A Turn-Based – Managing – Strategy – Nordic Fantasy Drama with Giants!
In the sequel to the critically acclaimed “The Banner Saga”, your task is to protect a group of humans and varls (giants), as they migrate from the North to Southern regions, in search of a new home, away from the dangers of an ancient evil. Prepare to make some tough decisions. Your actions will result in the loss of lives, but you have to keep moving. Developer Stoic has delivered a fantastic strategy game, inspired by Viking mythology.
The Saga
Story-wise, this game picks up right after the events that concluded the first Banner Saga. Based on your decisions in that game, either the leader of the group, or his daughter, has sacrificed his or her life in order to save the caravan from the ancient evil known as the Dredge, stone warriors that have risen from the cracks of the earth (think White Walkers). The first part of The Banner Saga 2, therefore, deals with the fallout of this soul-crushing decision, as the main character struggles with the loss of someone very close to him or her, and the responsibility of leading a group. Luckily, the player is supported by a multitude of colourful characters that advise you during your journey.
These colourful characters all have some sort of agenda that influences in what way they are going to help you or work against you. The Varls, giants from the North that have waged war against the humans, realise that their culture is rapidly disappearing, and choose to unite under the same banner as the humans, despite their ideological and cultural differences, and the difficult past they share. To the historians, and people who simply add 2 and 2 together, this game is also about who we are.
Interestingly enough, the make-shift alliance between giants and men works out quite well, and there soon is a mutual respect between the formidable warriors and the smaller, but quicker, humans. The disputes, however, come from within the ranks of the humans, as a power-hungry governor and a stubborn mercenary leader both try to defy your decisions. Politics seems to have a part to play in this survival story, too.
Besides the story, and how it develops (no spoilers), The Banner Saga is set in a rich Nordic-inspired world, which draws heavily on Viking mythology. There is plenty to discover in the world of menders, ‘spelweavers’, old forgotten gods (and their Godstones), exotic races, and ancient threats.
Anyone who likes a good Viking-inspired story should really consider delving into this rich world.
Protecting the Caravan
In The Banner Saga 2, you spend most of your time on the road, leading your people to a safe haven, far away from the threat of the dredge. Although it might be confusing at first, the way this game mechanic is portrayed, is basically a numbers game. Your caravan is divided into three groups: fighters, who protect the caravan from enemies, clansmen, who make sure the people in the group can eat by foraging, and Varls, the giants who offer a formidable first line of defence against the things that go ‘bonk’ in the night. There should be a delicate balance between clansmen and fighters, though, as they need each other to survive.
The game progresses day by day, and every day, you have to make sure your caravan has enough supplies to make sure the people are fed. Besides that, you also have to keep them happy, so their morale does not drop and people start abandoning the caravan. Although there is safety in numbers, a caravan that is too big uses up more supplies than a smaller group of people, and it progresses slower. On the other hand, a group that is too small might get overrun quickly by larger groups of enemies, or even armies in certain cases.
To make sure the whole thing doesn’t go tits up from the start, you can train new fighters, taken from the group of clansmen, or buy extra supplies by using your ‘renown’, which you earn by taking good decisions, protecting the caravan, and defeating dangerous enemies. However, the same ‘currency’ is used to level up your heroes, or buying them new items that might help them in battle. This game consists of hard choices: do I level up my heroes so they can kick more dredge ass, or do I buy more supplies so the entire group can last a little while longer? The choice is yours, but you have to face the consequences.
A Game of Chess
When you eventually encounter enemies, the game switches to a turn-based battle system, in which every hero has his or her turn to move, cast a spell, or attack an opponent, or a combination of these actions. Before every battle, you can choose how to stack your heroes, so you can decide who moves first in the fight. Do I use my spellweaver first to boost the morale, or do I position my Varls in such a way that they take the biggest punishment, so my spearmen or archers can move in for the kill? The intricate game system has plenty to offer for the strategy nuts among us.
To make it easier for the player – there is no real ‘tutorial’ – you can test out your strategies and positioning in the camp. You fight your own members of the group, but these cannot die, and you might even level up a couple of them as they gain more experience. A well-trained group of fighters and a good strategy might give you the chance to win that difficult encounter, even though you are outnumbered. By levelling your heroes, their stats are improved, and you can choose which abilities they get more experienced in, or which abilities they gain extra.
The look and feel of it
The Banner Saga 2 is a deliciously immersing game. The story, the cartoon style, the design of the enemies and buildings, the Viking-inspired soundtrack, it all fits into the overall experience. This is not simply a cheap knockoff based on the Nordic legends, this world is alive. After playing a couple of hours, I spent some time reading up on the backstories of the gods and the world that the game is set in on the official wiki page, and I was truly mesmerized by the amount of detail that the developers inserted into this world.
| The Good: | The Bad: |
| + Immersive Viking-Inspired world | – Steep learning curve (strategy & classes) |
| + Epic storyline | – You need to have played The Banner Saga 1 to be able to fully enjoy the sequel |
| + Fun strategic elements | |
| + Decision-making rewards you and punishes you at the same time |
The Banner Saga 2 is a fantastic game. The Nordic world, with is legends and swan songs, pulls you right in, and the main storyline offers plenty of suspense to keep you balancing on the edge of your seat. Keeping your people alive has never been so stressful, as there are always consequences for your actions. Luckily, you are able to defend them from the evil that chases you, if you choose to spend time learning how to optimise your strategies and level up your heroes. More please!
Score: 4 out of 5
