REVIEW

The Banner Saga 2 (PS4) Review

by Marc Smith, July 17th, 2016

Coming along mere months after the release of the first game in the series, The Banner Saga 2 has made its way to the home consoles on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

The original Banner Saga was a very story-driven experience, relying on the player to invest themselves in the lore of its world to form a bigger picture. Thankfully this element has been retained for the sequel. Following immediately after the events of the first adventure, we find our hero Rook grieving from the devastating events of the last game’s finale and struggling to keep his head together whilst commanding his caravan of men and giants. If all that wasn’t enough, their previous victory is proving to be an exercise in futility as the Scourge hoards are still rampaging through the lands. Alongside Rook’s campaign there is also an option to play Alette, a hunter who rises through the ranks of the travelling caravan. Starting out as some who’s often overlooked or overshadowed by her peers before earning respect through her skills on the battlefield. Her story isn’t as personal as Rook’s, but it’s equally as interesting and well thought-out. The two stories inter-twine very well and act as a great counterbalance to one another, like two sides of the same coin. One a story of triumph, the other of downfall.

The Banner Saga 2 is a much more dramatic affair, the atmosphere here is much more harsh and unforgiving than in the original; where a ray of hope was often seen on the horizon. Lore is added by the bucket-load and even veers into territories that at first seem baffling, but ultimately work in the long run. These include the expansion of the Scourge mythology that borrows heavily from the works of H.P. Lovecraft, something that I certainly didn’t see coming in a tale so heavily steeped in Nordic mythology. We’re also introduced to some new species like the race of Centaurs who charge headfirst into both the combat and the story, equally throwing both out of balance.

The core gameplay hasn’t changed much since the first outing, in fact it’s damn near identical barring a few new additions. Each character now has a multitude of abilities and perks that can be tinkered with, adding a layer of strategic depth not found in its predecessor. These vary from new attacks, a wider variety of spells and situational buffs that can stop a character’s health from depleting during critical hits. Many of the new spells/attacks focus on armour depletion, which was a core mechanic in the original game and has been further expanded on here. The added abilities encourage the player to become more attached to their units as you now have much more control over their play-style and aren’t pre-disposed to one particular attribute. All of these new abilities will be put to the test however by a host of new enemies to fight.

Combat is still confined to an isometric grid system, but more has been made of the space this time around. You’ll come across a lot of traps and pit-falls in battle, these include pits, fire-traps and barricades that prevent units from moving forward, so planning your characters’ movements becomes much more integral to victory. It’s a small change that does a lot for the gameplay and significantly alters the way the player approaches battles. There’s a broader variety to the stages this time around too, with many of the aforementioned pitfalls being focal points.

Your interactions outside of the battle haven’t been changed in any significant way either. As your caravan travels along, you’ll be faced with a multitude of different scenarios, each with multiple decisions you can make. Every decision comes with its own set of rewards and consequences so consideration of ones actions are essential to a successful play-through. You’re often given as many as six options to choose from at any given time, half of which will reward you with more units or a boost in moral. On the flip-side of this, poor choices can lead to a loss of morale or even character death. This mechanic worked perfectly first time around so it’s easy to see why the developers at Stoic left it largely unchanged. However due to this game’s much bleaker storyline, the consequences of many decisions can be utterly devastating and throw your entire party in chaos, so proceed with caution. Scenarios that may at first seem black and white in their solutions, such as deciding which route to take through a forest can lead to a major death toll or a bounty of wealth and happiness for your caravan.

Graphically, the game is near identical to its predecessor, only this time around the sprites seem more refined and the animation a little bit more fluid. The assets from the first game and the dialogue scenes still contain little-to-no voice work which can make them a tad dull, but the story itself is so rich and the dialogue so well written that it never really feels like a chore to endure. You’ll be hard pressed to find much that differs from the previous title, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The developers have clearly found their zone and are doing everything they can to tweak it to perfection and this game is a great indicator of that. A little more variety would be welcomed but the formula worked well the first time around that changing it up too much would detract from the game’s woven tapestry of intrigue and tension.

Overall, The Banner Saga 2 is merely one for the fans. Newcomers to the franchise may struggle to get into the story but the strategic combat is as engrossing as always. The beauty, suspense and intrigue of the first game are all present but subtle tweaks have been made to make the whole experience far richer in comparison. It’s not likely to win over anyone who was dismissive of the original Banner Saga, but for those who loved the original will find this to be an equally incredible experience.