After having a very memorable launch on PC just this past April, Stoic Studios and Versus Evil have announced that the indie-made tactical turn-based, visual novel-style role-playing game, The Banner Saga 2, is coming to the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on July 26th.
They recently made the announcement that the game would be arriving on home consoles starting this summer, just after all the hoopla and festivities of E3 dies down.
According to the general manager at Versus Evil, Steve Escalante, they were glad that the game can be picked up and played by newbies but still has a lot of the general tone and difficulty that hardcore gamers will enjoy, stating in the press release…
“This sequel continues to build on the legacy Stoic has created with the Banner Saga. New players can jump right in and play without any concern of not playing the original game. We didn’t want anyone penalized if they were jumping into this story for the first time.“
“However, the diehard fans who completed the first game will be able to continue their own saga based on all the choices they made in Banner Saga 1. The Stoic team has done an amazing job of ensuring this sequel is better than the first and addressed many comments their community had including improvements to combat, a wider variety of characters to play and interact with and the addition of more animations and cinematics,”
The second game is definitely difficult and does not pull any punches. It’s easy to screw up and even easier to permanently lose some important members of your team. The game doesn’t hand-hold your way through each battle or choice-driven sequence. Sometimes, no matter what you do… you’re going to lose something valuable.
That stark and dire presentation is what made the first game so memorable, and it’s what keeps you on your toes for the sequel. There’s an accolades trailer that gives you a good look at the turn-based combat, as well as some of the roto-scoped animations and cinematics. You can check it out below.
There’s a bit of cringe to be had knowing that they led that trailer with a Kotaku quote.
Anyway, the game focuses more on character building through player-driven choices than just throwing players into one turn based battle after another. There are definitely a lot of battles to be had, but I was shocked at how much of a focus it has on story and the effects that spawn from the choices players make throughout their journey.
The Banner Saga 2 is currently available right now for PC and Mac, and it will be joining the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on July 26th. For more info feel free to pay a visit to the game’s official website.
