The Banner Saga: Factions

 PC
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 115 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 85 out of 115
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 115
  3. Negative: 17 out of 115

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  1. zorroinarkham
    May 10, 2013
    4
    This is a very pretty game with a refreshing art style, everything is hand animated and every perceived angle is rendered. Which makes this game nothing more than a pretty package that when the player finally opens it nothing is found inside. The combat is very slow and rather basic. The only thing complicated or deep from the gameplay is whether or not you'll get to have a turn or willThis is a very pretty game with a refreshing art style, everything is hand animated and every perceived angle is rendered. Which makes this game nothing more than a pretty package that when the player finally opens it nothing is found inside. The combat is very slow and rather basic. The only thing complicated or deep from the gameplay is whether or not you'll get to have a turn or will your character do nothing? There is a very basic design flaw in this game that ruins it and it is that turns get skipped and characters will remain idle for no explained reason other than that the game doesn't work and the programmers didn't go over their product to see if it was broken.… Expand
  2. MontyForester
    May 14, 2013
    0
    There's no a Game inside. It's a "social" game and It's all about dueling other players and paying for just everything. To be honest, I haven't read the description carefully... I've just seen the adv video where warriors is moving somewhere and I've thought that the game has a story and campaign, but I was wrong there's nothing under it's flash-style graphics.
  3. Markius
    Feb 27, 2013
    3
    This game has so many server issues, you spend more time watching "stormy seas" messages than playing. The play looks interesting and their website shows promise, but it seems to be all promise and no out put. Three games in a row now i'm either disconnected or forfeit b/c of server issues. I am always hesitant for FTP models, but it looks like paying just lets you upgrade troopsThis game has so many server issues, you spend more time watching "stormy seas" messages than playing. The play looks interesting and their website shows promise, but it seems to be all promise and no out put. Three games in a row now i'm either disconnected or forfeit b/c of server issues. I am always hesitant for FTP models, but it looks like paying just lets you upgrade troops faster. Not sure it's a broken FTP yet. The combat is interesting and the graphics are nice, but again i can't get any game play in because thier servers are so bad. Guess they skipped too much in that area.… Expand
  4. bleys
    Mar 11, 2013
    2
    An off-spring of Kickstarter-funded single-player Banner Saga, TBS: Factions is multiplayer, and the Stoic team apparently doesn't have enough manpower to provide support to players in the FTP model. So, if the game is broken for you for whatever reason, it stays broken with no ETAs whatsoever
  5. Vhite
    Apr 17, 2013
    4
    This could have been great game, I would suggest you to check it out just because of graphics, sadly it's wasn't enough to keep me playing. What sinks this game to the bottom of ocean are terribly flawed mechanics. While there may be some others, I'm gonna mention two that when combined show you how futile playing this game is.

    1. Small strategic choice. There is very small variety of    This could have been great game, I would suggest you to check it out just because of graphics, sadly it's wasn't enough to keep me playing. What sinks this game to the bottom of ocean are terribly flawed mechanics. While there may be some others, I'm gonna mention two that when combined show you how futile playing this game is.

    1. Small strategic choice. There is very small variety of units, you can find which one fit you best and then you will stick with them. After that there really isn't point to changing your group and everyone will have pretty much the same group anyway. Besides that you can upgrade your units but the change there is almost negligible. You get small bonus to one of the units stats and ability that in rare occasions may be slightly better than normal turn. All this will make every game feel same and if you play well and so does your opponent you will each end up with the same last unit at the end of the battle. So this is where the small differences come into play right? Well except there is also...

    2. Random miss chance. There is nothing that can destroy carefully balanced difficulty of a game than random miss or crit chance. I was enjoying this game quite a lot until one game where I ended up with one upgraded archer and my enemy with one normal one. My archer had long distance shot ability which should give me the first hit and thus grant me victory, right? Well no. I got the first shot alright but when we started trading blows I missed a one shot. Despite enjoying the game up to this point, this match made me quit the game and never look back because it was enough to show me just how imbalanced this game can get.    … Expand
  6. fishy007
    Feb 28, 2013
    3
    The game is severely limited without having to either pay for upgrades or play for a long time. Server connection issues also cause battle times to extend beyond any reasonable timeframe. My first battle took over 40 minutes to play. The currency used to do anything in the game is called renown. An average battle will earn you 5 renown. A single character's upgrade costs 50 renown. YouThe game is severely limited without having to either pay for upgrades or play for a long time. Server connection issues also cause battle times to extend beyond any reasonable timeframe. My first battle took over 40 minutes to play. The currency used to do anything in the game is called renown. An average battle will earn you 5 renown. A single character's upgrade costs 50 renown. You do the math. You either need to play for a long time to afford a character upgrade, or you need to pay for renown. The current cost for renown is as follows:

