Bannerman Review | Medieval Action Adventure with Historically Accurate Swordfighting
Good mornin-afternoo-vening, dear viewers and welcome to Bannerman - an atmospheric medieval action/adventure game built around historically accurate swordfighting.
Before diving into this one I need to preface by saying that I am a big fan of European Medieval Martial Arts. Not only that, but I have practiced longsword fighting using the methods and techniques described in John Clements’ book on Medieval Swordsmanship as well as studying some of the surviving manuals from the likes of Talhoffer and Liechtenauer - which you can find available online for free.
While I am by no stretch of the imaginary a proper longsword fighter, medieval fighting has been a side-passion of mine long enough for me to have a pretty decent understanding of what it would look like in real life, as opposed to what we’re treated to in most mainstream media, at least until relatively recently.
So when you add this to the smooth animation and pixelart graphics, suffice to say that I’m a solid mark for Bannerman.
Realistic swordfighting
The fighting in Bannerman is quick and brutal. Much like the real thing, you can’t take many hits and your survival is based on skill, stamina management and timing. You could easily liken this to the current upswell of soulslike mechanics that have been showing up in games, but the fact that the game approaches combat from a historically accurate point of view, I believe sets Bannerman apart from actual soulslike titles that I’ve reviewed previously, like Immortal Planet or Dark Devotion.
Realistic medieval martial arts techniques
I was quite impressed with the realistic-looking animations when employing the equally-realistic swordfighting techniques. The game doesn’t feature the entire roster of guards and nuance of real-life medieval martial arts, but when making this sort of a game, a game that doesn’t strive to be a true-to-life simulation - there are some things that have to be left by the wayside in order to offer a fun experience that also rewards skill.
The choice of 16-bit graphics makes for an aesthetically interesting experience as well, and the dev uses the mood-creating potential of pixelart very well. Especially at the beginning of the game, there’s a scene which looks and almost sounds like something out of a Kurosawa film. So extra props for that as well.
The game looks maybe a bit TOO dark and earthy. It might have been part of the decision-making around keeping with the realistic approach - or it’s maybe because the entire game takes place in the autumn or something and there are no real sunny days. But that is something that stood out to me in not the most positive of ways, maybe it’s just not to my liking.
It’s not all realism though
It’s not all realism though, the game doesn’t set out to offer a proper simulation of medieval-style combat, because - quite smartly - the developer balanced the realism with some more game-like mechanics, meant to diversify the gameplay experience.
As such, you’ll find some special techniques throughout the playthrough, meant to aid you in your quest, as well as some fantasy elements here and there.
Which unfortunately I didn’t get to experience first hand because at a certain point during the second chapter of the game I met with one of my gaming banes, the one thing almost sure to make me stop playing something - the three-lever or three-switch puzzle, or any number lever puzzle in general.
So now I’ll be going on a minor tangent for this personal gripe of mine.
I don’t know how much longer this overused trope of gaming still has to exist in action/adventure or even RPG games. We have gone past trial-and-error methods of puzzle solving many moons ago, and I would usually consider it a sign of lazy design, because that’s the truth it is lazy design - but in this case the rest of the game’s mechanics are top notch, so I don’t know what happened or why this puzzle is here to begin with. If you still want a lever puzzle in your game, make a story around it, include in the gameplay narrative, make sure there are hints to the solution in your game-world so that it’s not just there to make me stop playing your otherwise good game.
Gauntlet and Practice
Thankfully though, even though I refused to play the rest of the game from that point onward, because fuck lever puzzles, the game does come with Gauntlet and Practice modes, which basically allow you to enjoy a large part of the game’s selling points - the fighting mechanics - without you having to actually go through the story.
In Practice mode you can fight every type of enemy in the game, so you can learn their tactics and as such use the right techniques to counteract them. You do need to defeat some enemies in order to unlock some other ones though, so I also enjoyed that little piece of old-school proper bonus gameplay feature.
In Gauntlet mode you get your chance at putting all those techniques into practice by going through each type of enemy one after another, in gauntlet-style combat. Again, a solid bonus gameplay feature.
In fact the Practice plus Gauntlet modes can work as their own stand-alone game, especially if you stop playing the game at the lever puzzle. I actually had a design idea about making exactly that some time ago, so now spurred on by Bannerman I might actually get to putting together a design document for it.
Super solid music
Another super solid part of the game is its very well-crafted soundtrack. I can say that the music is medieval-inspired, not medieval-replicating. Which is yet another good choice because as I said earlier, Bannerman isn’t going for a true-to-life simulation, so the music doesn’t have to be exactly that, it only has to be inspired and informed by medieval music, which it is, and is a pleasure to listen to.
Also in the Practice and Gauntlet modes you can choose which song to listen to, so you can go through all of them and settle on some favorites.
Conclusion
My earlier issue with the lever puzzle aside, I hope I made myself clear in saying that Bannerman is a solid game, great for those looking for some true skill in their 2D sword-focused combat games.
When you add up the fluid animation and great music, you have yourself a very nice package, but is a package worthy of 15 Euros - or equivalent in your region’s currency?
That, I can’t really say, and it will depend a lot on what it is that you’re looking for in the game. If what I said ticks most or all of your requirements then by all means, go for it, you’ll hella-enjoy it. On the other hand, if it only ticks a couple of them, add the game to your wishlist and wait for it to go on sale and grab it then.
So before I end the video, how about I jump into a bit of gameplay commentary so you can see it in action, and I’ll start it from the beginning so you can see that Kurosawa scene I was talking about.
And that’s about it for my Bannerman review and gameplay commentary, thanks for watching and if you enjoyed my video, do not forget to like it, comment, maybe share it if you found it informative or at least mildly-entertaining, and subscribe to my channel. Help my channel grow so I can bring the gospel of Nonsense to others. Seeya next time!
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Bannerman on Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/456170/Bannerman/
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