I confess, launching Banner Saga on iPhone 5s could not imagine that the game for 599 rubles is really worthy of rave reviews and a 5-star rating in App Store. Just a glance at the icon did not inspire optimism, BUT, as it turned out, the saying: “They are greeted by their clothes, but escorted by their minds” was not born out of nowhere. Meet Banner Saga – 100% worthy tactical RPG worthy of the most flattering reviews … 
If all you value in games for iPhone and iPad is graphics and a great soundtrack, Banner Saga is not for you. But if you really like story-driven games with a coherent and coherent scenario, welcome to the brutal and mysterious world of the Vikings. Banner Saga refers to a tactical RPG with elements of turn-based strategy in which you will act as the leader of the Vikings, Warls. The story is divided into chapters, each of which ends when a specific goal is achieved. 
You start with a handful of varls, and you immediately find yourself on the battlefield. If it were not for the training mode, it would be difficult to understand all the nuances: the strategy, the location of the warriors before the battle, their unique abilities, equipment and skills – the outcome of the battle depends not only on the number of units, but also on the ability to conduct the battle correctly. 
Бои в Banner Saga достойны всяческих похвал, чем-то напоминают таковые в одной из первых пошаговых стратегий для ПК Heroes of Might&Magic. The battlefield is divided into separate squares, the units of each side can be located on the battlefield chaotically or grouped into squads. Each unit in one turn can move within the restricted area, and also strike the enemy. The fight begins from the window for choosing heroes for the battle, in this window you can determine the order of placing the unit on the battlefield, as well as include or exclude a certain warrior from the battle, it is important when one of your units is wounded. 
As soon as the order is determined and the units are placed on the battlefield, the fight begins, no time, the duration of the battle is limited only by the number of survivors, the results are summed up only when all the soldiers of one of the parties are defeated. For each kill, an individual warrior receives fame points that can be exchanged for skill upgrades. Units have 2 characteristics: life and defense, you can attack the enemy either by inflicting damage on him, or by destroying his defense, preparing his other unit for the maximum attack. Forget about the times when the outcome of the battle was decided by the number of fighters on the battlefield, it was not for nothing that the developers announced Banner Saga as a tactical RPG. In addition to attacking and defensive abilities, the character is characterized by willpower, this characteristic gives advantages to units in battle, adding damage or movement distance. Willpower is defined for the squad as a whole and is replenished with each death of enemy units from a special horn. Individual units can add willpower, this is a unique ability for them. 
Each playable character is unique and has its own special abilities, which must be used to the maximum to win on the battlefield, sometimes the forces will not be equal, and not in your favor. In order to avoid disappointment and a long time stamping in place for novice gamers, the developers offer several difficulties of the game, you can change the settings at any time. 
You will spend the bulk of your playing time in numerous dialogues while traveling. Depending on your choice, tasks and goals will change, the overall outcome of your campaign directly depends on your actions. For example, you can defend a small village and repel an enemy attack, while you will be rewarded with fame and provisions, or you can leave the inhabitants to their own devices, it's up to you. 
During the journey, your caravan will be filled with people and warriors who need to be fed, and therefore make sure that the supplies of provisions are sufficient. As soon as the reserves are exhausted, people will begin to die, this cannot be allowed. Food supplies can only be replenished in settlements in exchange for Fame Points. Stocks are also replenished spontaneously, while your caravan stops for a halt. The amount of replenished provisions can be increased, but again, not free. Stopping in cities and villages, additional opportunities become available to you: training battles for mastering tactics and skills, a food store, and improving heroes. 
If we talk about the picture in Banner Saga, here it is two-dimensional, but this does not affect the impression of the game at all. The animation is made in the best traditions of that time. You can find fault with the game interface on iPhone, some buttons are too small, during the battle you can miss the desired square for the same reason. On iPad the problem is not relevant and if you own both types of devices, the latter will be much more comfortable to play. 
Separate words of gratitude to the developers are worthy of the musical accompaniment, which clearly emphasizes what is happening on the screen. Background music corresponds to the spirit of the times and the plot of the game, allows you to fully immerse yourself in the game atmosphere. Russian-speaking gamers should not worry about the localization of the game, all the dialogues and the interface are translated into Russian, in front of a very high quality, I personally did not notice any shortcomings. The game leaves only the most positive impression, it has everything you need for a serious and exciting project: plot, high-quality elaboration of details, unique gameplay, scale, music. If you are picky about games that you are ready to spend your precious time on, you will definitely like Banner Saga, as hundreds of enthusiastic gamers have liked, take a look at the game page in App Store, check out the full 5 stars rating. The main question is: is the game worth its 599 rubles? In my subjective opinion – definitely! By the way, the application is in our general account, and the cost of the latter is even less than the cost of the game itself 🙂
