Banner Saga

I've only played a few hours, about 3 fights in or so, but I don't think I'll be playing anymore, mainly because the combat system is very frustrating and has problems that existed within games of this genre for many years now. The story so far was kind of ok, the art is more memorable than it is beautifull, but I really don't want to deal with the problems the combat gives me to find out what happens next. Most of the problems for me are in the combat. Some of them are objective I suppose, but most of them are just things I am annoyed with. The differing unit sizes, the small size of maps, the really really bad UI that keeps hiding information from me, tooltips that don't apply to every icon leaving me guessing what this or that thing does, abilities that don't tell me how much actual damage I'll be doing, enemies being blocked by allies means you can't see the full potential of an enemy's movement range, not being able to see an enemie's/ or allies attack range without telling them to attack first, meaning you can't see that stuff before you chose to move, movement being a separate action means there's even more confusion. All of these things lead to death of allies and general frustration. Wether it's my fault or not, I'm just not going to deal with it. Many of these problems exist in the Fire Emblem and Heroes of Might and Magic series, and some of them were even solved, many years ago. The music story and art as well as enemy diversity wasn't too great, but perhaps I just didn't get to see them as I quit about 1-2 hours into the game.

The game is beautiful. It's sometimes nice to play for it's gorgeous presentation. The strategy elements come from managing your character (one point progression and different class types to choose from) upgrades. The game is largely fair, you can predict with a little experience the outcome of individual situations and occasionally the composition of the opposing squads. Unfortunately the game's variety is limited and the game begins to feel like a grind. You might enjoy it enough to never feel this way, as other reviewers are expressing excitement.

I had to boot Windows because the Linux port isn't available DRM-free, wtf? GoG, please do something about it, the Linux port of Larry Reloaded is still missing after years too. This and a few minor bugs aside, it's a very good and unique game. It is a genre-mix of "turn based strategy" and "interactive book" with a bit of micro-management. The visual and audio design is stunning. The characters are drawn and the landscapes are pixel art in very high definition. Along the way you constantly have to make hard decisions, often all of them leading to undesirable results or leaving a bad taste. Times are hard, there will be losses and you can't save everyone, be prepared. My ending was really sad. The fighting system has one big problem/deviation, your and the enemy units as a whole get one turn each but each character still has a turn order. This leads to the problem that if you go the sensical way to kill off the small enemies fast in order to be able to focus on the big ones, the big ones get more turns - making it even harder. So you need to get the enemy units to 1HP (which also makes their attacks weak and useless though) and kill them off when all are weakened. I didn't get this until right before the end. Since your decisions lead to slightly different stories, the replay value is quite high and I will definitely play it again. Unfortunately the devs have announced, that they are not planning to release episode 2 and 3 DRM free since they are convinced, the DRM free release of the first one has led to lost sales (which is bollocks imho, but there you go). Hopefully they'll rethink their decision and I hope that the Linux port of the first episode won't stay Steam exclusive like many others.

I had heard about this title when it was first coming out, the general stuff that it was visually pleasant and had an original take on things. And obviously again for a bit with the King nonsense, but then it kind of dropped off my radar and I didn't think much about. It only came back into my consciousness when GOG sent me one of their sale lists and I thought 'Yeah, okay. For 60% off I'll try this game.' Even though I had heard good things about the game, my expectations were far exceeded. For me, this game reminded me of what I always wanted from those 90s edutainment visual novels from when I was a kid. I have no problem with story taking precedence over game play, with a little bit of play on the side to keep things moving along, and that's what I got here. The focus is on the story, the atmosphere, the world-building, and you push things along through the battles and interactions with the micro-stories that require your input. This is definitely a reality you should be apprised to before going on, I could see disappointed expectations souring the experience if you're thinking there'll be more battle here. With that awareness though, the experience is a great one and I felt genuinely moved at times by the consequences of my choices. The way you make decisions feels very organic and immersive. Though I do confess there is always the feeling that you should try some of the strange options because there might be an interesting reward on the other side.... This is caused by knowing your playing a video game but the lesson of 'nothing ventured, nothing gained' isn't a terrible one to take away with you either. In the end, it's a beautiful game that I found myself wanting to share with people, most particularly people who might not normally play games or introducing someone to hobby (lifestyle?) because it has an easy curve and accessibility and could be a great chance to connect with others. Looking forward to replaying again with different choices.

I played this game now in 2025, and got surprised by the amount of Content, Choices and Consequences the Game allows me to do and see, the Story is Very Unique, Specially if you Remember this is a game created back in 2014, in an age where Nordic Culture was not Explored enought in Video Games, The Art and Soundtracks of the Game is Amazing and Gorgeous respectivelly, and what Really Shines in the Game for me Are the Variety of Characters that you can Recruit to your Caravan throughout the game World, The Gameplay is very Simple, Build Your Squad and Fight the Best way you can, but what makes it really interesting is that you have to make choices before every Battle and depending on the way you choose to Start or End the Situation you can Save or Kill some Squad Members, and You have your Caravan which you need to constantly Manage to keep as many people as possible Alive and Happy for their safety (And Sometimes for Your Safety too), it's a really good Hidden Gem that took me 23 Hours and 19 Minutes to end, and it was totally wothy it, Stoic Really did a Great Surprise with this game, when i have the time, i will play the Second and Thrid Parts of this History and see what End do i get in each Game, and will surelly get all the Achievements for all the 3 Games someday.