Your party will need to be carefully balanced to succeed: the Varl may be heavy hitters but are difficult to manoeuvre taking up four tiles on the battle-grid, while weak menders will need to be protected as they are frustratingly unable to heal themselves. ‍ The mini-boss Ruin is introduced early on with a stunning (and sadly rare) cutscene.

There’s always something happening in each story thread to pull you through and tease you onwards towards the next enemy encounter. It makes for an addictive cycle of gameplay as you fight, travel, make story decisions, then camp and regroup. The action never wavers as the story bounces between the two caravans, with new character revelations and motivations uncovered after each battle. And if this wasn’t enough, there’s also the threat of a giant earth-eating serpent looming above them. The second, led by the giant Varl, Iver, along with two menders (magic-users), must push on into the encroaching Darkness, enemies forever at their heels. The story is split between two caravans: the first, led by the human Rook or Alette (depending on your choices), has finally arrived in the great city of Arberrang and must wrestle with unruly townsfolk and refugees while battling incoming waves of dredge. In The Banner Saga, no-one is safe and part of the challenge is trying to keep favourite characters alive through the many trials the game throws your way. Indeed, narrative choice (and consequence) will carry over into Saga 3 if you have previous saves from 1 and 2 and will affect both your playable character and story options further down the line. The gameplay is as before: a mix of tactical, turn-based combat, with a light management system for your caravan of travellers and a branching narrative played out in conversations and difficult choices. ‍ The story picks up where The Banner Saga 2 ended and your party is never far from peril.Ī brief story recap and brisk tutorial let you know this isn’t really a game for newcomers, but then no-one would suggest you start with Season eight of Game of Thrones or read the Return of the King first, so the lack of hand-holding isn’t a surprise.

Split up to fight dredge and horseborn