The Banner Saga is a game that I bought and played immediately upon release a while back. While I enjoyed it and loved the story, I felt the gameplay left a bit to be desired. Fast forward to about two weeks ago, when I was reminded by a friend that the parts of The Banner Saga I didn’t enjoy had be re-balanced to be more fair (the combat, and specifically the final battle). I know, I know…you aren’t a real tactical turn based battle gamer if you aren’t hardcore and can breeze through Final Fantasy Tactics without dying, but I really wanted to enjoy The Banner Saga rather than be forced to live out that hardcore gaming mentality, so the re-balance made me appreciate Stoic for appreciating ALL of its fan base, not just the overly vocal, extremely niche “hardcore” minority.

As such, I decided to finally replay The Banner Saga simply for the enjoyment of it and to revisit and reacquaint myself with the story. I was so glad to have made that decision, that I immediately bought The Banner Saga 2 afterwards. Fortuitous timing being what it is, this happened to coincide with the latest big Steam sale, and so it was procured at a slightly discounted price. I really couldn’t wait to dive right in, and so I put all my other gaming endeavors on hold to get right into the continuation of the Banner Saga story. The Banner Saga 2 did NOT disappoint. So, with all that out of the way, let’s get right into the meat of my review.


The Banner Saga 2 continues on where the original left off. Assuming you have played through the first game, you start off as either Rook (father) or Alette (daughter)(mine was Rook), depending on your choices through the first game. However, if you didn’t play through the first game, you may simply select one or the other. An overview of the first game is provided so you don’t have to play through the first to enjoy the second. However, since your choices if you played through The Banner Saga do actually impact The Banner Saga 2, I would recommend playing the first game (I intend to play The Banner Saga 2 a second time as Alette just to experience her story arc).

Rook (or Alette), along with their ragged caravan of survivors, which includes any heroes who survived the first game, continue along their journey to escape both the Darkness which is encroaching upon and swallowing the world, as well as the the Dredge, a teeming horde of creatures slaughtering all before them as they presumably also flee the Darkness. Later in this game, you will also play as several other characters, as the story splits into several equally important story arcs. This really ups the ante as far as the storytelling goes, as you are no just longer tracking the endeavors of the fleeing caravan with all it’s warriors and peasants. Now, you are also taking the fight TO the Darkness, trying to find a means to stop it.

In addition to these main story arcs, The Banner Saga 2 also dives a little bit into the motivations of the Dredge, and dives heavily into the politics of the various clans and races, and how that impacts them either in their ability to work together or their refusal to do so despite the impending potential doom of the world. This simply makes the game even more intense from a story perspective. Related to this, in addition to Humans and Varl, a new playable race has been added: The Horseborn. This new race are a more nomadic centaur race who carry their own motivations and such into the story and diversify its telling even further.

Anyhow, I am trying to avoid spoilers here, which is difficult, so I won’t go into any further detail. I will simply say that story is the main thing this game focuses on, and it is done to perfection. I really can’t wait for The Banner Saga 3 to release, and that is specifically because of the excellence in writing here.

10 out of 10.


The gameplay in The Banner Saga 2 has really stepped it up from the first game. This is still a tactical, turn based strategy/RPG. However, Stoic really went to a lot of effort in fixing or smoothing out the rough edges from the gameplay in the original, and I felt this made for a much more enjoyable experience. In addition, Stoic added some cool new features.

Most notable is Talent Specialization. Now, when you max out a talent (strength, willpower, exertion, armor, break), you can choose to specialize in that talent, which brings new special abilities like armor regeneration, heightened dodging, and so on. There are two choices for each ability, and vary between defense and offense.

Additionally, the Rank (level) cap was raised from five to ten, which was an very welcome addition. You really need that. I also noticed a bit more experience from battles, which helped get everybody promoted (leveled up), since you earn a lot more Renown each time. Training in camp also efficiently allows you to level up a bit. This is doubly important as you also get special abilities as you rank up high enough, which take the form of special battlefield moves or abilities.

The new Horseborn race get special movement abilities, namely the ability to move, attack, then move again. This is a true game changer once you have some of the Horseborn in your party. They are also really cool characters, so it is definitely worth utilizing them.

