New release: The Banner Saga
Based on Norse mythology, The Banner Saga puts you in charge of leading a caravan of vikings fleeing from an approaching army of supernatural enemies. Along the way, you’ll settle disputes, make hard choices, traverse dialog trees and fight isometric turn-based battles.
The game features permadeath and eye-popping art in the style of Disney’s Sleeping Beauty. In case you missed it, you can see the art style on full display in the official trailer from 2012 the new launch trailer they’ve just now released:
Here’s the official feature list:
- Player choice that drives your narrative Every decision you make in travel, conversation and combat has a meaningful effect on the outcome as your story unfolds.
- Over 25 playable characters from 2 different races, human and Varl (horned giants) Embark on your epic journey with a variety of characters from 7 different classes, each with unique abilities and upgrade options to fit your play style.
- Strategic combat with consequences Victory or defeat and even the permanent loss of a character depends on which characters you choose to take into battle and what tactics you employ while in combat.
- The journey is half the battle Your role in building and managing your caravan as you travel the vast frozen landscape is critical to not only your own survival but the survival of an entire civilization.
- An epic Viking saga brought to life in 2D glory Beautifully hand drawn combat sequences and animations, accompanied by an evocative score from Grammy-nominated composer Austin Wintory, will immerse you into a fantasy realm based on Norse mythology.
- Multiplayer Combat Enhanced Sharpen your combat skills in the free to play “Factions” multiplayer game. As you play through the single player experience you’ll also unlock new characters to use in multiplayer.
You can nab The Banner Saga on Steam for $24.99. The Banner Saga is for Windows and Mac computers. As for me, I’ll be doing an IndieRPGs.com Checks Out episode on this one very soon…
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Permadeath as an option, or permadeath as a requirement?
Hi,
The game doesn’t have permadeath. Every time a character is knocked out during battle it has a penalization in his stats that diminishes by one each day of recovery. You can use them in battle without problems.
Nevertheless, it has three difficulty options and you can change the game to easy. This way, there is no penalization if a character is rendered unconscious.
The game does have permadeath, actually–it’s just implemented differently than in other games of this type. From the TwoDashStash.com review:
Hi Craig,
I stand corrected. Also, that is good to know (I’m playing the game and there’s one character that has tendency to go down).