Banner Saga
Banner Saga is proof that there are great ideas on Kickstarter and they will be completed. Financially backed by hundreds of people making donations, Banner Saga was developed by Stoic. Stoic is a 3 person team and the game was published by Versus Evil, another very small company, led by a former Bethesda employee.
The game is heavily Viking themed. There are two parts to the game play. First is the side scrolling storytelling and decision making part. Second is a turn based, top down, board game-esque, Dungeons and Dragons style combat. You play from the points of view of a handful of heroes who are trying to get to safety as the world around them comes to an end. In this game you have to make what seem like very easy decisions up to world changing decisions. An example of this is choosing to turn away or embrace a group of thieves who want to join your caravan. The world is ending, you’re horribly outnumbered and need anyone who’s willing to help. Unfortunately even during the worst of times, terrible people often don’t change who they are. The thieves may simply want to join you for an easy score.
The antagonists in this game are a race of stone men called the Dredge. They suddenly begin a massive invasion that sweeps the entire continent into chaos. As the protagonist you’re trying to get your people to safety. Every encounter gets more desperate as you have fewer fighters and Dredge armies multiply. If their thick armor and massive numbers aren’t bad enough, they also have immortal champions that can single handedly win battles.
As the protagonist you have two races on your team: humans and Varls. Varls are giants, endomorphic men with horns protruding from their foreheads. Varl are slow, plodding juggernauts of destruction. Humans are quick and nimble fighters who usually can’t handle attritional combat.
As more Varl and human cities are sacked there are more refugees, more bandits, and less supplies. You are a human named Rook who is not only trying to save the remaining members of his villagers but trying to help everyone else fleeing the tide of darkness. As the leader you have to make difficult decisions that can drastically affect your caravan. Do you help the group of refugees on the side of the road? Maybe they’ll join and be loyal and contribute. Maybe they’ll just kill you in your sleep and run off with supplies.
Unfortunately I can’t figure out the name of the studio’s proprietary engine. However according to an article from Develop-Online. They’re total bros by sharing their technology. (http://www.develop-online.net/interview/why-stoic-games-is-sharing-the-banner-saga-s-game-engine/0212308)
For an indie game the mechanics are on point. The frame rate is great. There were no visual bugs that I saw. Unfortunately for the sound however there were some issues. For long stretches of the game I’d have no sound, either background music or sound effects.
Luckily I didn’t much mind the loss of sound because the visuals were stunning. The characters and side scrolling backgrounds were hand drawn. They are so meticulously drawn, so many details added to even the backgrounds. The emotions and mental states are delivered so well on the protagonists.
The first few chapters of the story start off a bit slow. You’re introduced to the mechanics and to a lot of characters. With so many characters and jumping around you don’t form any attachments until roughly the 5th or 6th chapter. However once those attachments are attached they’re deep and only get deeper. As the game progresses you feel the stress of leadership weigh more heavily on your shoulders. You’re trying to get your people safe and everything in the world seems to be falling apart. At times every decision you make seems to be the wrong one. You keep a brave front when talking to your caravan but deep down doubt has set in and you start to think no one will make it. Eventually you may become hardened and intent on self-preservation, stealing and murdering from all others you run across, just so your caravan can survive one more day. People will die, others will abandon or even betray you and the caravan.
I haven’t felt that sort of intensity since Mass Effect 3.
Overall this is a fantastic game. One of the best I’ve played, ever. This is a game that brings in a big breath of fresh air that the game industry has been needing. I didn’t talk much about the Dredge because they are mysterious with and I don’t want to spoil anything.
Scoring, this is definitely a Game of the Year candidate. If you don’t already own this game you are fucking up.