THE BANNER SAGA Review for Nintendo Switch

The Banner Saga is a story-based, role playing game, in which your decisions determine the outcome. If you have ever wondered what Oregon Trail would be like with Vikings, look no further because this is the game for you.

Premise:

The Banner Saga is by Stoic development studio and published by Versus Evil. The game is heavily inspired by Viking mythology. You will face multiple challenges as you attempt to manage your caravan and come up with tactical strategies to escape a relentless enemy.

You will be  making life and death choices for yourself, your loved ones and a caravan of people depending on you for their survival.

Gameplay:

This game takes patience. There is an immense  amount of dialogue to read through as you progress in the game.

And if you think you can just skip past the dialogue and play, you are sorely mistaken. The dialogue is crucial to survival. Your interactions with each character determines who is foe and who is ally. Mistreat someone by dismissing their opinion, and it can lead to a knife in the back down the line. The number of battles you enter is solely based on your interactions with people and your choices on what you  do while on the road.

As vital as it is to consider your interactions with people, focusing on your abilities and which characters you power up can make all the difference. Each character has his or her strengths and weaknesses. You have the Viking, which let’s be honest, once you get within arms reach of one, you would rather be facing a tank. And then you have the humans who have different fighting styles such as wielding a spar or a bow in arrow.

Each technique has its benefits.Your Vikings can do massive damage to an opponent. They can take as much as they dish out, but if they are out of range of their target then their abilities are no good to you. That’s when your archers come in handy. For those opponents that are just out of reach, there is nothing they aren’t willing to put an arrow through. That being said, your archers can dish it out, but can’t always endure it. If they get too close to their target, things can go south real fast.

Knowing your limits is key, not only on the battlefield but on the road as well. As you and your caravan travel looking for a safe place to rest, things can easily go wrong. Not only do you have to keep your wits sharp for battle, but also deciding when to rest and accounting for any needed  supplies can make a huge difference. When on the road, not resting enough or for too long can pose an issue. Stay too long in one spot and your enemy will catch up with you. Running low on supplies can also leave you in dire circumstances.

Conclusion:

After playing this game you will want to know what comes next. Whether your choices left you with regret wishing you had done things differently,

or if you found yourself safe from your current threat, finally having a moment to regroup, heal and contemplate starting over again.

There will be many questions you’ll still want answered. The main one will be:are we finally safe or is there something lurking in the background, waiting for you to finally put your guard down?

The Banner Saga will continue in The Banner Saga 2.

8.5/10 Rating

The Banner Saga is available on Nintendo Switch as well as multiple formats including Steam for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One as well the App Store for iPad and iPhone, on Google Play and Amazon for Android devices and on Windows based tablets.

Banner Saga 3, the third and final installment of the emotionally charged franchise will launch on July 24th, 2018 for PC, Mac, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. Mobile platforms are expected to launch later on in the year.

Steven Reyes

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I am a lifelong gamer since the days of Atari, Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis. I find the world of gaming fascinating, it's a place where you can immerse yourself into other worlds and do extraordinary things. As for my profession, I work on independent films as a sound mixer and sound designer. @reyesofsounds on Instagram/Twitter/youtube

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