very anti-climactic way. The game, and the whole trilogy, then ends after a 10 seconds cutscene. It made me feel like I'd wasted my time being invested in these characters. I don't have a problem with downer endings, but this felt like a game over screen, not the ending to a story. Because of the ending I got, I almost never thought of these games since finishing the trilogy.

 

[Raggie]

Are these better on PC than on Switch?

 

[Chromie]

Also, I want to kiss Austin Wintory for his work on this series, really.

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I'm glad the bundle includes the soundtracks for all 3 games because this is good stuff. I'll have to use it in future D&D sessions.

 

[Alastor3]

one of the best trilogy out there