Anyone here play Banner Saga? What's it like?
I didn't care about it much until I read that it's art style was partially inspired by Sleeping Beauty (the Disney Princess movie), which I thought is pretty cool since I think in terms of aesethics Sleeping Beauty was the best Disney film. I kind of like the old school, kinda dark yet fairy tale like fantasy look.
It definitely is a style over substance game. There is no denying that the art and music are beautiful, but it is populated with odd design decisions.
Firstly, a unit's health also controls how much damage it deals, leading to a snowballing defeat very easily.
Secondly, there are some weird difficulty spikes. It isn't as absurd as in some games, but it still is jarring. The first few battles have you fighting against a same size force of thugs where ability usage isn't super critical. Then you are thrust into full on battles where you
have to exploit abilities to win with no real guidance on what to do and surprisingly little info on leveling up your characters.
Third, this is a game that seriously needs voice acting. The way the dialogue is structured and how the camera cuts between characters frequently makes it a real pain to figure out who is talking and to who. It doesn't need a full cast, just a good narrator (like you would get in an audiobook).
Lastly, there is a strong gameplay/story segregation.
By no means would I call Banner Sage a bad game, just that it has some flaws (mechanical and presentation) that could be fixed easily enough with a Witcher-style 'Enhanced Edition'.