You have six heroes (you can often pick whichever of your heroes you'd like to use, assuming you have more than six) and can place them in various starting points before the match begins. What I love about the system in The Banner Saga is its simple elegance. I have decidedly mixed feelings about the combat. The final major game mechanic is the turn-based combat. I don't claim to have any magic bullet or perfect solution, but the fact remains that more could be done to make this aspect of the game more rewarding while still maintaining the trade-offs and tough choices. By the end of the game I didn't feel like I had much of a chance to really explore many of my characters or the numerous possible items I could have purchased (I never actually purchased any of them actually, sticking with what I found instead.)Īll told, I think the resource management could benefit from better balance, or at least some other opportunities to scavenge for food (at some risk, of course) or engage in more Renown-bestowing activities. And you end up playing the more difficult story quite a bit more than the easier one, which is a bit unfortunate for a variety of reasons. To make matters worse, there are two separate stories that you play and in one you have quite a few resources and in the other next to none. If I can only afford to level up a handful of a couple dozen characters, I just end up using those characters exclusively in fights. Sure, that means you have to make hard choices, but I still like to feel as though I have some options, especially in my heroes. It's nearly impossible to level many of your heroes up, purchase any trinkets, and still feed your caravan. The problem I encountered was that the doling out of Renown seemed stingy, even for a game like this. The lower the Morale, the worse you'll fare in a fight since it directly affects your supply of Willpower (which we'll come to later.)Ĭamping halts progress to your next destination but allows you to rest, which boosts morale (and consumes however many days worth of supplies you spend resting.) So there's some juggling here. Left unfed, your caravan's Morale level drops. The bigger your caravan, the more supplies you consume, and so on the UI you simply see the number of days of supplies you have left. There is no home base to worry about, no trade system, and "supplies" encompass everything your people need to survive as the days pass. You use it to purchase magical items or level up your roster of heroes, and you use it to purchase supplies for your caravan. In the game, "Renown" is your only currency. And as such, I'm left feeling too squeezed. Perhaps this is simply because we're only privy to about the first ten hours of what will eventually be a longer overall game, but I think it's fair to treat this as a game unto itself. As someone who enjoys games that take resource management seriously, I find the system in The Banner Saga almost too stingy for its own good. You don't have many resources to manage in The Banner Saga, but scarcity plays an often brutal role in how those resources shape your progress.Īctually, here is where I'll enter, for the record, my first official gripe.
While there is no permadeath in regular combat, your choices in the game's narrative can result in the death of a character.īeyond the choices you make as the story unfolds is the broad scope of resource management.
They're just choices, some of which have good outcomes and some of which make you grit your teeth. These aren't choices that confine you to a "Paragon" or "Renegade" persona. It's more a matter of priorities and leadership style.ĭo you physically punish a troublemaker or banish them from the caravan? Or do you give them another chance while ordering forced sobriety? Do you let go of the treasure cart or fight to keep it from careening over a cliff? Do you rest or do you help guard a besieged city wall? The game doesn't really focus on "moral" vs "immoral" choices. It's sort of like life that way, and there's a lot of uncertainty. Some small choices have big consequences, while some big choices don't. How you deal with rowdy drunks, runaway treasure carts, and battle against the Dredge all play a role in how the story progresses. Safety proves quite elusive in this tale.Īs a leader, you'll make various choices as your journey progresses. You take on the role of various leaders in this story, leading your straggling caravans to safety-or at least away from danger.
We'll talk about the narrative progression first. The Banner Saga is comprised of three primary mechanics.
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