“Class Mastery” is the title and focus of this update. As players complete missions, they’ll earn Skill Points to allocate to Focus Skills and new Class Mechanics. These can be swapped freely, granting far more customization and build variety. The world map is also overhauled with a “more refined” questline.

Over 50 new handcrafted missions await while some bosses have been moved. You can also look forward to two more Umbra, a new enemy (the Merk Brawler), new Legendaries, an overhaul to Aspects, greater Job variety, and much more. Also, you can finally remap the controls.

Class Mastery goes live on April 29th alongside the console version. Check out the Xbox Wire article for more details, or read our review for the base version of Towerborne to learn more about its world and combat.

The epic conclusion to Stoic’s tactical RPG trilogy is finally available. The Banner Saga 3 has launched for Xbox One, PS4, PC and Nintendo Switch. Check out the launch trailer below.

If you’ve played the first two games, you know what to expect: A world-eating serpent, the impending darkness that threatens to destroy everything, Dredge and so on. The Banner Saga 3 divides the story into two fronts- the war in Arberrang as players attempt to keep the city from collapsing, and the incursion into the darkness to halt it.

Along with featuring the same memorable characters from previous games like Iver, Alette, Oddleif, Juno and Rugga, The Banner Saga 3 challenges you to make tough decisions to survive. Will you reinforce Arberrang and go to war with humans and Dredge alike? What will you do to save the world? Decisions from previous games will carry over into the third game as well.

Check out GamingBolt’s official review of The Banner Saga 3 and decide whether it’s worth your while.

The Banner Saga 3, the conclusion to indie studio Stoic’s epic trilogy of choice-based strategy RPGs is here, and there’s no doubt in my mind that hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people are going to be playing it obsessively over the next few weeks. And given the fact that The Banner Saga 3 is also on the Nintendo Switch, the series’ simultaneous launch debut on any Nintendo platform, it’s also going to invite a host of new players.

But how does the game run on the Nintendo Switch? Well, we recently interviewed the team at Stoic, and asked a number of questions about the game, one of which was about the resolution settings for The Banner Saga 3 on the Switch. Stoic co-founder and the game’s technical director John Watson told GamingBolt that the game will run at 1080p when docked, and at 720p while being played in handheld mode.

Questions about the frame-rate remained unanswered, but considering the fact that this is an isometric turn based RPG, I’d say frame-rates aren’t all that important in this particular case anyway. In the same interview, Watson also told us about the resolution and frame-rate targets for the game on the PS4, PS4 Pro, Xbox One, and Xbox One X. Read more on that here. If you want to read the full interview – and I suggest you do so, it’s quite an interesting read – head on over here.

The Banner Saga 3 is out now on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. Our review for the game should be live soon, so stay tuned to find out what we think of the game.

The Banner Saga 3, much like its predecessors, is a game that sports a beautiful animated visual style, but it, too, is beholden to being able to perform impressively on a technical level, even if not as much as games with a more photorealistic look might be. Apparently, there’s some good stuff to look forward to in that regard.

We recently interviewed John Watson, Technical Director at Stoic, the developers of The Banner Saga, and asked him about the resolution and frame rate specifications of the game on the PS4 Pro and the Xbox One X. Apparently, on both systems, the game will feature upscaled 4K resolutions, while on all other systems, it will render at roughly a 1500p resolution- 2731 x 1536, to be more precise. Frame rate will also be rendered at 60FPS, with some animations being authored at 30FPS, though according to Watson, frame-rate is something that isn’t really relevant to gameplay mechanics in a game like The Banner Saga.

“The game renders at up to 2731 x 1536, which upscales to 4k UHD resolutions nicely if the device supports it,” he told GamingBolt. “The in-game animations are authored at 30 FPS, with plenty of animations on twos, depending on the visual timing of the motion.  The game itself renders at 60 FPS when possible which leads to smoothness of camera panning in general. For a game like The Banner Saga, frame-rate isn’t relevant to the gameplay mechanics, only to the smoothness of the aesthetic experience, which we value strongly.”

The Banner Saga 3 launches for PC, Mac, Xbox One, PS4, and Nintendo Switch on July 24. If you’re a Switch owner and are worried that you’ll have to jump into the series without having played the first two games, don’t be- they’re both available on the Switch right now.

Stoic will be concluding its epic The Banner Saga trilogy with the third game in July. However, before then, it’ll give Nintendo Switch users a chance to experience The Banner Saga 2. The developer announced the second game’s release on June 7th for the Switch along with some new screenshots of the same.

Steve Escalante, General Manager of the game’s publisher Versus Evil stated that, “We are proud to launch Banner Saga 2 on Nintendo Switch, hot on the heels of the launch of the first game, The Banner Saga last month. There has never been a better time to get into this awarding winning series.

“Strategy and RPG Nintendo Switch fans will get the opportunity to play through the entire saga, from start to finish, this Summer when the third and final chapter Banner Saga 3 releases. Playing this game on the Nintendo Switch is truly a joy, allowing you to play whenever and wherever you can.”

