@reachcave's review of The Banner Saga
★★★★
I spent like an hour reading all the flavour text on the in-game map after the very first fight, so yeah, yeah I'm thinking it's good bro. But fr the characters are great and the art is fantastic and the music is outstanding. The gameplay is simple (each character mostly has attack, one ability and one passive) but there are a decent variety of classes that can all interact in interesting ways. Speaking of interactions, I did find the interactions between the Oregon Trail-mechanic a bit clunky; you can use supplies to feed your caravan, upgrade your characters or buy held items to buff them. The game seems to emphasize making sure you have enough food above all else, but by the end of the game, it's clear that items are incredibly important: I was under-prepared for the final boss because I just used the items you acquire naturally throughout the game. But that could also just be my own biases and you *could* take a very different approach. Where each approach will likely differ significantly is in the choices you make. You are living in Game of Thrones and characters you've become invested in, narratively and mechanically, can be killed unceremoniously, sometimes even off screen. While it can maybe seem unfair, it really effectively emphasizes how bleak the narrative is. While the game is short, the narrative and wordbuilding and characters are engaging. It definitely feels like a part one, but there's enough meat and intrigue between the characters' interactions and unanswered mysteries that you want to keep exploring. It's a bit like Fellowship before what I can hope is Two Towers. Very solid game where the sum is far greater than the parts. If you like tactics and you like RPGs, or even just one of those, this feels like a very natural recommendation.
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