''The Banner Saga'' is a
tactical role-playing
Tactical role-playing games (abbreviated TRPGs), also known as strategy role-playing games and in Japan as (both abbreviated SRPGs), are a video game genre that combines core elements of role-playing video games with those of tactical (turn-b ...
video game developed by
Stoic Studio and published by
Versus Evil
Versus Evil, LLC is an American video game publisher founded by former ZeniMax Online Studios marketing director Steve Escalante to focus on the independent video game market. Versus Evil's staff is located in California, Texas, and Maryland.
Hi ...
. It was released for
personal computer
A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or tec ...
s and mobile phones in 2014, for
PlayStation 4 and
Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
in 2016 and for
Nintendo Switch in 2018.
Taking place in a fictional world inspired by
Norse mythology, the game tells the story of the player's caravan as a whole, as they combat a warlike race named Dredge that despises humans. The game follows two playable characters whose separate stories eventually merge. The interactive story changes depending on players' decisions.
The game's developer, Stoic Studio, was founded by three former
BioWare
BioWare is a Canadian video game developer based in Edmonton, Alberta. It was founded in 1995 by newly graduated medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk and Augustine Yip, alongside Trent Oster, Brent Oster, and Marcel Zeschuk. Since 2007, ...
designers. It was funded via
Kickstarter, a crowdfunding platform. The hand-drawn animation and art-style featured in the game was inspired by the art of
Eyvind Earle
Eyvind Earle (April 26, 1916 – July 20, 2000) was an American artist, author and illustrator, noted for his contribution to the background illustration and styling of Disney's animated films in the 1950s. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New Yo ...
,
Ralph Bakshi
Ralph Bakshi (born October 29, 1938) is an American animator and filmmaker. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 1992, he directed nine theatric ...
and
Don Bluth
Donald Virgil Bluth (; born September 13, 1937) is an American film director, animator, production designer, and animation instructor, best known for his animated films, including '' The Secret of NIMH'' (1982), '' An American Tail'' (1986), ''Th ...
.
Austin Wintory composed the game's music, with
Dallas Wind Symphony performing. The game's multiplayer component, ''
The Banner Saga: Factions'', was released as a free standalone game before the game's release.
The game received critical praise, notably for the art style, combat, and story. The game was followed by ''
The Banner Saga 2
''The Banner Saga 2'' is a tactical role-playing video game developed by Stoic Studio and published by Versus Evil. It is the sequel to ''The Banner Saga,'' and the second part of a trilogy of games.
A crowdfunding campaign for the third game i ...
'' (2016) and ''
The Banner Saga 3
''The Banner Saga 3'' is a tactical role-playing video game developed by Stoic Studio and published by Versus Evil for macOS, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It is the final installment in a trilogy of games that ...
'' (2018), which concluded the series.
Gameplay
![The Banner Saga combat screenshot](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/The_Banner_Saga_combat_screenshot.jpg)
''The Banner Saga'' is an interactive story, meaning that several events may or may not happen depending on the player's choices. The game follows two playable characters, each having their own story that ultimately merges into one. The core of the game is a single-player campaign of turn-based combat engagements inspired by games such as ''
Final Fantasy Tactics
is a 1997 tactical role-playing game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation video game console. Released in Japan in June 1997 and in the United States in January 1998 by Sony Computer Entertainment, it is the first game of the ...
'' and ''
Shining Force
is a 1992 turn-based tactical role-playing game for the Mega Drive/Genesis console. While primarily a traditional fantasy-themed game, it contains some science fiction elements.
The game has been repeatedly re-released: in Sega Smash Pack Vol ...
'', with the player controlling and being able to build up a party of characters with complementary abilities. The game deliberately avoids certain conventions of action-oriented computer role-playing games such as the focus on a young lone hero's story, looting and buying items, or reloading a saved game state after defeat. Instead, the developers intended to tell the story of the player's caravan as a whole, and encourage players to accept and deal with the consequences of any defeats they may encounter.
