Stoic Studio has announced a Kickstarter for the final and third entry in their The Banner Saga trilogy.

The independent developer is looking for $200,000 to fund the core development of The Banner Saga 3, on PC and Mac. