The Banner Saga

The console version of The Banner Saga is exactly the same as the one arrived on PC two years ago. PlayStation 4 and Xbox One owners will be surely glad to have the chance to play this game.

Despite its confusing beginning, we want to keep walking these northern lands like our heroes: suffering all kinds of hardships, but with a light heart.

The Banner Saga has so much charisma that it still feels special these days. It's challenging, even rough, but the experience is unique and worth your time.

The combat, while a little uneven difficulty-wise across the game’s campaign, nevertheless manages to hit the sweet spot between simple accessibility and strategic depth.

A riotous, non-linear RPG with great turn-based battles and a delectable 1980’s style cartoon veneer, The Banner Saga is the first truly essential strategy title on PS4.

Newly fashioned turn-by-turn combat elements, meaningful narrative choices and glorious bears make this Scandi strategy title an exciting breath of fresh air. [March 2016, p.94]

The Banner Saga can be unforgiving at times but it is worth all the effort.

The Banner Saga's strong narrative, exquisite visual design and distinctive thematic approach to RPGs coupled with its insistence on making every decision and conversation have an impact on player experience make it a must-buy for Strategy-RPG fans.

A port that does the original release justice, The Banner Saga is just as much of a wonderful experience on PS4 as it was on PC.

The strategy battles are addictive and feature many different units with unique abilities. If you are a patient person that likes this type of lore and gameplay style, The Banner Saga delivers on what it set out to accomplish.

Overall, The Banner Saga is a welcome addition to the burgeoning PlayStation Network library.

Stoic’s tactical RPG The Banner Saga makes its way to consoles, and still manages to deliver a fantastic, captivating story alongside a fun and challenging battle system.

The Banner Saga is for those who love having control of their narrative, weighing the risks and rewards, and seeing the outcomes.

Two years after its’ premiere The Banner Saga still is a creative example for a well conceived mix of art design, storytelling and turn-based tactics well worth an award – this is chess with drama, battles and consequences. But technical problems and the occasional bug make sure show that the console version is not as polished as the PC brother – too bad.

It might lack the polish, budget and variety found in BioWare’s big budget work, but this group of highly motivated ex-BioWare developers have created something special all the same, something built out of passion and a will to do something new.

It makes one or two minor stumbles along the way, but The Banner Saga continues to stand tall two years after its original release. Empowered a truly jaw-dropping art direction and the masterful audio work of composer Austin Wintory, Stoic’s plans to expand the franchise are certainly justifiable.

Get used to the clumsy controls and The Banner Saga is a great role-playing ride right the way through to its conclusion.

Despite spending most of my play time watching characters talk or travel from one side of the screen to the other, The Banner Saga includes an enthralling narrative and makes use of some inventive combat mechanics.

I certainly found more here to enjoy than I expected, and at times it's riveting stuff, but my interest frequently dwindled as turn-based fatigue rose.