''The Banner Saga'' centers on the return of the Dredge, a warlike race that despises humans, led by Bellower, a nigh-invincible Dredge who leads them on a warpath. As a wandering army sent to fight against the Dredge and find a weakness for Bellower, the caravan make many difficult decisions that would shape the fate of both man and Varl. Meanwhile, a darkness starts to encompass the world as a giant serpent causes massive earthquakes and breaches across the lands.
Plot
The game takes place in a
Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
legend-inspired world, stuck in a perpetual twilight since the sun stopped moving weeks before the events of the game, mainly populated by humans and giant-like creatures called the Varls, as the Dredge, an ancient race believed to be extinct for ages, returns to kill them all.
To the west, the Varl Vognir, together with several other companions that include his longtime friend Hakon, the retired Varl warrior Ubin, and the resourceful human Eirik, are charged with escorting Ludin, Prince of the human capital Arberrang, to the Varl capital Grofheim in order to seal an alliance between the two races. In the city of Vedrfell, however, Vognir is slain in an encounter with Dredge, leading Hakon to take command of the caravan. Continuing their way, the caravan faces many of the Dredge and, while exploring the city in ruins of Ridgehorn, find an unconscious man next to a woman's dead body on the top of a tower. As they rescue him and continue on their way, the man, Eyvind, unsuccessfully implores Hakon to return to Ridgehorn, convinced his companion is still alive. The caravan reaches Grofheim, to find it aflame and completely overrun by Dredge.
On the other side of the country, the hunter Rook and his daughter Alette encounter a lone Dredge near their home of Skogr. They hastily come back to their town and their Varl friend Iver, to find the village attacked by Dredge. Together with the Chieftain's wife Oddleif and the other survivors of the village, they escape to the town of Frostvellr. Finding the town unsafe, they continue their quest for shelter, eventually having no choice but to seek refuge in the Varl fortress of Einartoft. On their way, terrible earthquakes occur, seemingly caused by a massive form in the distance. Although the Varl of Einartoft refuse to let humans in at first, Iver, whose real identity is a legendary, long-disappeared warrior known as Yngvar, persuades them to let the caravan in.
In Einartoft, Rook, Alette and their companions meet Hakon, Prince Ludin and their own companions, who also took shelter in the fortress after discovering what was left of Grofheim. They all meet with the Varl King, Jorundr. The situation is soon revealed to be desperate here as well, as Einartoft is under siege from the Dredge and their immortal champion, Bellower. With the king refusing to destroy the bridge leading to the fortress, the companions have no choice but to fight the Dredge, leading to Iver being severely wounded and losing an arm in a fight against Bellower. As Eyvind tries to distract Bellower and save Iver, the massive form they saw in the distance earlier, a massive, terrifying serpent, emerges and gives a glance at the battle before going away, causing the Dredge to retreat in fear.
Meanwhile, Juno, the woman whose body was next to Eyvind when Hakon's caravan found him, awakens in the ruins of Ridgehorn, to find the gigantic serpent facing her. After unsuccessfully trying to kill her, the serpent speaks to her, revealing that it was supposed to swallow what was left of the world, but is deeply troubled by the presence of a "darkness" taking over the world instead. After the serpent leaves, Juno contacts Eyvind by telepathy, urging him to leave Einartoft and meet her down south in the city of Sigrholm.