The battles themselves are basically the same as the first game, although obstacles are featured prominently, forcing both you and the enemy to adjust their techniques to accommodate special battlefield conditions. I will say though that the battles also made more sense. There were story features added to provide context. Also, battle objectives were added for some battles. They aren’t all simply the “kill all enemies” type battles.

Performance wise, The Banner Saga 2 handled like a champ. I noticed zero technical issues at all. It does also offer both k/m and gamepad support. Personally, I didn’t see any reason to use a gamepad, but I did test it out and it worked perfectly. Really though, this is simply a right click type game.

One final gameplay note: if you have a Ranger in your group,you can tame bears and summon them into battle (only one bear per ranger can be tamed, and I had only one Ranger in my group, but in theory, however many you have, you could tame that many bears if you encounter them in battle).

10 out of 10. This game does everything it sets out to do, to perfection.


The graphics in The Banner Saga 2 are beautiful just as they were in the first game. They are crisp, colorful, and just flat out stunning at times. They carry a comic book sensibility, but are generally superior to their contemporaries. Additionally, the cutscenes were amazing! A lot more cinematics were added to this game from the first one, and while this often can be detrimental, in The Banner Saga 2, each cutscene is well timed and of perfect length.

Another easy 10 out of 10. Magnificent.


Well, the soundtrack in The Banner Saga 2 was written and conducted by Austin Wintory. You can basically default to a 10 out of 10 by virtue of that fact alone. However, all the other audio tracks while well done, weren’t necessarily to the level of virtuosity provided by Mr. Wintory. That said, everything you hear in this game melds seamlessly into your experience.

9.5 out of 10 (if everything had been Wintory, this would have been a straight 10 out of 10 as well).


As you have probably surmised, I truly loved The Banner Saga 2. It’s definitely found its way right into my personal top 10 games of all time list.

