Finally. Versus Evil reveals key art for Banner Saga 3, the third and final act of the planned trilogy. I have to admit, I was getting nervous. Which is easy to do. But I hadn't heard from Banner Saga 3 since January, when Versus Evil announced it would return to Kickstarter to crowdsource the finale.
The key art centerpiece is the logo, of course. This time, though, the banner is much more tattered and torn than ever before. Featured is Juno, cheeks gaunt and eyes tired. She's a powerful and mystic character. This ashen portrayal brings her down to earth. She places her arms over Eyvind, her apprentice and lover. He has aged decades since his last appearance.
The stunning landscape is fractured in cataclysmic ways. It reflects the pain of your caravan and the permanent wounds of the land. Nothing and no one gets through this unaffected. We won't be returning to The Shire later, after throwing a ring into a volcano, to find that everything is all super nice and great back home. The Banner Saga portrays an apocalypse like I've seen in no other game since Mass Effect. You're not getting before-and-after snapshots of an apocalypse, like in Fallout 4. You're living the nightmare.
What's also notable in the key art is what's missing. The lengthy, unfurled banner (not the logo banner, but the banner stretching from side to side on the screen) is gone. Depictions of the entire caravan are gone. The giant Varl are gone. And this video's narrative hints that the costs associated with survival will be a lot. Maybe too much.
Looks bleak. The entire series has been bleak. I can't wait.
Do not, at all, think you can start with Banner Saga 2 or 3. It's a planned trilogy that would be a bad idea to pick up on from the middle or end. Start from the beginning. Then continue your harrowing journey in part 2. And then you can think about picking up part 3. There's a huge cast of characters, there's a lot of ground to cover, and it'll barely make sense if you show up in the middle of things. Plus, the battleground tactics build upon themselves in an agreeable learning curve if you start at day one.
Banner Saga 3 looks to bring its viking trail RPG tale to a close—for better and for a whole lot worse—in 2018.
Banner Saga 3 Art Reveal
Stoic Unveils Key Artwork For Third and Final Chapter in the Epic Viking Trilogy
BALTIMORE, MD – October 16th, 2017 – Stoic, an independent game development company, and Versus Evil a leading independent video game publisher, today unveiled the first key artwork for Banner Saga 3, the third and final chapter in the epic Viking RPG trilogy.
The beautifully hand drawn Viking role-playing adventure will once again test the player’s resolve through epic tactical battles against deadly adversaries, where a player's choice directly affects their personal journey. In Banner Saga 3 players will embark upon the final quest beyond the wall of Darkness to traverse a world unlike anything encountered previously. The compelling story driven narrative will continue encouraging the character building and strategic aspects which were essential to The Banner Saga and Banner Saga 2 popularity amongst fans. In Banner Saga 3 story secrets will be brought to light and character motives will be made clear, rounding out the saga in beautiful detail. The gods may be dead, but their godstones - their world - remain full of wonder.
To learn more about The Banner Saga Trilogy visit its new website at: http://bannersaga.com