Eyvind pleads with Rook to lead him to Sigrholm. Rook agrees, as Einartoft is already doomed, and the caravan leaves, soon warned by Ubin and other survivors catching up with them that the city fell a few hours after they left. When the caravan reaches the unwelcoming city of Sigrholm, Juno is nowhere to be found. Despite Eyvind's protests, Rook decides the only hope they have left is to find shelter in the fortified city of Boersgard. However, they find another city in the brink of chaos, with no boats left and where a group of mercenaries named the Ravens, led by the Varl Bolverk, rules the city. Boersgard finds itself stuck between the sea and a Dredge host. More Dredge arrive every day, while supplies are running out and widespread riots are tearing the city apart from the inside, as Rook and his friends decide their only hope resides in building new boats to leave by the sea before it is too late. As the city's defenses are about to fall before their goal is achieved, they are saved by Juno, together with Hakon, Prince Ludin and an army of Varl who escaped Einartoft at the last moment. Despite this brief moment of triumph, they soon find themselves in more trouble, as Bellower and yet more Dredge arrive. With the help of Rook, Juno creates a magic arrow. The Dredge would rout if Bellower was defeated and, although he is immortal, the arrow would hit his mind, convincing him of his own death and making him fall into a coma. The player is given the choice to give the arrow to either Rook or Alette. The one chosen ultimately hits Bellower, allowing their companions to defeat him and make the Dredge army flee, but is killed by Bellower after shooting him. Some time later, the unified caravans of Rook and Hakon leave Boersgard together with the Ravens on newly constructed boats, afflicted with grief, after giving Rook / Alette a proper farewell and funeral.
Development
![The Banner Saga, Travel Bridge screenshot](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/The_Banner_Saga%2C_Travel_Bridge_screenshot.jpg)
The game's developers – Alex Thomas and John Watson – left
BioWare Austin after working on ''
Star Wars: The Old Republic'', with the intention of making a game for their own enjoyment, and which they thought other people would enjoy as well. They started work on the game in July 2011, with Arnie Jorgensen joining them six months after they left BioWare. After thinking up the concept of the game, they decided to make the game on their own, not wanting to be tied down by publisher demands and believing that it would be hard to convince them to fund it.
While Watson worked on the programming, Jorgensen handled the animation aspect
and Thomas wrote the dialogues for the game with Jorgensen's input.
In addition, Jorgensen designed the user interface, while Thomas handled the animation department before they could outsource it using funds from their Kickstarter campaign, and also designed the combat system.
Another former BioWare developer, Drew McGee, later joined the studio and worked on the sidequests. Although the game was originally targeted for
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...
devices, they decided to focus on
Microsoft Windows and
OS X instead since it did not perform well on the
iPad
The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operating ...
in early stages.
The team originally intended to release the game in Fall 2012.
The genesis of the game lay with Alex Thomas, who wanted to create a game that was a mix of ''
The Oregon Trail'', ''
King of Dragon Pass
''King of Dragon Pass'' is a 1999 strategy simulation fantasy video game published by A Sharp. Set in the fictional world of Glorantha, the player controls the fate of a barbarian clan settling in the dangerous frontier region of Dragon Pass.
...
'' and ''
Shining Force
is a 1992 turn-based tactical role-playing game for the Mega Drive/Genesis console. While primarily a traditional fantasy-themed game, it contains some science fiction elements.
The game has been repeatedly re-released: in Sega Smash Pack Vol ...
'' since childhood. It was initially planned to be a medieval fantasy, but Stoic later shifted to a Viking-inspired fantasy setting, so as to avoid what the developers considered the "overdone 'elves, dwarves and orcs' dynamic". The choice for the Viking-inspired setting was influenced by Jorgensen, who grew up in
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...
and was impressed by tales of Vikings he had heard in his childhood.
The developers initially planned out the story, before proceeding to the gameplay.
During the planning phase, Stoic decided to split the story into three games after being recommended to do so by the game developer
Gordon Walton (Conrad) Gordon Walton, Jr. (born 1956) is an American video game developer and executive producer who has worked with many North American online game companies, from Maxis to Electronic Arts to Sony Online to BioWare. Since 1977 he has personal ...
, hoping to finish the first one within a year. The game's main enemy called the "Dredge" were influenced by ''
Shadow of the Colossus
''Shadow of the Colossus'' is a 2005 action-adventure game developed by Japan Studio and Team Ico, and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. It takes place in a fantasy setting and follows Wander, a young man who ...
