'The Banner Saga' Gets January Release Date For PS4 & Xbox One

“The Banner Saga” has had a long road coming to consoles after a successful release on the PC, but it looks like the game’s journey is about to end. The acclaimed strategy game will be coming to the PS4 and Xbox One on Jan. 12.

Developer Stoic revealed that porting the PC game to consoles was a much harder task than originally anticipated. Apparently the developer had actually been working on the console version for long periods of time, with the unexpected difficulty leading to a longer than expected development process.

The developers also had to rework the game to work on console controllers, which was stated in the PlayStation Blog. Considering how different a computer keyboard is from a PS4 or Xbox One controller the process was probably difficult.

For those unaware, “The Banner Saga” isn’t about the Hulk from Marvel comics, but is about an epic Viking saga that has players rebuilding civilization and making new allies, along with new enemies. Players have to be careful with the alliances they make, as civilization may or may not pay for them.

Like in the best roleplaying games (RPG) choice is a big factor in “The Banner Saga.” Players have to make sure their allies aren’t traitors or the world will pay for their actions.

Another noteworthy thing about the game is the graphics, which are stunning. Eyvind Earle inspired the art style and it shows, with great looking character designs and interesting backgrounds.

There was originally going to be a Vita version that was going to be released alongside the one coming for consoles, but that version has been postponed according to Game Informer. This is due to the difficulties the development team had with making the console version work, so it seems like even more time is needed to have the game run well on a handheld.

Console gamers can get their hands on “The Banner Saga” next year on Jan. 12 for the PS4 and Xbox One. PC users can enjoy the game right now since it is already available for most computers. Vita owners are out of luck for now, but may still get the game in the future.