The Banner Saga: Factions

The Banner Saga: Factions is the online PvP version of The Banner Saga, an RPG game in which you get to create a clan of viking warriors to explore a vast and dangerous world. Factions offers you the chance to skip the solo campaign and head right into battle in a well crafted turn-based tactics game.

The Banner Saga: Factions has a very appealing look with its cartoon-like characters and world design. Animations are smooth and everything about it, from HUD design to combat mechanics fit together to create a well polished game.

As far as combat goes, gameplay is pretty straightforward and easy to pick up. If you’ve played turn-based tactics games before, then this one will probably have only two or three new features to throw you way. In terms of battle excitement, The Banner Saga: Factions is pretty mellow because although character animations are nice, they take their sweet time unfold.

As a turn based tactics game The Banner Saga: Factions is really nice. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to have caught on in popularity. Finding a match takes a good deal of time, about two or four minutes which is not all that bad but matchmaking is a bit unbalanced.

Your party’s collective strength is measured in ‘power’ and in a lot of cases you’ll be paired to challenge a player that’s way over your power level. Basically, you’ll just have to do your nest until your units get kills so that they increase in level. There’s a good chance that you won’t be winning any fights sometime soon, but hey, at least you get to master combat gameplay.

Despite the dreadful matchmaking, or lack of low level players, The Banner Saga: Factions remains a good game. If you have a bit of patience with it until you get some levels on your fighters, things do change for the better.