[h1]The Next Leg of a Fascinating Journey[/h1] The Banner Saga is a game that I bought and played immediately upon release a while back. While I enjoyed it and loved the story, I felt the gameplay left a bit to be desired. Fast forward to about two weeks ago, when I was reminded by a friend that the parts of The Banner Saga I didn’t enjoy had be re-balanced to be more fair (the combat, and specifically the final battle). I know, I know…you aren’t a real tactical turn based battle gamer if you aren’t hardcore and can breeze through Final Fantasy Tactics without dying, but I really wanted to enjoy The Banner Saga rather than be forced to live out that hardcore gaming mentality, so the re-balance made me appreciate Stoic for appreciating ALL of its fan base, not just the overly vocal, extremely niche “hardcore” minority. As such, I decided to finally replay The Banner Saga simply for the enjoyment of it and to revisit and reacquaint myself with the story. I was so glad to have made that decision, that I immediately bought The Banner Saga 2 afterwards. Fortuitous timing being what it is, this happened to coincide with the latest big Steam sale, and so it was procured at a slightly discounted price. I really couldn’t wait to dive right in, and so I put all my other gaming endeavors on hold to get right into the continuation of the Banner Saga story. The Banner Saga 2 did NOT disappoint. So, with all that out of the way, let’s get right into the meat of my review. [h1]Story[/h1] The Banner Saga 2 continues on where the original left off. Assuming you have played through the first game, you start off as either Rook (father) or Alette (daughter)(mine was Rook), depending on your choices through the first game. However, if you didn’t play through the first game, you may simply select one or the other. An overview of the first game is provided so you don’t have to play through the first to enjoy the second. However, since your choices if you played through The Banner Saga do actually impact The Banner Saga 2, I would recommend playing the first game (I intend to play The Banner Saga 2 a second time as Alette just to experience her story arc). Rook (or Alette), along with their ragged caravan of survivors, which includes any heroes who survived the first game, continue along their journey to escape both the Darkness which is encroaching upon and swallowing the world, as well as the the Dredge, a teeming horde of creatures slaughtering all before them as they presumably also flee the Darkness. Later in this game, you will also play as several other characters, as the story splits into several equally important story arcs. This really ups the ante as far as the storytelling goes, as you are no just longer tracking the endeavors of the fleeing caravan with all it’s warriors and peasants. Now, you are also taking the fight TO the Darkness, trying to find a means to stop it. In addition to these main story arcs, The Banner Saga 2 also dives a little bit into the motivations of the Dredge, and dives heavily into the politics of the various clans and races, and how that impacts them either in their ability to work together or their refusal to do so despite the impending potential doom of the world. This simply makes the game even more intense from a story perspective. Related to this, in addition to Humans and Varl, a new playable race has been added: The Horseborn. This new race are a more nomadic centaur race who carry their own motivations and such into the story and diversify its telling even further. Anyhow, I am trying to avoid spoilers here, which is difficult, so I won’t go into any further detail. I will simply say that story is the main thing this game focuses on, and it is done to perfection. I really can’t wait for The Banner Saga 3 to release, and that is specifically because of the excellence in writing here. 10 out of 10. [h1]Gameplay[/h1] The gameplay in The Banner Saga 2 has really stepped it up from the first game. This is still a tactical, turn based strategy/RPG. However, Stoic really went to a lot of effort in fixing or smoothing out the rough edges from the gameplay in the original, and I felt this made for a much more enjoyable experience. In addition, Stoic added some cool new features. Most notable is Talent Specialization. Now, when you max out a talent (strength, willpower, exertion, armor, break), you can choose to specialize in that talent, which brings new special abilities like armor regeneration, heightened dodging, and so on. There are two choices for each ability, and vary between defense and offense. Additionally, the Rank (level) cap was raised from five to ten, which was an very welcome addition. You really need that. I also noticed a bit more experience from battles, which helped get everybody promoted (leveled up), since you earn a lot more Renown each time. Training in camp also efficiently allows you to level up a bit. This is doubly important as you also get special abilities as you rank up high enough, which take the form of special battlefield moves or abilities. The new Horseborn race get special movement abilities, namely the ability to move, attack, then move again. This is a true game changer once you have some of the Horseborn in your party. They are also really cool characters, so it is definitely worth utilizing them. The battles themselves are basically the same as the first game, although obstacles are featured prominently, forcing both you and the enemy to adjust their techniques to accommodate special battlefield conditions. I will say though that the battles also made more sense. There were story features added to provide context. Also, battle objectives were added for some battles. They aren’t all simply the “kill all enemies” type battles. Performance wise, The Banner Saga 2 handled like a champ. I noticed zero technical issues at all. It does also offer both k/m and gamepad support. Personally, I didn’t see any reason to use a gamepad, but I did test it out and it worked perfectly. Really though, this is simply a right click type game. One final gameplay note: if you have a Ranger in your group,you can tame bears and summon them into battle (only one bear per ranger can be tamed, and I had only one Ranger in my group, but in theory, however many you have, you could tame that many bears if you encounter them in battle). 10 out of 10. This game does everything it sets out to do, to perfection. [h1]Graphics[/h1] The graphics in The Banner Saga 2 are beautiful just as they were in the first game. They are crisp, colorful, and just flat out stunning at times. They carry a comic book sensibility, but are generally superior to their contemporaries. Additionally, the cutscenes were amazing! A lot more cinematics were added to this game from the first one, and while this often can be detrimental, in The Banner Saga 2, each cutscene is well timed and of perfect length. Another easy 10 out of 10. Magnificent. [h1]Audio[/h1] Well, the soundtrack in The Banner Saga 2 was written and conducted by Austin Wintory. You can basically default to a 10 out of 10 by virtue of that fact alone. However, all the other audio tracks while well done, weren’t necessarily to the level of virtuosity provided by Mr. Wintory. That said, everything you hear in this game melds seamlessly into your experience. 9.5 out of 10 (if everything had been Wintory, this would have been a straight 10 out of 10 as well). [h1]Verdict[/h1] As you have probably surmised, I truly loved The Banner Saga 2. It’s definitely found its way right into my personal top 10 games of all time list. [code]If you found this review helpful and would be interested in supporting my Curator group, it would be appreciated. Cheers. https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32549618/[/code]