O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light But is there any depth to the design? Is “great style” just shorthand for shallow narrative design and simple gameplay? Let us investigate. The fact that the game's visual design is also fully coherent and without any obvious flaws should generally not be worthy of note, much less of praise however, after seeing so many strange problems with recent games – I recall the mismatched NPC models in Wasteland 2 and the sloppy area lighting and perspective issues in the Shadowrun games – it is nice to see an indie RPG that simply looks consistently good. With so many modern RPGs featuring limp melee animations, it is very nice to a see a game where the combatants actually contort their bodies and visibly take time to recover while swinging their heavy weapons around. Particularly noteworthy are the rotoscoped combat animations, which manage to express a tremendous amount of kinetic energy. Visually, the game shows off a distinct 2D art style with a rich colour palette, suffused with intricate details. The game's locations also offer unique sound work when woodcutters are around, you will hear axes and labourer's chatter, while a settlement of cattle herders presents you with a symphony of gentle mooing sounds. It complements the gameplay nicely, providing the proper backdrop for a lonely journey through a harsh northern landscape. The Banner Saga's score presents a surprisingly effective combination of moody chants and rousing battle marches, featuring plenty of drums, string instruments, and grizzled Icelandic singers. If I had to guess how Stoic used their Kickstarter budget for this game, I would wager that they spent most of their money on visual and sound design. This game features a compelling story, well-drawn characters operating under a constant threat of perma-death, choices with a wide variety of consequences, and a surprisingly complex and novel combat system that prevents the battles from feeling like repetitive trash combat. In fact, the crowdfunded Banner Saga is more successful at offering a “BioWare experience” than anything that company has put out since Dragon Age: Origins. Stoic, the studio behind The Banner Saga, follows in the tradition of other ex-BioWare developers who, upon leaving the company, suddenly began to exhibit a talent for making good role playing games (Daniel Fedor's NEO Scavenger being the most prominent other example). In fact, the past year has given us strong evidence to suggest that the RPG industry would be tremendously helped if our Canadian friends were to cease operations immediately and released all their herded up talent into the indie wilderness. Where are the great games of our modern era? Whither the creative force, the clarity of vision that drove the RPG genre to greatness in the past? Whither the industry veterans, the self-assured maniacs who could produce industry-changing ideas on command? Whither the stern, yet noble managers of yesteryear, the wizened masterminds capable of turning out sleek, polished, and eminently enjoyable gaming experiences? It turns out they were working at BioWare all along. Thus with Pillars of Eternity, thus with Wasteland 2, and thus, no doubt, with countless other miserable failures to come. Ambitious mammoth projects have gobbled up millions of gamer dollars and launched to great fanfare, only to dash upon the jagged rocks of developer incompetence. Kickstarter, the great disappointer, makes fools of us all. Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader Location Trailer.RPG Codex Review: Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous.Colony Ship Early Access Update: Hydroponics New Zones.Archmage Rises now available on Early Access.Together in Battle now available on Early Access.
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