'', and were deliberately intended to feel alien compared to the Nordic-inspired world. The race of giants called the "Varl" was inspired by the
jötunn
A (also jotun; in the normalised scholarly spelling of Old Norse, ; ; plural / ) or, in Old English, (plural ) is a type of supernatural being in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, they are often contrasted with gods ( Æsir and Vani ...
and mythical heroic characters. The inspiration for its plot about people trying to escape from the coming darkness meanwhile came from ''
The NeverEnding Story
''The Neverending Story'' (german: Die unendliche Geschichte) is a fantasy novel by German writer Michael Ende, published in 1979. The first English translation, by Ralph Manheim, was published in 1983. The novel was later adapted into several ...
''.
When it came to the animation, Stoic decided to settle for
traditional animation
Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation in cinema until computer animation.
Proc ...
, of which Thomas was a major proponent.
The visual style of the game is influenced by
Eyvind Earle
Eyvind Earle (April 26, 1916 – July 20, 2000) was an American artist, author and illustrator, noted for his contribution to the background illustration and styling of Disney's animated films in the 1950s. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New Yo ...
's art for the 1959 Disney film ''
Sleeping Beauty
''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess cu ...
'', as well as the work of
Ralph Bakshi
Ralph Bakshi (born October 29, 1938) is an American animator and filmmaker. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 1992, he directed nine theatric ...
and
Don Bluth
Donald Virgil Bluth (; born September 13, 1937) is an American film director, animator, production designer, and animation instructor, best known for his animated films, including '' The Secret of NIMH'' (1982), '' An American Tail'' (1986), ''Th ...
, ''The Banner Saga''s art features primarily hand-drawn animation sequences, characters and backgrounds.
It was selected by Jorgensen, who showed some images of Earle's art to Watson and Thomas for their approval. After coming up with his own art style for the game, Jorgensen started working on the map, which was drawn on a piece of paper. As he kept on adding more details to make it feel like a real world, Thomas would provide suggestions for areas to add in.
According to the developers, their aim was to create a "mature game for adults in the vein of ''
Game of Thrones'' or ''
The Black Company
''The Black Company'' is a series of dark fantasy books written by American author Glen Cook. The series combines elements of epic fantasy as it follows an elite mercenary unit, the Black Company, through roughly forty years of its approximat ...
''". They intended to engage players emotionally by allowing them to build relationships with the game's characters and shape the outcome of the story through an array of conversation choices. The team decided to allow the player to make choices only during specific moments like ''
The Witcher
''The Witcher'' ( pl, Wiedźmin ) is a series of six fantasy novels and 15 short stories written by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. The series revolves around the eponymous "witcher", Geralt of Rivia. In Sapkowski's works, "witchers" are be ...
''.
When it came to the tactical combat system, the developers stated that they wanted to offer something that was unique, but not too hard for new players.
Before they started coding, they designed the combat system with the help of chess.
Games like ''
Final Fantasy Tactics
is a 1997 tactical role-playing game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation video game console. Released in Japan in June 1997 and in the United States in January 1998 by Sony Computer Entertainment, it is the first game of the ...
'' and ''Shining Force'' acted as inspirations for its strategic gameplay.
Although the game's combat system was initially nearly the same as that of ''Final Fantasy Tactics'', Stoic decided to create their own unique system after players who tested the game at Fantastic Arcade 2012 found it unwieldy.
The movements of most of the characters are derived from that of the developers who filmed themselves,
rotoscoping it later to use it in the game.
Stoic developed a custom
game engine for ''The Banner Saga'', which they internally termed "
Yggdrasil
Yggdrasil (from Old Norse ), in Norse cosmology, is an immense and central sacred tree. Around it exists all else, including the Nine Worlds.
Yggdrasil is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'' compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional ...
", named after the
world tree from Norse mythology. The engine was built using
Adobe AIR
Adobe AIR (also known as Adobe Integrated Runtime and is codenamed Apollo) is a cross-platform runtime system currently developed by Harman International, in collaboration with Adobe Inc., for building desktop applications and mobile applicat ...
