Stoic, an independent game development company, and Versus Evil, one of the leading independent video game publishers, today announced that Banner Saga 3launches a new game mode for PC in the form of Eternal Arena. The newly introduced game mode was a $400K Stretch Goal as part of Banner Saga 3’s original funding drive which it comfortably smashed through in less than a week. Over eight thousand backers helped the game reach its funding and stretch goal targets with Stoic being able to deliver the game earlier than scheduled and complete all its Kickstarter stretch goals on time.

Eternal Arena is a true test of combat prowess in a series of quick play challenges where players can customize their own maps, rules, and enemies to create unique tests of skill. Eternal Arena mode allows players to use sandbox-style options to test out their wildest ideas and become the stuff of legends by participating in weekly tournaments and competing against the world for the high score rankings.

“Eternal Arena has been a lot of fun to devise, tactical gameplay plays a major role but PC players can really mix it up to test out their own combat scenarios and ideas, if you love tactical combat then this is a perfect mode to get stuck into”. Said John Watson,Technical Director at Stoic. “The fans and backers have been an integral part of helping us deliver this game so we’re thrilled to introduce the last stretch goal to the final chapter in the Banner Saga series.” He added.

Banner Saga 3 is the defining end to an emotionally driven series that began in 2014 and has continued to enthrall its legion of fans with a deep and thought provoking story-driven adventure, beautifully-crafted hand painted visuals and challenging, strategic turn-based combat. The game’s soundtrack also concludes Austin Wintory’s work on the award winning franchise with another beautifully orchestrated original score.

The third and final installment in the award winning, BAFTA nominated role-playing strategy game, is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.  This launch brings the trilogy to a climactic, tragic end in epic form where gamers can now experience the complete saga from beginning to end.

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Stoic, an independent game development company, and Versus Evil, one of the leading independent video game publishers, today announced the release of an exciting new game mode for Banner Saga 2 owners – ‘Survival Mode’.  Throwing down the ultimate challenge in turn based, combat battle tactics, Survival Mode pushes players to the limit as they try to survive 40 back to back combat levels.

“Survival Mode is something we’ve been working on behind the scenes for a while now,” commented John Watson, Technical Director at Stoic.  “This is an entirely new experience within Banner Saga 2.  Our goal was to create a fun, tactical game mode where fans can play from a different perspective which focuses on strategy and the hard cost of death in combat.  We modified how the combat worked from the core game based on feedback from our community and put it through a closed beta to make sure that it was fun.  Thanks again to our dedicated fans for their continued support.” he added.

In survival mode players have to assemble a ‘combat’ team from a wide range of existing Banner Saga heroes. Once their team is complete, combat begins, but beware, perma-death in battle is real and once lost, a hero can not be brought back.  Each victory grants ‘Renown’ (one of the major currencies in the Banner Saga), which can be used to unlock more Heroes to replace ones that have fallen.  Items now drop in combat, or can be purchased with Renown,  so that you can constantly improve your combat team.  A 30-second timer keeps the action moving and leaderboards track how each player ranks against others.  All three difficulty levels are included in survival mode, so the hard core challenge is available to those who think they can make it all the way through.

“Although Stoic is a tiny indie studio and their time is precious, they have shown an unrelenting commitment to fans of the Banner Saga by producing more content for them to enjoy. ” said Steve Escalante, General Manager of Versus Evil. ”The Banner Saga 2 just became a much bigger game with the core experience already lauded as one of 2016’s best games and now this new, free game mode included. We hope to get this update in the console launch later this Summer as well as make it a part of our mobile experience.” he concluded.

The FREE Survival Mode is available now for Banner Saga 2 owners (on PC and Mac).  Banner Saga 2 is also currently available on Steam, GOG, Humble Store, GreenMan Gaming, EA’s Origin and other digital PC and Mac stores.

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Stoic, an independent game development company, and Versus Evil, one of the leading independent video game publishers, today launched the Banner Saga 2 for PC and Mac to gamers worldwide. Banner Saga 2 is the exciting sequel to the award winning, BAFTA nominated, indie hit The Banner Saga, an epic Viking role-playing strategy game where a player’s choice directly affects their personal journey.  The console versions of the game are set to launch this summer.

“The feedback and excitement we received from the Banner Saga 1 really helped us work to make the Banner Saga 2 even better. Huge thanks to the community!” said Arnie Jorgensen, Art Director and one of the founders of Stoic.

“Over the last two years we have been able to launch Banner Saga on multiple platforms and with great success,” said Steve Escalante, GM of Versus Evil. “Now we are entering the next brutal chapter and Stoic has delivered on their promise to deliver a worthy sequel to this epic Viking inspired saga.  There is more of what everyone wanted plus more gut wrenching choices.  This is the first of many platforms to launch this year and we hope the fans enjoy it as much as we do.”

