14 DAY TRIAL // The Banner Saga: Factions is a video game developed by Stoic Games, a studio made up of former BioWare employees, which aims to deliver an easy to learn and complex turn-based tactical experience with role-playing game elements.
The experience is free-to-play and allows gamers to create their own six-man force and then fight other players on a variety of battlefields.
The Banner Saga: Factions is deeply inspired by Viking culture and style and Stoic has added a lot of personality to the various fighters, with variations when it comes to their skills and their uses during battle.
The most important part of the game is the initial setup, when a player needs to decide how his troops will start the match.
The full run through the units is also often more about positioning than about actual fighting, as the various types of units find a place in the battle line, ideally the one where they can deliver the most damage in the shortest time possible.
In The Banner Saga: Factions, character strength governs both survivability, which also takes armor into account, and damage dealt.
This tends to make it almost crucial to quickly focus on one enemy, preferably the most powerful, and knock him out of the fight as quickly as possible to gain a tactical advantage.
Good use of positioning and special abilities can also mean the difference between success and failure.
The Banner Saga: Factions is a free-to-play title, which means that Stoic is selling packages for those who are interested in upgrading their units at a faster pace and for gamers who want cosmetic variations.
Worth a full Softpedia review? At the moment, The Banner Saga: Factions is a multiplayer only experience, but the development team plans to add a single-player component in the future and once the game is completed, we could deliver an extensive review.