, which although allowed them to easily port the game to mobile devices, also made it harder to port to consoles at the same time. The developers resolved this using Autodesk Scaleform, which according to them had never been utilized for such a large project before. The art was designed using
Adobe Photoshop, while the animation was done using
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash and FutureSplash) is a multimedia software platform used for production of animations, rich web applications, desktop applications, mobile apps, mobile games, and embedded web browser video players. Fla ...
, before being
sprite sheeted and imported into the game engine.
As Stoic was developing the combat system for the game, they decided to release it as part of a free-to-play standalone multiplayer game to players so they would get used to the gameplay. This would be called ''
The Banner Saga: Factions''. It was also meant as a way to get feedback for the systems they designed for the single-player game and help promote it, in addition to earning extra money till the launch of the first chapter.
Stoic announced to the public that they were developing ''The Banner Saga'' in February 2012. A trailer for the single-player version of the game was released later in the month.
The voice acting for the trailer was done by one of their friends at BioWare, while the animation work was done by Thomas, and the music made by Jorgensen.
Kickstarter
Although Stoic set out to develop the game using their own personal savings,
they intended to use
Kickstarter to fund the game since they founded the company, being encouraged by White Whale Games, as well as the successes of ''
Double Fine Adventure'' and ''
Wasteland 2
''Wasteland 2'' is a post-apocalyptic role-playing video game developed by inXile Entertainment and published by Deep Silver. It is the sequel to 1988's ''Wasteland'', and was successfully crowdfunded through Kickstarter. After the postponement o ...
''. Work on the Kickstarter campaign and a prototype build started in January 2012.
While Thomas originally wanted $10,000 in funding from Kickstarter to outsource animation work, Watson convinced the others to raise it to $30,000 after finding that it was the most a project could make. After the success of ''Double Fine Adventure'', they decided to raise the goal to $50,000, believing their initial goal would dampen interest. The announcement of the game further increased the reputation of the studio and they decided to capitalize on it by increasing their goal to $100,000, while fearing that the previous goal too might feel underwhelming.
The campaign was opened to pledges on March 19, 2012
and met its funding goal in the course of the next day. After the game was funded more than four times than its goal on Kickstarter, Stoic in April 2021 brought in music composer
Austin Wintory to work on the game's music. In addition, Kpow Audio worked on the game's
ambience and sound quality, while
Powerhouse Animation Studios
Powerhouse Animation Studios, Inc. is an American animation studio based in Austin, Texas. It was founded in April 2001 with a subsidiary called Powerhouse Animation LLC, established in summer of 2014. The company develops and produces tradition ...
worked on the animation and the cutscenes. The additional funding also allowed Stoic to port the game to iPad and
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, w ...
. Meanwhile, the developers also hired three more employees to work on the game, including Jeff Uriarte who worked at
Vigil Games
Vigil Games was an American game development company owned by THQ. It was formed by comic artist Joe Madureira and David Adams in 2005.
History
Vigil Games was founded in 2005 by Joe Madureira, David Adams, Marvin Donald and Ryan Stefanelli. Vi ...
, Brian Mumm who worked at BioWare Austin, and Leslee Beldotti.
The Kickstarter campaign accumulated $723,886 from 20,042 backers by the time it ended.
This allowed the developers to expand the scope of events during travel, port the game to
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is a digital video game download service available through the Xbox Games Store, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360. It focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent ...
and
PlayStation Network and add a full orchestra score by Austin Wintory.
The campaign also allowed them to add back many of the features they had cut from the game originally. The game was later announced to be releasing by the end of 2012, with a public beta version planned for summer, and Stoic also stated that it hoped to port the game to PlayStation Vita.
As they began to work on the game, the developers believed that it would take them one year to complete. Though they planned to finish it quickly and spend as little money as possible, they found that it was draining their own savings quickly. While hoping to release the game on Steam, they also planned to sell it on their own if they failed to do so. Stoic begun talks with Valve Corporation
Valve Corporation is an American video game developer, publisher, and digital distribution company headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. It is the developer of the software distribution platform Steam and the franchises ''Half-Life'', '' C ...
to allow them to sell their games on Steam around January or February 2012. Later, they publicly announced to Kickstarter backers that the game would be released on Steam despite it not being certain. The situation however changed after the game was successfully crowdfunded, with Valve granting approval to them.
