14 DAY TRIAL // The Banner Saga might be one of the most interesting early launches of 2014, based on the time I have spent with a preview version of the game created by Stoic Games, mixing classic turn-based mechanics with a beautiful world and a well-crafted story.
The core gameplay mechanics are deceivingly simple: players get access to a unit that can be placed on a battle map and then take turns moving one unit and using it to launch an attack.
Each class has a variety of abilities and as the game progresses, players need to learn how to mix them in order to take out the powerful Dredge enemies, who are fearsome foes with good tactical movement and solid use of their own skills.
Each unit has both armor and traditional hit points and the unique twist in Stoic Games’ system is that a unit can only hit as hard as the total amount of life it has left, which means that it’s crucial to try to wound the most powerful enemy as quickly as possible.
A morale system can also be used to improve movement and attacks, and with each new kill, the player gains more points to spread among his units and improve their performance.
The tactical battles are fluid, complex, challenging and can create very tense moments as a 70 percent chance of piercing armor with an archer can make the difference between victory and defeat.
The Dredge are powerful and cunning enemies who tend to focus on one of your units and take it out as quickly as possible, usually the one that has the smallest amount of armor.
And the development team understands how a Pyrrhic victory can throw an entire campaign out of balance and is not afraid to make the player feel like he has won before throwing in more and tougher enemies.
Between fights, players also have to manage their soldiers, upgrade them, make sure that morale stays high and manage supplies.
The Banner Saga uses Nordic themes with elegance and creates archetypes and motifs that will be familiar to gamers while throwing in a little fantasy, plenty of emotion and a number of characters that are simply sketched but effective at telling the story of the game.
I have spent around 10 minutes simply looking at the overland map and the various descriptions for the places where I will travel to and I am convinced that the game creates a very beautiful and engaging world.
The animation in the Stoic Games-created title could use a little more work and there are some difficulty spikes that feel unfair, but The Banner Saga is shaping up to be an engrossing game experience.
