The Banner Saga 3

 PlayStation 4
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 10 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 10
  3. Negative: 1 out of 10
  1. Slant Magazine
    Aug 3, 2018
    40
    The culmination of this tedious saga might be far more alleviating for the player than it is for the game's characters.

Awards & Rankings

68
#68 Best PS4 Game of 2018

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 44 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 44
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 44
  3. Negative: 7 out of 44
  1. Lvl8Landlord
    Jul 29, 2018
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view. I love The Banner Saga; and that’s why I’m disappointed with the third part of the trilogy.

    This will be more of a criticism than a review because I’ll be listing all the things that I disliked so everything that doesn't get mentioned is something I liked or thought was fine. I’m looking at this game as part of a trilogy, not as a standalone release.

    The combat gets more gimmicky and boring the higher you rank your characters. Why even focus on tactics? Just chop away some armor and let your criticals, exploits or even critical exploits do the rest; voila. I remember getting acquainted with archers and the passive puncture ability in part 1 and loved it. It made archers so much more interesting, especially with Bird of prey. But now why bother with them? Every character can get puncture now, simply put three points into it and equip an item to enhance the change for the exploit further. The higher the rank the less exciting it gets, you’re just raising the chance something will happen. It’s more gambling than strategy, just percentages and chance game play. It’s almost the opposite of Banner Saga 1 where, especially on Hard, equipping items had to be thought out to create the synergy needed to win. And while I’m on the subject of items; in 3 they are all lame. Not one item, be it bought, found or won in battle was interesting, again, mostly percentage for this, percentage for that.
    Combat ends up feeling cheap and somewhat dumb and that’s such a weird experience in a game series which started out being all about quality and detail in a very authentic way.

    Banner Saga 2 had some shocking reveals story wise, the kind of which were basically exempt in 3. Most of it we knew already, the extra lore was very minimal. No real surprises, very blend. The follow up from siding with Rugga is pretty much non existent; it takes 3 short events and you're right at how the story would play out anyway. If you’re not going to give a storyline the proper attention then just don't bother with it. The possible deaths of Rook/Alette felt very unnecessary and forced, it didn’t do those characters justice at all. It feels rushed and somewhat amateuristic.

    And then there is the final ‘battle’, which was short and not in any way hard. Bolverk didn’t have any new abilities despite being resurrected by green giant serpent spit (I personally don't have any experience with that but it seems like something that would have somewhat of an effect on you). He’s basically just another Varl that gets to hits twice. If you ever played survival mode this battle will feel trivial. It takes a few minutes and then boom; that's the end of Bolverk, one of the most prominent characters of the series.
    The ending is so abrupt and empty in general. Not even some simple cutscenes of how our hero’s lived on after the game. So many loose ends, so many characters that don’t get mentioned in any way. Alette and Ludin romance? Vognir’s death? Etc. How is it possible they would end a story driven game without a proper story ending? It’s Mass Effect 3 all over again. The half the earth ending is just weird, it implies that the serpent somehow deserves to get his way while we know it’s an entity created out of jealousy and spite.

    When I first heard about the kickstarter campaign (which ended up totaling over 400k) I got excited; more funds must mean more detail, more story, more everything. But it even sounds like they used the same voice actor for Iver in 3 as they did for Bolverk in 2?

    Banner Saga 2 was a step up from it's already great predecessor; this third and final installment is a step down from both 1 and 2, and it's a shame.    … Full Review »
  2. 34m2121
    Jul 4, 2023
    7
    Yine birebir aynı oyun olsada oyun sıkmıyor senaryo oynama isteğinizi arttırıyor, bu evrene yakışır bir son.
  3. RPG_Fanatic
    Jun 20, 2023
    9
    Just like the previous ones,fantastic,fun tactic game,beautiful art and music,closing with golden key the trilogy this hidden gem for PS4.
See all user reviews »