    $2= 30
    $5=90
    $10=200
    $40=1000

    For a team of 6 characters, it would cost 300 renown to upgrade each to the next level. That's also only 1 of 3 possible upgrades. To fully upgrade to every character type would cost over 1000 renown. The gameplay itself is decent, but the lack of affordable character options is a major blow against the game.    … Expand
  7. Paladin-
    Jun 21, 2013
    3
    While the game has a very nice graphical style it does not make up for the games lack of content or its poor matchmaking system. I would not recommend this game in its current state.
  8. dorian5523
    Jul 18, 2014
    3
    The initial impression given by this game is that it is 'old school' and mysterious. It is beautiful. I distinctly achieved that excited feeling in my belly as the game began. I just knew that this game had been done right, and that I was about to experience one of the greatest moments in gaming history. The feeling persisted until about the third hour of game play, unfortunately. At thatThe initial impression given by this game is that it is 'old school' and mysterious. It is beautiful. I distinctly achieved that excited feeling in my belly as the game began. I just knew that this game had been done right, and that I was about to experience one of the greatest moments in gaming history. The feeling persisted until about the third hour of game play, unfortunately. At that point I was waiting, no begging, for new elements to emerge. Then I realized that the game had reached its pentacle and I had experienced everything that the game had to offer.

    The rest of my short experience with this game was a litany of letdowns.

    "Puh-lease don't be another fight!" I found myself saying quite often. The main enemy, these Dredge, are interesting at first, and at second, but ten redundant fights down the line and one begins to ache for an auto-resolve feature.

    Beyond being mind-numbingly similar, once you get the hang of it every fight is ridiculously easy. The game touts the necessary use of items and tactics but I was never challenged by anything that a few shield bangers and warhawks couldn't put down with ease.

    Another deflating feature is the game's map. The map is awesome. One can click on the numerous and varied locations and read all about the game history. As you do so, excitement rises as you wonder which of the many paths you will take... and then you realize that the map has no function other than flavor. And it loads slow.

    The final disappointment to mention, which sadly goes hand in hand with the redundancy of combat, occurs when your band reaches places of "interest". Arriving in villages or cities is at first arousing, and then you realize that the most common options - to "rest", "heroes", "market", or "leave" - are similarly devoid of excitement. My goodness, there is even an option to "train" which gives you a chance to "try out new tactics" in a mock combat. I had a good laugh at this invitation to engage in another boring battle. Really?

    In summary, you'll get as much enjoyment out of this game by watching online trailers and youtube reviews as you will by playing. And save money as well.    … Expand
  9. BlueCatPK
    Aug 29, 2020
    1
    I've played through the entire trilogy of Banner Saga (on Switch,) and I can tell you it's absolutely amazing. The story, characters, gameplay, audio, and visuals, all of it is astounding, I wholly recommend it.

    This game, however, is a multiplayer-only free-to-play companion game. As such, there is no story to speak of here, which is the main reason why this series is so spectacular.    I've played through the entire trilogy of Banner Saga (on Switch,) and I can tell you it's absolutely amazing. The story, characters, gameplay, audio, and visuals, all of it is astounding, I wholly recommend it.

    This game, however, is a multiplayer-only free-to-play companion game. As such, there is no story to speak of here, which is the main reason why this series is so spectacular. Of course, it still looks great, and considering the purpose of this title, good gameplay is the only thing it really needs.
    Well... Gameplay and a playerbase.

    And here lies the biggest problem. For years now, before the second game in the trilogy was even released in 2016, Factions was already dead. No one plays it anymore.
    So, unless you bring your own friend and only play against them, or go on some external sources and find a stranger to agree to play with you on a specific date, you'll have absolutely nothing to do here.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
67

Mixed or average reviews - based on 5 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. CD-Action
    May 13, 2013
    60
    Factions is a teaser of a bigger game and does a rather lousy job at encouraging to check out the main dish. It’s simply boring. [CD-Action 06/2013, p.81]
  2. Thunderbolt
    Apr 15, 2013
    60
    The Banner Saga: Factions’ slower pace and current lack of class variety will be enough to discourage many from trying this particular brand of turn-based strategy. But those who can look past these flaws will find a somewhat deep combat system that necessitates tactical awareness and forethought, and a rewarding experience for those who invest the time needed to learn its intricacies.
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  3. PC Gamer
    Apr 1, 2013
    59
    An accomplished and pretty strategy game, sadly hindered by a handful of questionable design choices.
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