The Banner Saga 3 Review

The conclusion to Stoic Games’ Viking-inspired epic trilogy is upon us. The tale of heroism, the human condition, tough choices, and imminent doom reaches its final chapter. Critics and gamers alike have been praising the series for a while now, and with good reason – the trilogy is extraordinary. For an independent game to achieve so much is definitely worth noticing, and The Banner Saga 3 does not disappoint.

The Banner Saga 3 picks up where it left last time. The errant band of warriors and common folk alike keeps traversing the continuingly deteriorating Arberran,g which, to be fair, now is more of a post-apocalyptic landscape than the city it used to be. Guided either by Rook or by Alette, depending on the decisions made in the first game and the information in your imported save file, the group will have to survive despite the adversity and conflicts inherited in previous installments and the new challenges ahead.

The Banner Saga 3 is better enjoyed if you’ve been playing the last two installments of the series; otherwise, most things will not make sense or feel flat. Its true power lies within its powerful storytelling, but it isn’t easy to get emotionally invested in the characters if you haven’t been following the transhuman story that unfolded thus far.

That being said, the game does manage to bring the story to a satisfying conclusion. Furthermore, the decisions made throughout the series carry on, and not without paying off. For this reason, most decisions made within this third installment come with a heavy burden, being resolved almost immediately and sometimes with dire consequences.

But that is not necessarily a bad thing; to be honest, the game feels fair when it comes to dealing with these decisions. Choose poorly, and you will face terrible consequences. Those consequences never come out of the blue, though, being announced or telegraphed in some way; you’ll definitely feel like you should’ve listened to the warnings of a seasoned character or have chosen a more rational approach. This, of course, adds a layer of much-needed replayability to the game, especially given how it can be finished in around eight hours.

As with other entries in the series, The Banner Saga 3 can be played from two different perspectives. It features two different main characters, and the story and events unfold differently for each character. Each character makes a new set of decisions and has different outcomes, so maybe a short campaign was needed to create this dual storytelling device.

There is, however, a sentiment that lingers on once you finish the game. Because of its brevity, you’ll end up wanting more. The decisions and their consequences, although rewarding, flee rapidly once the end credits start rolling, and that may be one of The Banner Saga 3's biggest flaws.

This problem was also present in the previous installment, which lasted roughly the same amount of time. A story this immersive can run like water once you’re deep inside, and it ends just in a moment. We understand the limitations of an independent studio, but that does not help the feeling that something is owed to us in the end.

Aesthetically, The Banner Saga 3 is as powerful as ever. The hand-drawn style is still a constant reminder of the importance of good art design in a game and how much effort can be put into such an endeavor. The game’s cutscenes still look like something taken directly out of the Disney handbook of 90’s animation or even classics like The Land Before Time.

The series has already innovated with its first iteration, and now, two games later, it is nice to see that the quality has not been reduced and that the animation team behind the game still has it.

Although it is not exactly the same as the previous game, and that may not necessarily be for the better, the gameplay also continues along similar lines. Turn-based combat is still present and, for some, is still one of its main attractions. Choose between your available characters, try to make their skills match, and gain an advantage using the grid system in each scenario.

It is worth noticing that characters can inflict damage only after piercing the armor of the opponent, so a good debilitating strategy is always useful in delivering that final blow against a powerful enemy. Take into consideration the strengths and weaknesses of each character, as that can be the difference between success and inevitable doom. For instance, when facing a horde of Dredge, it’s best to have a couple of Varl (Hakon and Fasolt are my personal favorites) in the team. 

The main addition is the possibility of making battles last longer in order to get better rewards. This new horde system allows you to lengthen some fights so that more enemies approach. If you manage to finish the fight after a few rounds, then the chance for better items dropping increases; however, stay too long, and it might result in a useful character getting wounded.

Overall, this mechanic is barely of any use. The risk is too high next to the rewards. After all, due to the game progression system, most characters will not even benefit from these long encounters because most will be too powerful already, and better loot will not represent a significant improvement.

Besides, combat is not the real reason players keep coming back to the series if anything. Despite being entertaining, it impedes the continuation of the story and the real prowess of the Banner Saga series.

It is good to see that the most promising things about the Banner Saga series remain the same: the beautiful animation, the ominous and apocalyptic landscapes, the heartwarming and immersive story in which you actually feel there is something at stake, the organic integration of the theme and the elements present in the game that constantly shout “disaster,” “despair” and “death.”

However, it is also important to note that most problems with the series were not addressed. The combat mechanism in The Banner Saga 3 remains the same; it is good at best, but there is nothing to get excited about.

The sometimes unnecessary inclusion of minor characters that are never truly fleshed out, the short duration of the campaign, and the everlasting going from left to right of the screen—although it is where important plot points happen and where a lot of the intense decisions are made—are all still there.

Nevertheless, The Banner Saga 3 is definitively a fitting conclusion to a story that needs to be told. If you’ve been playing The Banner Saga since the beginning, then there is no way you will want to miss this one; if, instead, this is your first approach to the series, we recommend you start from the beginning and immerse yourself in this excellent trilogy.