Banner Saga 2 is available through STEAM, Bundle Stars, Direct to Drive, GameFly, GameStop, GamersGate, Humble Store and UPlay.  A Deluxe Edition, which includes the official soundtrack by Grammy nominated, two-time BAFTA winning composer Austin Wintory, is also available.

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You come to a group of strangers. They tell you they are friendly and want to join your group and  you make a decision which will either result in something extremely useful, something disastrous when your food is running low, or you can remain passive and hope you will still get to where you need to go before your resources run out.

This is the kind of decision you must make and pray works for the better, in The Banner Saga.

The Banner Saga takes us to a beautifully hand drawn world with a Viking aesthetic where the Gods have died and the sun has stopped moving.  Seemingly due to this the Dredge have started swarming the Human and Varl (big humans with horns) lands and they must go on an adventure to save them.  The story was okay but the character interactions are excellent.  You play as a couple of leads for the duration of the game as you manage your camps throughout the story. There are basically two gameplay modes or phases. One of the modes involves watching your camp ride under your banner and decideing how and when to manage your resources.  The other is that of a strategy RPG where you do battle.

The resource management phases of the game involves making decisions when conflicts or situations arise and deciding when to do things such as camp and/or rest among other actions.  These are crucial as you must manage your food to ensure your people do not starve and buying new food at the wrong times (when it is selling very high)that can cost you renown (the games form of currency) which you also need to upgrade your characters.

Happiness makes your army stronger and must be maintained, which can be done through resting, which soaks up time and your food.  But decisions, when they arise, can provide renown, food and more banner men for your army, or can result in a loss of men and a loss of food and or happiness.  A large part of your game will involve reading the story, following the character interactions and making these decisions.

The other main game phase is the Strategy RPG stages.  If you have a strong army then that helps give you the edge where you take up to six people into a grid and turn by turn take the enemies out.  The strategy RPG phases are very much a paint by numbers strategy.  It does not do anything special, but it is certainly solid and makes for a good change in the games pace.

Ultimately you need to do a good job of balancing these two to ensure you are not neglecting your resource management, or under powering your characters for battle.  The two very different game styles make the experience much more enjoyable by mixing up your tasks. In turn I find that the way the two balance on each other is brilliant.

For the most part the game ran brilliantly.  The only issues I encountered were three times for no reason I could not select anything on the screen, once in battle and twice in the world.  This was a minor annoyance as the game regularly autosaves and so closing and reopening the game fixed it each time in a couple of minutes and there was minimal replaying required.

The beautiful hand drawn art style and the viking aesthetic help to make the game something special.Between the art, the mixture of resource management gameplay and Strategy RPG gameplay, the solid story, the excellent character interactions and the weight of making the right comments The Banner Saga one of the most unique experiences I have had in a long time.

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Stoic, an independent game development company and Versus Evil, one of the leading independent video game publishers, today announced that the epic Viking RPG strategy game The Banner Saga launches on PlayStation 4 computer entertainment system and to the Xbox One via the ID@Xbox self-publishing program today.

The Banner Saga, which launched to much critical acclaim on both PC and mobile devices has received several awards and nominations, including winner of the 2014 Geekie Awards for “Best Video Game”, winner of 2014 Game Developers Choice: “Best Debut” award, finalist placement for “Excellence in Visual Arts” category at the Independent Game Festival, 3 BAFTA Award Nominations, and winner of Pocket Gamer’s 2015 Best Adventure/RPG Game and Best Android Game of the Year.

“Merging the story and gameplay of Banner Saga with a refined controller interface makes it a very enjoyable console gaming experience. Despite the technical challenges we initially faced in porting the game, we’re extremely happy with the end result of many months of hard work to deliver a worthy console version” said John Watson, founder and technical director at Stoic.

The Banner Saga is a single player driven Viking saga, where a player’s choice in travel, conversation and combat determines the outcome of their own personal story as well as the survival of an entire civilization. The game also features stunning 2D animation and art, a unique tactical combat system and a cast of unforgettable characters, all of which drive this epic journey forward. Players will enjoy a beautiful and haunting original score by Grammy nominated, two-time BAFTA winning composer Austin Wintory conducting The Dallas Winds orchestra, as well as a powerhouse trio of acclaimed YouTube sensations: Peter Hollens, Malukah and Taylor Davis.

“The Banner Saga console launch is a huge step forward for Stoic and the brand” said Steve Escalante, general manager of Versus Evil. “The technical efforts required to bring Banner Saga to console from such a small team is an achievement in itself. Looking ahead and with our continued efforts with the development partners that have helped us get here, much more can be accomplished with the Banner Saga. This launch is something we’re all very proud of.”

Localized in French, German, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Italian languages (aswell as English), The Banner Saga was one of the earlier funding successes on Kickstarter, which originally launched in partnership with independent games publisher Versus Evil.

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