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Stoic recently revealed it is accepting beta applications for the upcoming The Banner Saga, a new strategy role playing adventure game about the exploits of a band of vikings. The team also unveiled a new trailer showcasing The Banner Saga: Factions, a free to play multiplayer combat title featuring assets from the RPG.

The Banner Saga is a role-playing game merged with turn-based strategy, wrapped into an adventure mini-series about vikings.

Travel through stunning landscapes straight out of an animated film. Battle painstakingly hand-animated foes in strategic, turn-based combat harkening back to the classic "Tactics" days of gaming. Make decisions with consequences in conversations with people you'll truly care about.

And throughout the whole thing record the history of your people on your banner where it will be remembered, because soon there might not be anything left.

The Banner Saga is a mature game aimed at gamers who appreciate art, story and strategy.

Our first priority has always been to make a role-playing game that feels and looks fresh, and plays like the classic tactical strategy games of our childhood. It's not about defeating the villain and saving the day. It's not about grinding to get past the next fight. The Banner Saga throws you into the end of the world and asks "how do you deal with this"?

• DRM-Free, and available on PC and Mac
  
• Not another generic fantasy: Drawing heavily from Norse culture while creating its own identity and mythology, The Banner Saga takes a low-fantasy approach to viking themes. Giants: yes. Horned helmets: no.
  
• Strategic combat: Recruit a large roster of unique characters throughout the story, each with different abilities that interact in combat in a deeply tactical way and personalities of their own. The Banner Saga harkens back to classic turn-based gameplay with a strong emphasis on tactics over brute force and endless grinding.
  
• Travel across gorgeous landscapes: The choices you make as events arise have a huge affect on how the story plays out- who survives, who dies, and what's worth saving. Add people to your caravan as you travel, or lose them when tough decisions arise. You're not just fighting to save nameless strangers, you're fighting for your neighbors, your family and your way of life. We want you to care what happens to them.
  
• An emphasis on story: Your choices in dialogue and throughout the game truly affect the story and the people around you. A mature story for adults means forming relationships and making tough decisions; not sex, violence and swearing.
  
• Play online: Though the single-player campaign is our focus, The Banner Saga provides a deep multiplayer game; build a unique party of characters and battle friends and enemies in multiplayer combat. Upgrade your party over time and devise new strategies.
  
• Risk in gameplay: A lot of modern games play it safe- you know you'll defeat the evil and save the day. In The Banner Saga you can't take anything for granted. We want it to feel like a good tv mini-series; the world doesn't revolve around you, it's about how you deal with change.

The Banner Saga Beta Testing

The Banner Saga: Factions Trailer

The Banner Saga (add to watch list)

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