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Strategy games that are as story-driven as The Banner Saga are few and far between. The best analogue I can think of are SRPG/JRPG hybrids like Final Fantasy Tactics. For my money I have always found JRPG storytelling beyond tedious—and furthermore, the idea that as a player I am going to have to sit though some dev-crafted story before I can get to the good stuff in a strategy title seems a recipe for suffering. And yet, The Banner Saga not only makes it work, it makes it sing. Perhaps because the dark fantasy story is so well-conceived and so well-crafted. But, it also works because the whole milieu that comprises this superb strategy game comes together perfectly: The smart dark fantasy world, the sharp comic book story-telling relayed via a sort of graphic novel slide show, the beautiful art work, the drop-dead gorgeous soundtrack and the sparse, yet compelling tactical combat, every part works and fits together to form a whole that makes for one helluva video game. And while there have been a few complaints from phone users, anyone with a phablet or tablet will be in their glory as The Banner Saga plays like a good book you could curl up to in your bed.
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