The Banner Saga Trilogy gets physical on Nintendo Switch

You can buy the trilogy with a pretty box to set on your shelf, but can it really be that simple?

Gearbox Software and Versus Evil have partnered to publish the physical edition of Stoic's strategy series, The Banner Saga. Called Banner Saga Trilogy, the game is available in stores today throughout North America and will launch in Europe on September 28.

"Launching a physical edition of The Banner Saga Trilogy for the Nintendo Switch with the Gearbox team is truly awesome," said Steve Escalante, founder and GM of Versus Evil. "Fans of the Banner Saga franchise will be able to binge play the entire series from start to finish. This is the best time to get into one of the best Strategy franchises released in the last several years."

The Banner Saga trilogy is known for letting players make decisions in one game and see them carry over to the next, which allows for numerous different endings as the series finally concludes with Banner Saga 3. The choices players must make are not always simple, and their consequences can be tragic and permanent.

It all sounds like (mostly) good news so far, but then things get interesting. The Banner Saga Trilogy: Bonus Edition, which seems like it may include additional content, is already available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One as a physical release. It is priced at $39.99 USD, and what's more, the two stores that I could find carrying it online both are offering it at $10 off that price.

$20 less for the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One version already makes the Switch edition sound like a rather poor deal, if you have the option of playing on one of those other platforms, and that's before a person reads the fine print on the front of the Switch version's packaging: "Internet download and MicroSD card required."

This is the sort of language that usually means one or more of the game's featured in a compilation is presented as a download, rather than included on the cartridge (as happened with the Mega Man Legacy release). In theory this approach is intended to save space, since Nintendo's cards cost publishers more than discs do. But consumers who purchase the Switch version are already on the hook for $10 to $20 more than their friends. Why should they also have to devote sometimes costly microSD card space to a game they're already paying a premium to purchase?

Puzzle through that one, and maybe purchase a physical edition of The Banner Saga Trilogy one one of the available platforms if you're cool with its pricing and form factor.

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Staff article by Jason Venter (September 21, 2018) Jason Venter has been playing games for 30 years, since discovering the Apple IIe version of Mario Bros. in his elementary school days. Now he writes about them, here at HonestGamers and also at other sites that agree to pay him for his words.