The game was later delayed to the first half of 2013 due to the additional development required after Stoic added in more features, a result of the Kickstarter campaign. The voice acting was outsourced to a studio from Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
specializing in Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...
after they were recommended to Stoic by a Kickstarter backer, partly to save costs, partly because the Icelandic language
Icelandic (; is, íslenska, link=no ) is a North Germanic language
The North Germanic languages make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages—a sub-family of the Indo-European languages—along with the West Germanic lan ...
is the closest language to Old Norse, and also due to Icelandic accents being similar to that of other Scandinavian countries. They however settled on having the voice actors talk in English instead of Icelandic, particularly due to language accessibility and fearing that the players would not focus on the animation.
Release
Stoic announced in February 2013 that the game would be released in the middle of the year instead. On November 8, 2013, a new announcement trailer was released showcasing the gameplay systems. Stoic also revealed that the game would be released on Windows and OS X on January 14, 2014.
On December 17, 2013, Versus Evil announced that those who pre-ordered the game would receive the "Insane Viking Pack" alongside Kickstarter backers. The pack includes an additional character named Tryggvi, who comes equipped with a pearl necklace which gives a character a higher chance to do double the damage in combat, and three tracks from the game scored by Austin Wintory.
The game was released with help from Versus Evil
Versus Evil, LLC is an American video game publisher founded by former ZeniMax Online Studios marketing director Steve Escalante to focus on the independent video game market. Versus Evil's staff is located in California, Texas, and Maryland.
Hi ...
via digital distribution
Digital distribution, also referred to as content delivery, online distribution, or electronic software distribution, among others, is the delivery or distribution of digital media content such as audio, video, e-books, video games, and other s ...
on Steam. Initially released for the Windows and Mac platforms, ports to iPad
The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operating ...
and Android were released in October 2014. A port to Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, w ...
was released in March 2015, and ports for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
were released in January 2016. A port to PlayStation Vita has been underway since 2014, but has been cancelled as of July 19, 2017.
Soundtrack
The fully orchestrated score was written by Austin Wintory, for which he was nominated for the 2014 ''Original Dramatic Score, New IP'' by National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers (NAVGTR). It features Malukah, Peter Hollens
Peter James Hollens (born March 4, 1980) is an American singer/songwriter, producer and entrepreneur. He has been involved with ''a cappella'' music since 1999 when he and Leo da Silva founded the University of Oregon's ''a cappella'' group, On ...
, Jóhann Sigurðarson
Jóhann Sigurðarson (born 21 April 1956) is an Icelandic actor, voice actor and singer. He is known for his role as Leifur in '' Trapped'' and ''The Minister''.
Career
Jóhann graduated from the Icelandic Drama School in 1981. He has been in ...
and Taylor Davis as soloists. The ensemble that performed the music was the Dallas Wind Symphony, and it was recorded at the Meyerson Symphony Center
The Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center is a concert hall located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas (USA). Ranked one of the world's greatest orchestra halls, it was designed by architect I.M. Pei and acoustician Russell Johnson's ...
in Dallas, Texas
Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...
.
The soundtrack received critical acclaim upon release, and was nominated for a BAFTA Games Award in the "Best Music" category, "Excellence in Musical Score" during the 2015 SXSW Gaming Awards, "Best Original Score - Videogame" by Hollywood Music in Media, and "Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media" by the International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA).
Reception
''The Banner Saga'' for Microsoft Windows has an aggregate score of 80 out of 100 based on 74 critical reviews on Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, signifying "generally positive reviews". The iOS version of the game obtained an aggregate score of 92 out of 100, signifying "universal acclaim".
