If he survived, Rook is no longer the well-tempered, reluctant leader you knew. Only one of them can make it out of the first game alive, and that loss reverberates through the plot of the sequel. The tone is reflected in the two-pronged storyline that splits the attention between the surviving Banner Saga 1 protagonist of your choosing, and the gruff leader of a mercenary company named Bolverk.ĭepending on your playthrough of the original (or choice at the beginning of the game if starting fresh), the “main” caravan will be led by either the grief-mad Rook, or his struggling, overburdened daughter, Alette.
The world is dying, your friends are dying, and there is little to be done about it other than to hang on and try to last another day. If the first game was nearly unbearably dour, Banner Saga 2 plunges into full-on hopelessness. Your people are hungry, tired, and on the brink of desperation, but there is no succor or mercy to be found. The cold winter sun has stopped in the sky, casting an eternal pale light on a dreary world. The Gods are dead, their petrified corpses now just used as landmarks. It’s all about traveling a grim, dying (gorgeously illustrated) world with your exhausted group of survivors, trying to make the most of your meager supplies while making heart-wrenching decisions at every turn. The overall formula remains much the same. Your starting party is even granted a smattering of items and stat boosts so you don’t feel like you’re starting completely outgunned compared to players who have a treasure horde of great items from the first game. Stoic has made jumping into the sequel easy with a stylish cinematic recap that can bring you up to speed. With the ability to import your past save file and have decisions, deaths, and even items carry over to the sequel, you could play them like two big episodes in one story if you so desired.ĭon’t let that scare you off if you didn’t play the original though. Unlike many sequels that take place in the same world separated by large gaps of time or momentous events, Banner Saga 2 begins exactly where the first one left off. The Banner Saga 2 (Windows PC, Mac, Linux)
It’s just as melancholy as the original, but also strangely beautiful. From its narrative to its battle system, Banner Saga 2 is a game about perseverance, of pressing on when everything seems hopeless, of doubling down on grit and making the tough calls necessary to make it one more day. Which is why The Banner Saga 2 wisely leans into it. How do you pick up and move on from such a depressing note? You don’t. When it was over, all that was left was a quiet sadness, a melancholy recognition that sometimes things just can’t be fixed even when you try your hardest. But Banner Saga, with its tale of weary viking nomads trudging across a shattered and broken world, all presented with a stunning Don Bluth-style animation, didn’t do that. Most games finish with a bang, a giant climax where evil is vanquished, peace is returned, and victory is savored. Few games have left an impression on me like The Banner Saga.
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