Indie · January 14, 2014

The Banner Saga (2014)

trophy39 achievementsextension2 DLClocal_offer-85% current discountgroup1M–10M ownersrecommend13.3k recommendations
Live through an epic role-playing Viking saga where your strategic choices directly affect your personal journey. Make allies as you travel with your caravan across this stunning yet harsh landscape. Carefully choose those who will help fight a new threat that jeopardizes an entire civilization. Every decision you make in travel, conversation and combat has a meaningful effect on the outcome as your story unfolds. Not everyone will survive, but they will be remembered. Key Features Player choice that drives your own narrative – every decision you make in travel, conversation and combat has a meaningful effect on the outcome as your story unfolds. Over 25 playable characters from 2 different races, human and varl, the horned giants – embark on your epic journey with a variety of characters from 7 different classes, each with unique abilities and upgrade options to fit your play style. Strategic combat with consequences - victory or defeat and even the permanent loss of a character depends on which characters you choose to take into battle and what decisions you make afterwards. The journey is as important as battle – your role in building and managing your caravan as you travel the vast frozen landscape is critical to not only your own survival but the survival of an entire civilization. An epic Viking saga brought to life in 2D glory – beautifully hand drawn combat sequences and animations, accompanied by an evocative score from Grammy-nominated composer Austin Wintory, will immerse you into a fantasy realm inspired by Norse mythology. Multiplayer Combat Enhanced – sharpen your combat skills in the free multiplayer game “Factions”. Compete against other players with many of the character classes you see in The Banner Saga. The Banner Saga is the first part of a planned trilogy. If you complete this game, your unique progress and storyline will carry over to the next part of the story.

Indie releases from 2014

27 Indie titles launched in 2014 — top 6 by review volume.

Community Tag Signals

Tag weights reflect how many Steam users voted each descriptor — larger pills = stronger consensus.

  • RPG · 709
  • Turn-Based · 629
  • Strategy · 567
  • Indie · 422
  • Tactical · 413
  • Turn-Based Strategy · 412
  • Story Rich · 382
  • Fantasy · 307
  • Great Soundtrack · 287
  • Kickstarter · 237
  • Tactical RPG · 232
  • Choices Matter · 219
  • Hand-drawn · 171
  • Atmospheric · 165
  • Singleplayer · 140

Position in Indie

MetricThis titleGenre position
Review volume15.5k Steam reviewsTop 19% in Indie
Positive rating89% positiveGenre average: 87% — this title sits in top 53%
Metacritic80/100Genre average 77 — top 40% of Indie titles
Engagement hours11 h averageTop 54% for session depth among Indie

Peer Indie titles

Comparable titles in the same genre and review-volume band — ranked by Steam positive percentage.

Localization Coverage

Interface / Subtitles (12)

  • English volume_up
  • French
  • German
  • Spanish - Spain
  • Polish
  • Portuguese - Brazil
  • Russian
  • Italian
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Czech
  • Simplified Chinese volume_up

Full audio (2)

  • English
  • Simplified Chinese

Reception Metrics

Steam community

89%Very Positive · 15.5k reviews

13.8k positive · 1.7k negative

Metacritic

80/100 critic aggregate

Open Metacritic page

Metacritic user score

8.0/10

Curator recommendations

13.3k

Features & Capabilities

Community

  • Steam Achievements
  • Steam Trading Cards
  • Steam Cloud
  • Remote Play on Tablet
  • Remote Play on TV

Accessibility

  • Captions available

Input & Comfort

  • Full controller support

Other

  • Single-player
  • Includes level editor
  • Family Sharing

Press Quotes

“Game of Thrones Meets Vikings Meets Disney. The Banner Saga is blindingly lovely and arguably just as intriguing to play. Built atop a world that all but demands the attention of travel documentaries, it's epic in the literal sense of the word.” 100% – US Gamer “With a refreshingly unique aesthetic, well-written story, and challenging gameplay, The Banner Saga is an excellent adventure well worth your time.” 90% – Games Radar “The Banner Saga deserves commendation for the strength of…

Release & Availability

Release dateJan 14, 2014
DeveloperStoic
PublisherStoic Studio
Base price$3.74 -85%
DLC / Add-ons2 released
PlatformsWindows, macOS
Estimated owners1M–10M
External linksOfficial site · Metacritic page · Support · [email protected]

Engagement Profile

All-time avg

11h

short (5–15 hours)

Median

5h

Typical completion time

Achievements

39

Steam unlocks available

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Stoic has 3 titles indexed — all listed below.

Editions & Packages

  • Buy The Banner Saga