![]() In my case that turned out to be not all that many clansmen or fighters (compared to a ‘default’ start), but far more renown (used, again, for levelling up and currency) and food. You’ll also have all the magic items, renown, and number of supplies you finished up with. As well as recalling who’s alive or dead in your story, an imported save will transfer the number of clansmen, fighters and so on who survived at the conclusion of the first game. In-keeping with that approach, it’s possible to import a save from The Banner Saga right into this game. ![]() The message is pretty clear: playing The Banner Saga 2 without knowledge of the first part is at your own risk. Even this title’s tutorial is fairly short, giving it the air of a refresher course rather than a full lesson. There’s a brief recap video accessible through the main menu, and periodic sentences like “this guy has been with you since Location X, he’s important because …” appear to prompt your memory, but not a great deal beyond that. The first game was admirably restrained with the pacing of its exposition, allowing players to absorb the world through context and character interactions, and this second set of chapters assumes you’ve retained much of that knowledge. ![]() It’s very much a ‘Part Two’ rather than a stand-alone videogame sequel, so unless you’ve finished the original Banner Saga very little of it will make sense. The Banner Saga 2 picks up almost immediately after the events of the first game, placing you back in control of your rag-tag troupe of Varls, menders, clansmen, and assorted heroes, and placing you back on the road, marching away from the tireless Dredge. Best to grimace and bear it, rather than reaching for an older save to reload. Sometimes, the game is just going to twist the knife. But the world of The Banner Saga 2 is in the grip of apocalyptic events, so it’s healthiest to accept that some losses (of both named characters and generic members of your travelling clan) are going to occur no matter what you do. In most instances these consequences stay the right side of sadistic, punishing you only for actions that, in retrospect, probably were unwise for the given situation. An unremarkable interaction made earlier in the journey can sometimes nudge your caravan of hardy fantasy-Nordic souls towards catastrophe, and no-win situations can occasionally ( very occasionally) turn out in your favour. Even the choices that end up beneficial will often test your resolve by at first seeming hopeless. As the first chapters of the decision-heavy game made abundantly clear, things can, will, and must go wrong at every possible turn. People who like to play and replay character-centric titles to arrange the ‘perfect’ storyline may be pushed beyond the brink of sanity by The Banner Saga 2.
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