Gripping, atmospheric story
Mentioned in ~3 in 5 positive reviews
“this games moment to moment writing is off the charts good”
Steam review · 3.5 h played ↗
The Banner Saga
Worth buying? What 300 Steam reviews say.Worth buying? Here’s what 300 Steam reviews actually say.
Very Positive · 89%Very Positive · 89%Stoic2014Tactical RPG · Turn-Based Strategy · RPG
$24.99
Open on Steam ↗US Steam price, checked 5 h ago
The verdict
A bleak, gorgeously drawn Norse caravan story with tough, unpredictable choices and tactical combat. Skip it if you want deep tactics, manual saves or fair choices.
Great for
Story-first players who like bleak Norse settings, hand-drawn art and consequential choices
Main risk
Alternating-turn combat and unpredictable, deadly choices with no manual saves frustrate many players
What players love
Beautiful hand-drawn art and music
Mentioned in ~2 in 5 positive reviews
“It's like playing a graphic novel with a stunning art style that remains visually impeccable after all these years”
Steam review · 50.7 h played ↗
Weighty choices and consequences
Mentioned in ~1 in 3 positive reviews
“The Banner Saga has perfected the weight of every decision you make.”
Steam review · 11.9 h played ↗
Caravan and resource management tension
Mentioned in ~1 in 11 positive reviews
“You feel the scarceness of every resource available at every corner.”
Steam review · 133.1 h played ↗
Unique tactical combat with little RNG
Mentioned in ~1 in 15 positive reviews
“A grid-based tactical combat system that doesn't rely on RNG and percentages.”
Steam review · 311.9 h played ↗
What players complain about
Alternating turns punish killing enemies
Mentioned in ~1 in 4 negative reviews
“Killing enemies is actively bad for you.”
Steam review · 17.3 h played ↗
Unpredictable choices kill characters
Mentioned in ~1 in 6 negative reviews
“there's no way for first time players to know which one it is.”
Steam review · 7.5 h played ↗
Repetitive, boring combat
Mentioned in ~1 in 6 negative reviews
“There is very little enemy variety.”
Steam review · 3.5 h played ↗
Slow pacing, single renown currency
Mentioned in ~1 in 7 negative reviews
“Travel between events is slow.”
Steam review · 5.2 h played ↗
No manual saves, painful retries
Mentioned in ~1 in 13 negative reviews
“Save system is S**T (no manual saving).”
Steam review · 10.9 h played ↗
Brutal final battle
Mentioned in ~1 in 17 negative reviews
“Every game mechanic that you used before is thrown out of the window without explanation.”
Steam review · 116.2 h played ↗
System requirements
From the Steam store page
Steam Deck: VerifiedController support4 GB
Minimum
OSWindows 7 SP1
Memory2 GB RAM
Storage4 GB available space
Recommended
OSWindows 10
Memory4 GB RAM
Storage6 GB available space
OSWindows 7 SP1
Memory2 GB RAM
Storage4 GB available space
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