Bannerman
- August 31, 2017
- Armitage Games
- 4h median play time
Get on Steam"Bannerman is a single-player historical action game with a dark, gritty story and challenging skill-based combat. As a man-at-arms, your mission is to travel across a war-torn medieval land to find your lost lord's banner. The game features intense medieval combat, a sinister atmosphere, and an amazing soundtrack, with animations based on 16-bit rotoscoped movements."
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- Beautiful graphics and charming atmosphere, with a great soundtrack that enhances the experience.
- The combat system is challenging and rewarding, requiring skill and patience to master.
- The game has a unique storytelling approach, effectively conveying themes of war and trauma through its narrative and visuals.
- Combat can feel inconsistent and frustrating, especially against certain bosses and ranged enemies, leading to a trial-and-error experience.
- The lack of checkpoints and slow movement can make backtracking tedious and detract from the overall enjoyment.
- The story and world-building are often criticized for being shallow and lacking depth, with some elements feeling disjointed or poorly executed.
- story106 mentions
- 28 % positive mentions
- 66 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The story of "Bannerman" receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its dark and simple narrative that complements the game's atmosphere and gameplay, while others criticize it as shallow and incoherent. Many highlight the effective storytelling techniques and the emotional weight of the themes, though some feel the plot lacks depth and fails to engage fully. Overall, while the presentation and integration of story elements are praised, the narrative itself is often seen as underwhelming.
“This game really threw me for a loop with the story, good stuff.”
“The story, graphics, and music all complemented one another really well, and the dark, miserable setting was great.”
“It's greatest strength is in its story, which is deeply profound and, if you're like me, you'll find yourself buried in thought after you finish it.”
“Although Bannerman is a good game in its genre, its plot is lackluster and weak.”
“The story is shallow and incoherent.”
“The story and setting, supposedly Bannerman's other selling points, are... well... the story is bad.”
- music94 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim for its immersive quality and ability to enhance the overall atmosphere, with many praising the soundtrack as a standout feature. While some users noted that the music occasionally felt mismatched to the game's setting, the majority found it to be beautifully composed, often evoking a classic medieval tavern vibe and effectively complementing the story and visuals. However, a few critiques mentioned instances of silence and a lack of ambient sound, which detracted from the experience in certain areas.
“The music, created with various folk instruments, was also well suited in portraying the gloomy atmosphere as you progress on your quest.”
“The soundtrack is beautiful, although the game is pretty silent at times (which still supports the atmosphere).”
“Along with all of this, Bannerman has a host of beautiful songs in its soundtrack and really adds to the atmosphere; I am really happy that I purchased the deluxe edition as this soundtrack is a worthy addition to anyone's playlists.”
“The music can be hit and miss; while the BGM itself is quite good, some areas are severely lacking in both music and ambiance.”
“I think they don't use enough of their OST, as there are a lot of areas with full silence.”
“At first, it has this heartwarming soundtrack and a straight-to-business 'soldiers are soldiers' attitude, but as the game goes on and your limp protagonist racks up his kill count, David Lynch suddenly shows up and hijacks the game's direction.”
- gameplay54 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The gameplay in Bannerman is characterized by its challenging and rewarding swordfighting mechanics, which require patience and skill to master. While the combat is engaging, the game suffers from a lack of encounters and sluggish movement, leading to a somewhat tedious exploration experience. Overall, the game offers a unique artistic style and a solid combat system, but it could benefit from improved exploration mechanics and encounter design.
“The gameplay is fun and the storyline is one of the best I've experienced in the medium of video gaming.”
“Bannerman is a great and epic 2D hack and slash game, the game has a unique artistic style and pixelated visuals that are reminiscent of Prince of Persia and Another World games. The sword fighting in the game is very realistic, fluid, and difficult but is very rewarding once the player has mastered it.”
“The fighting mechanic was super unique and crazy satisfying once you mastered it.”
“A good idea smothered by annoying, boring running around, sluggish controls, and contradicting gameplay paradigms.”
“And nothing changes much in terms of gameplay; you cannot even run, you just walk as fast as a terminator on morphine.”
“As such, gameplay boils down to running to the 'boss fight' using these shortcuts.”
- graphics46 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their beautiful pixel art and atmospheric design, effectively immersing players in a grim medieval setting reminiscent of classic titles like "Prince of Persia." While the overall aesthetic is charming and well-executed, some critiques point to the poor quality of character portraits. The combination of unique artistic style, rotoscoped animation, and a moody soundtrack enhances the game's emotional depth and gameplay experience.
“The graphics were well suited to creating the dark, depressing settings that persisted throughout the game.”
“Aside from the story, the pixel graphics and rotoscoped animation are phenomenal and really add to the liveliness of the world and the characters.”
“Bannerman is, in my opinion, a terrific game that is an example of the ability of a single person to create a game that both entertains through accurate swordplay, beautiful pixel graphics, and a morally grey story.”
“I am not really good at this game and I struggled a lot, which means boring graphics and sounds over and over again.”
“The art style is consistent, but the setting is why I called the game bizarre; it really is a strange mismatch of eras.”
“Otherwise, the atmosphere is great; I was impressed how they managed to convey emotions of dread, guilt, and trauma with so little graphics and text.”
- atmosphere32 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 41 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its beautiful graphics, evocative art, and haunting soundtrack, which effectively convey a dark and grim mood. Players appreciate the emotional depth and immersive quality of the environments, particularly in standout levels like the bridge and village. However, some critiques mention that the atmosphere can be undermined by repetitive gameplay and inconsistent execution in certain areas.
“The music, created with various folk instruments, was also well suited in portraying the gloomy atmosphere as you progress on your quest.”
“Otherwise, the atmosphere is great; I was impressed how they managed to convey emotions of dread, guilt, and trauma with so little graphics and text.”
“Atmosphere trying to be grim and dark... well it didn't succeed.”
“The atmosphere is heavy and the events take a toll on the protagonist himself.”
“Story and atmosphere are dark and grim.”
- replayability4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game currently offers limited replayability due to its short length, but players are optimistic about future content patches that may enhance replay value and introduce local multiplayer options.
“I personally believe it is worth the price. Plus, I have it on good authority that future content patches will bring endless replayability on top of the current story mode and even the possibility of local multiplayer!”
“The game is pretty short with no replay value.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious due to slow animations, repetitive environments, and the need for backtracking and redoing stages, which detracts from the overall experience.
“This makes running around a lot more tedious than it should be.”
“Couple slow door-enter animations with similar corridors and tunnels, and then add backtracking and redoing stages, and 'Bannerman' becomes quite tedious.”
“Couple slow door-enter animations with similar corridors and tunnels, and then add backtracking and redoing stages, and 'Bannerman' becomes quite tedious.”
- monetization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game has been criticized for misleading advertising, as users feel that the game's content does not align with its "medieval" theme, suggesting a disconnect between marketing and actual gameplay.
- optimization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game is criticized for performance issues, with reports of slow gameplay and unresponsive key inputs following certain events.
“The bannerman runs slowly, and keys don't register as pressed after events.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is characterized as wholesome, providing a comforting experience, though it may not offer groundbreaking moments.
