It’s difficult to remember that when The Banner Saga was first released most of us didn’t expect to find such an awesome game. A game that has to be one of the best proofs that independent titles have a place in modern gaming alongside multi-million pound titles. I fell in love with the deep characters and Norse mythology that’s deliberately woven into every aspect of the game. It’s finally time for The Banner Saga 2. This time I expect a lot.
Aside from the mead, horns and axes that make up the Viking feel of BS2 the art style has become notoriously gorgeous and unique. I still remember when I first played the first game and was greeted with the ‘hand drawn’ style. True enough that since then there’s been a whole host of games following suit with the style but none do it quite like Banner Saga and in my opinion none do it quite as well. Banner Saga 2 more than capably takes the reins and does the franchise proud. Minor elements of movement sometimes serve as the only reminder that The Banner Saga isn’t actually printed in front of you. It might just be a simple lock of hair swaying in the wind at the vexingly good looking low frame rate given to these elements, but it’s enough.
Then when you get into a fight, which probably won’t take too long, the UI is pleasantly untouched from the first game. A sequel in the truest sense, BS2 concerns itself with upgrading rather than changing. It’s kind of a tricky problem because it’s hardly Stoic’s fault that they made such an amazing first game. Thankfully BS2 has the confidence to know what it got right originally and build on it.
The same lumbering Vahl taking up massive amounts of space make their undeniably intimidating presence on the battlefield. Archers and humans rely less on their brute force and more on smarts but they certainly still make a dent to your foes. Both combat and the story follow up with most of the characters from the first game, some of which have changed since their first outing. You can, of course, import your save too which allows you to truly carry on from were you left off. Depending on some of those decisions you now have a choice of which character to play as. Sadly one of the playthroughs is much more interesting than the other but that’s just my opinion and I’ll leave it up to you to decide for yourselves which you prefer.
Story based choices in-between the fighting are still every bit as significant as they were first time around. It’s important that they are too as victories and losses in The Banner Saga are not in the combat but in the story events that unfold around the characters and the caravan as they work their way through the desolate Viking landscape. Not even main characters are safe from the brutal events that can randomly jump out and destroy hours of hard work. The real beauty is that when you make a decision that results in some of these tragedies you often consider to yourself that it wasn’t even the worst option. There’s nothing quite like having to choose from a set of options that are all quite clearly going to result in losses in one way or another.
The Banner Saga rarely even includes an option for you to get out of a scenario with what you would consider positive results. And even then a previous decision often lies at the heart of your current predicament. It’s even better when you know you setup your own demise and brings to light how well crafted the decisions are in BS. Some serious time, effort, planning and story telling expertise has gone into BS2 and just like it’s predecessor it pays off more and more the further through the story you make it. Not that there’s any guarantee you will make it.
Banner Saga 2 is every bit as good as the first game. Were possible there have been updates made but as I always maintain the real trick with a good sequel is knowing when to stop. What to keep and what to lose. What to change. Stoic entertainment have followed up from their debut in style with a more than able follow up to an already brilliant game.
It’s still tactical when it comes to combat. Still relies on a thoughtfully constructed narrative to keep you interested. Punches are rarely pulled and that difficult balance between challenging and rewarding is pushed about as far as it can go but somehow BS2 never crosses the line into frustration. That stunning art style has been left well and truly alone and looks just like it did in the original which is truly a blessing. We only have one piece left in the Banner Saga but I cannot wait to explore the end off this epic tale.