Considering The Banner Saga 3 is out on July 26th for Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PC and PS4, now is the perfect time to experience the first two games before the penultimate finale. The Banner Saga 2 plays much like the first game in that choices made will determine the survival of your clan. Battles are won by tactics and how resources are allocated is important.

Furthermore, any choices made in the first game will carry over to the second game and similarly with the third release. With how many accolades both titles have received, it will be interesting to see if The Banner Saga 3 can end the series on its highest note.

The Banner Saga series was announced to be coming to Nintendo Switch during the last Nindies Showcase broadcast, with The Banner Saga 3 launching simultaneously on Switch and other platforms, and the previous two games launching on Switch before it. That does’t leave a lot of time for the other games to release on Switch, which means Stoic needs to hurry on up with those ones.

Happily enough, they’ve started. The first Banner Saga game launches on Nintendo Switch next week, on May 17, with pre-purchases available for it right now. The game will cost $20, just like on other platforms. Given its blend of adventure, SRPG, and VN elements, the game promises to be an exciting and uniquely well suited fit for the Switch, too.

The Banner Saga 2 should hopefully be on the Switch by next month too, allowing Switch owners to play through both games, and carry their saves over into The Banner Saga 3 when it launches on PC, Mac, Xbox One, PS4, and Switch.

Your #Switch Saga begins on May 17, 2018!#BannerSaga 1 comes to @Nintendo Switch next week – you can pre-purchase now: https://t.co/lXB6z1032N#indiegamedevelopment #indiedev #indiegame pic.twitter.com/phOyonBmbc

— The Banner Saga (@BannerSaga) May 10, 2018

The Banner Saga 3, which will conclude the epic story that started with the unexpectedly popular original strategy RPG/point and click adventure hybrid game, is still a ways away- but while we wait for the game to release, developers Stoic have shared with us the very first artwork for the title, which you can see for yourself in the video below.

Fans of the series will find exactly nothing to be surprised about in this- it’s exactly in the same vein as the key art for The Banner Saga and The Banner Saga 2. Nonetheless, it is the first bit of media we have received for the game so far at all- for many, that might be enough.

If you have not already, you should play the original game and its equally great sequel. The third game is likely to refine the formula even further- but given how story centric the series is, new players are likely to understand absolutely nothing if they jump into the franchise with this game.

The original Banner Saga was an incredible success, a critical darling that went on to become an indie game success story. In contrast, the launch for The Banner Saga 2 came and went, without so much as a whisper. This is puzzling, because The Banner Saga 2 is a great game- the one criticism that can be leveled at it is that it lacks the freshness of its predecessor, but isn’t that the case for most sequels that go on to pull in massive numbers anyway?

So why did The Banner Saga 2 underperform? John Watson, co-founder of developer Stoic, believes it is because the developers failed to keep the community engaged and in the loop with the development of the sequel, unlike what they managed with the first game.

“I think we dropped the ball there,” Watson admitted to GamesIndustry.biz. “We thought that audience would still just be there. We really neglected our community during the development of Banner Saga 2, because we were focusing on our work. I think that was a mistake. We all agree that was a mistake.”

Neglecting the community isn’t the only poor decision by Stoic- according to Watson, the release window chosen for the game also went on to work against them.

“That is a factor,” Watson said. “With The Banner Saga we launched against 70 games that month. With The Banner Saga 2 it was over 400, so that is a factor. You are fighting more for attention, and it’s remarkable how many people I meet say, ‘oh, Banner Saga 2 is out?’ They just don’t know, and we spent a lot of money marketing it. We tried to make it known.”

Hopefully, The Banner Saga 2 continues to have a long tail that ensures a steady stream of sales in the coming months and years. And hopefully, Stoic learn from their mistakes for The Banner Saga 3.

Xbox One owners will get to play the excellent Banner Saga 2 for free this month, since the title is part of this month’s great yet again Games with Gold lineup, but PS4 owners get to have their own little victory where this game is concerned too- the game will be launching on PS4 early. How early? Why, next week early.

That’s not all, either- it looks like Stoic and Sony are really compensating for not having the game be free on PS4, because the PS4 version will also feature an exclusive ability bonus: a unique level 10+ sword that gives a +3 for all talent ranks, and 20% double strength damage.

“We originally planned to launch later in the month,” Versus Evil’s community director Lance James said on the PlayStation Blog (Versus Evil are porting the game to consoles). “However, because of the combined effort of our friends at Sony and the hard work by the team at Shiny Shoe, we are able to bring this to you much sooner.

“Stoic wanted people to kick start their summer off right and jumped at the chance to get the second game in PlayStation 4 owners’ hands – just three months after the launch on PC and Mac, which is so much quicker than the previous wait you guys had for Banner Saga 1!”

It really is far quicker, there is no doubt about that. The game is great, too, so PS4 owners are in for a treat. Now, if we could just get the promised Vita port of the original game…

The Banner Saga 2 begins with Chapter 8, more or less right where the original game ended, and the stakes are higher than ever before. The game tells a story about a world that is swiftly coming to an end, and there is always an inevitability around that fact- that story doesn’t hinge around anyone trying to stop it from happening, but rather on everyone trying to survive it. It’s a bleak setting that rarely lets up, and the game portrays the powerlessness and the helplessness of its wonderful cast of characters very well.