According to ''IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'', ''The Banner Saga'' excelled both in its art and in its varied story full of meaningful choices. The reviewer also approved of the game's tough, but rewarding combat system and bleak, but beautiful soundtrack, while considering that the game could have explained key gameplay mechanics better. ''Eurogamer
''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson.
Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EG ...
'' praised the game's art and elegant combat system, while criticizing the lack of variety in combat. ''Hardcore Gamer'' commended its feature-quality production values as well as its deep and engaging combat. ''Game Informer
''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...
'' gave the game 8.5 out of 10, concluding that, "Despite a few minor issues with enemy variety and the tedium of recurring encounters, Banner Saga stands out as an excellent tactical RPG with considerable depth".
''GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'' awarded ''The Banner Saga'' a score of 7 out of 10, saying, "The Banner Saga is a beautiful game, filled with interesting ideas and enjoyable battles." ''GamesRadar+
''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites '' Total Film'', '' SFX'', ''Edge'' and ''Computer ...
'' gave the game 4.5 stars out of 5 and praised it for its unique aesthetic, interesting story, strong AI, and decision-making scenarios while criticizing the lack of a manual save function. ''Destructoid
''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017, and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022.
History
...
'' gave the game an 8 out of 10, calling ''The Banner Saga'''s battles onerous, arduous, plodding, and lethargic, while praising it for feeling like a game "made by artists". ''PC Gamer
''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games m ...
'' said that the game "ha the weight and feel of an epic" while noting how its potential was weighed down by budgetary constraints. '' PCGamesN'' heavily praised the game's narrative, writing, "Stoic has still managed to weave a compelling tapestry of epic conflicts with emotionally engaging characters".
''Dwellers Included'' awarded ''The Banner Saga Complete Pack with Survival Mode'' a 4.5 out of 5, saying "The first thing you'll notice when you start playing ''The Banner Saga'' is how beautiful this game is; from the characters, to the backgrounds, even the animations, every visual aspect of the game is absolutely stunning."
Upon release ''The Banner Saga'' was nominated for over 30 awards, including three BAFTA Game nominations, three nominations from the 2014 Independent Game Festival (IGF), and four SXSW Gaming Award nominations.
Sequels and other media
A sequel, ''The Banner Saga 2
''The Banner Saga 2'' is a tactical role-playing video game developed by Stoic Studio and published by Versus Evil. It is the sequel to ''The Banner Saga,'' and the second part of a trilogy of games.
A crowdfunding campaign for the third game i ...
'', was announced in December 2014. The game was released on April 19, 2016. A prequel novel titled ''The Banner Saga: The Gift of Hadrborg'', written by James Fadeley, was released in April 2016. A miniatures board game, ''The Banner Saga: Warbands'', was released in September 2016.
In January 2017, Stoic launched a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for a third instalment in the series called ''The Banner Saga 3
''The Banner Saga 3'' is a tactical role-playing video game developed by Stoic Studio and published by Versus Evil for macOS, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It is the final installment in a trilogy of games that ...
''. The game surpassed its $200k funding goal with $416,986 raised. It was released on July 26, 2018.
On July 18, 2018, it was announced that Hyper RPG would produce an official tabletop RPG tie-in show that would air on Twitch
Twitch may refer to:
Biology
* Muscle contraction
** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation
** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction
** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle co ...
from July 24 to August 14 of the same year. It stars Shelby Grace, Andre Meadows, Steve Zaragoza
Esteban "Steve" Zaragoza (born June 9, 1982) is an American online personality, singer-songwriter, musician and web series host, notable for his work on the current events and news series '' SourceFed''. Zaragoza became a host on the series in 201 ...
, Dave Moss, and Trisha Hershberger, with Adam Koebel as the gamemaster
A gamemaster (GM; also known as game master, game manager, game moderator, referee, or storyteller) is a person who acts as an organizer, officiant for regarding rules, arbitrator, and moderator for a multiplayer role-playing game. They are m ...
.
An anthology novel titled ''The Banner Saga: Tales from the Caravan'' was released in July 2019.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Banner Saga 1, The
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