Banner Saga 2

As of the time writing this review, the build available on GOG has a major bug with importing saves from Banner Saga 1. Characters who died are alive, others who survived might be considered dead. This leads to major issues with the story. This problem has been introduced in the last patch published on GOG. On Steam this has already been fixed a MONTH AGO but the developer has not bothered to fix the GOG build. This review will stay this way until this is fixed.

Story: 5/5 Worldbuilding: 5/5 Art Design: 4/5 Graphics: 4/5 Sound: 4/5 Gameplay: 4/5

The next part of Banner Saga is just as good as the first. One thing I don't think some reviewers understand is that this is a game split into 3 parts, not really the traditional concept of sequels. More stuff is added to each but kept similiar enough to feel like the same game.

Banner Saga 2 is a direct continuation of Banner Saga with minimal changes. The tactical battles are still the bread and butter of this game, and now greater than ever with more characters, abilities and high level talents. The caravan management is still rather shallow in comparisson and the plot remains nebulous. The survival mode is a nice addition as it allows you to gather your dream team among all playable characters and just fight, fight, fight without being burdend by the overbearing narrative. I would rate this game 4 stars if not for some really annoying bugs. For example: Rook is adressed as a female in multiple dialog lines (german version), a training mission might yield you a duplicated item that you can't unequip anymore and a certain class of characters (horseborn) accidentally lose their existing abilities when learing additional ones (can only be solved by manual savegame-editing). For a game that already received multiple patches over the course of 3 years this is really disappointing

Starting with the gameplay, I have little to say. It makes a few tweeks to the tile-based combat of the first game, but it otherwise plays much the same. If like me, you quite enjoyed the playstyle then whats not to like; if on the other hand the tactical side of it is not entirely to your liking then I would suggest you might still love it for its story. The story of Banner Saga is really enjoyable but its the combination of that story, along with the atmosphere created by the visuals and the audio that really gets under your skin. They do a wonderful job of making that story a personal one, with each choice carrying weight. I started the game playing as the usual hero, making all the "right" choices and always leaping to the defence of whoever needed defending. It didnt take long before the story forced me to realise that in this world, playing the selfless hero comes with a cost: will you help the people of that village which is under attack though it may mean the loss of more precious supplies and more of your caravan? Sacrifices will have to be made if the people following your banner are to be brought safely to their destination. What can I say, I really enjoyed my first playthrough and look forward to my second.