"It’s a bleak setting that rarely lets up, and the game portrays the powerlessness and the helplessness of its wonderful cast of characters very well."

Like the original game, The Banner Saga 2 places a premium on player choice and agency. The game has the option to import save files from the first game, and the choices you made earlier come into play right from the get go, with events at the end of the first game dictating something as simple as who the main protagonist of the game is going to be- Rook, the perennially depressed hunter-chieftain, or his daughter, Alette. And practically everything you do has an effect on how the game progresses and how the story twists and turns- assign too many people in your caravan to collecting food? You may get a comfortable buffer of resources, but you may leave yourself vulnerable to attacks if you commit too many people to it. Have too many characters on the field of battle, and not only do you run the risk of losing some of your strongest, best characters in battle, but you may find yourself without food to feed your people.

And trust me, you’re gonna want to feed your people, because it directly affects their morale, and morale is very important when you get down to the ugly business of battle. A squad of warriors high on morale can be deadly if used properly, whereas a squad low on morale can crumble within a matter of seconds.

Even on the field of battle your choices have an interesting and very, very apparent ripple effect. Losing battles is always a possibility, and can bring with it severe casualties, both permanent and temporary. Perma-death, a hallmark of the genre, is naturally here in full force, but The Banner Saga 2 gives you several other considerations to keep in mind as well. Losing can lead to characters being injured and hence unfit to participate in battles or other activities for a significant period of time, and morale ties into this directly as well- a defeated squad is a demotivated squad and probably wont pull its weight when it comes down to it.

"Even on the field of battle your choices have an interesting and very, very apparent ripple effect."

And thankfully, the battle system has received some significant upgrades here- one of the most significant being the addition of the new Horsemen class. Their addition may not have had any significant effect on the narrative, but in battle, they can give you or your enemies serious strategic advantages. Horsemen can take an additional turn for movement after attacking, and their charge abilities can be deadly and extremely effective if used properly.

Be careful though- haphazardly going on the offensive in battles can spell a quick death for your units. Every unit has two stats, when you get down to the basics- armour and health, which are both directly proportional to how much a unit can defend and how much it can attack. While going all out and attacking a unit’s health can seem like an attractive strategy for those of us with short fuses, it usually turns out that chipping away at enemies’ armour and then dealing deadly attacks later on in battles can be extremely effective.

What’s more, positioning is paramount in The Banner Saga 2. On the offensive side, several attacks (such as the Horsemen’s charge abilities) can damage any and all units in their vicinity, for example, both friend and foe. On the defensive side, you can use some of your larger tank-like Varl units to block the paths of your enemies and essentially serve as shields for some of your physically weaker units, like your archers. The new Poet class, in fact, is almost too reliant on positioning- if the Poet sees one of your units defeat an enemy unit, he can sing songs about it to increase your squad’s morale, but for that he has to be able to physically see the victory. If his line of vision is being blocked, he won’t be able to write any victory songs. The addition of destructible environments also adds a sense of strategy to an already nuanced and layered battle system.

"The way The Banner Saga 2’s mechanics all manage to bleed into and affect each other, across gameplay and story, is quite an achievement."

The fact that the game shakes things up in terms of battle objectives- “kill all enemies” is not the extent of it anymore- helps with that a great deal and manages to successfully tackle a great many issues with the first game’s combat, but it has to be mentioned though that by the end of the game- which was around 10-12 hours into the story for me- the battle system may start feeling a bit repetitive. Also, while the game is usually fair with how challenging it is, in some of the later battles, it starts creating situations and circumstances that feel like they’ve just been put there to make the battle artificially harder, and it stands out so much because of how consistent the game is up until that point in this regard.

The way The Banner Saga 2’s mechanics all manage to bleed into and affect each other, across gameplay and story, is quite an achievement. The game usually manages to sustain a wonderful presentation style, with a beautiful 1960’s Disney animation style and a moving soundtrack composed by Austin Wintory. It is, however, extremely important to note that you’re probably going to get out a lot more from The Banner Saga 2 if you’ve already played the original. The game is a direct sequel in every sense of the word, and it doesn’t shy away from the fact. Of course, it tries to familiarise new players with its world and its inhabitants with short videos and descriptions, but chances are that you’ll probably enjoy the experience a lot more if you’ve already played the original.

It’s safe to say, then, that The Banner Saga 2 is one hell of an experience. It can be faulted for maybe playing it too safe and mostly sticking to what the original already did so well, but regardless, it’s an enjoyable experience boasting of a bleak, harrowing tale, a great cast of characters and strategically enjoyable battles. It takes a good, hard look at the strengths of the 2014 title and builds on them in the best ways possible. The second act of this planned trilogy is a strong one, and sets up the conclusion very well.

This game was reviewed on the PC.