You will like this Banner...even if it's angry!

Evan McKay

Stoic games; 3 indie developers formerly of Bioware who set out to make a video game like none other. The Banner Saga. Funded purely by fans on Kickstarter and exceeding their funding goal on the first day, this game is truly epic in every sense of the word. 

---

---

The Banner Saga is a Viking inspired fantasy epic that starts at the beginning of the apocalypse. You play as the leaders of 2 different Caravans on opposite sides of the world, zipping back and forth as you reach certain parts of the story. It is the end times; the gods are dead and the sun has not left the sky in almost a year. The humans have an ages old and very tired alliance with the Varl: horned Giants that are brave and loyal and tireless in their struggle against the Dredge. Dredge are giant stone humanoids that rampage across the land and are regarded as fairy tales to most people. 

Three Varl walk into a bar...

The game play for this epic is truly inspiring. The caravan travel portion of the game is akin to The Oregon Trail. Your people may not suffer from dysentery, but that guard with the drinking problem that you did not properly reprimand may set a wagon full of food on fire making you very sad. Food is essential, as your morale will suffer plus your fighters and Varl will starve and die. These numbers are essential in managing the difficulty for the real gem of the game play which is the battles, where you command your heroes in a very clever turn based tactical RPG.

Battle screen shot featuring the Dredge.

To compliment all this original game play are the sounds and visuals which are enchantingly beautiful. The art is inspired by Eyvind Earle, the artist behind Disney's Sleeping Beauty. The animations are so classic and meticulous it is just jaw dropping. Every attention to detail in how people move has been made. If someone is carrying something, like the main character's axe, he buries the blade in the ground next to him to draw his bow before firing, then slings the bow back over his shoulder so he can pick up his axe again. All of this against a haunting and intense original score by Austin Wintory. The music can at times be frightening, dark, inspiring, or sad. You really get wrapped up in the intensity of it all as your caravan is starving and the horde is chasing you, just hoping you can hang on until the next village.

Please, someone explain to me how this beautiful, stylized and hand-drawn animation...

...remotely resembles in any way, other than proper use of the word "saga", to this mindless, neon-colored CG-vomit.

Sadly this game has recently been at the center of some absurd controversy. The very talented game designers at King.com have filed to appeal Stoic games' American copyright for "Banner Saga". Their argument is that it is too "confusing and deceptively similar" to their life-changing "Candy Crush Saga." Hey King.com...FUCK YOU!!!! In what world is a micro-transaction based mobile rip off of Bejeweled at all "deceptively similar" to a beautifully hand-drawn tactical and dark Viking epic. That is a completely ridiculous claim. The talent at Stoic clearly put so much hard work into this gorgeous game only to have some forgettable money making mobile scam try to jeopardize their IP. Also since when can you trademark words like "Saga" or "Candy" that is also ridiculous. If the courts will not give Stoic their trademark and uphold King.com's claim I will be very depressed at the state of trademark's and trademark handling in this country. Do yourself a favor andwatch the beautiful trailer and then buy the game.

---

More From Evan McKay

• A Nerd's Recollection
  
• #PS4 Review
• Chief Calamity of our time
  

• A Dearth of fun at the mall

More on the Author

Evan McKay hosts the new show GG, LIVE Tuesdays at 6pm. A show for the nerd in all of us, piloted by an expert in the field.

---