The Banner Saga

Coming from a studio led by ex-Bioware employees, the Banner Saga is arguably the most unique new rpg IP since the souls series. The game plays like a mixture between the Oregon trail and Fire Emblem, having you manage a caravan through difficult choices and those choices affecting combat. The combat in question is tile and turn based, and brutally difficult even on normal settings. This in turn makes building a properly equipped party feel very satisfying. Dialogue can decide who lives and dies and how the story plays out. These choices can then be imported in true Bioware fashion. Money must be rationed between gear and food, and party members that fall in battle become injured, eating from this supply if you need them recuperated. Despite the great quality of the game itself the console port is lacking. The game crashes A TON and battles can be long. This is at it's worst during the final boss. The Banner Saga can be quite stressful but the road is worth the journey.

It's like 'The Oregon Trail' meets an old school strategy rpg. The art and music are beautiful. The story is great and well told, very touching and occasionally heart-wrenching. Only two reasons this gets 4 instead of 5 stars. One, the camera can't be rotated so it can be confusing to see unit positions/movements/targets when a lot of units are clustered. Two, one or two possible character deaths/disappearances seem random or arbitrary (most are fine though).

If you were lucky enough to have enjoyed games like Final Fantasy Tactics back in the day, this is for you. Combine all the elements of RPG, stategy, and choose your own adventure gameplay with a novel worthy storyline and you have one of the best games I have played in recent memory. Worthy of the bargain bin price tag and then some. My only regret is not playing it sooner.

From beginning to end I thoroughly enjoyed this game. It is an epic that should not be missed. Everything from the combat to the storyline is great. I loved that it's like one of those choose your own adventure books. Its full of intrigue and there's danger at every corner. You will just never know how your story will unfold as you go. That is what is so great about this game. No two people will end up with the same group of characters by the end. Important characters can and will die, so choose wisely. Also, the dire situation the characters face goes from bad to worse, so try your best to choose the best you can, so you'll end up with one of the better possible outcomes. If there was one thing I didn't like was that you can't turn the battlefield to your liking, so you can have the best possible view. It can cause you to make a move that was not intended if your not careful. I urge everyone to show their support for these great indie games. This game can hang with the big boys.

Great turn based combat, great characters, massive fantasy setting, rich RPG elements, and devastating player choices with extreme consequences... Cannot recommend this game enough. Looking forward to the rest of the series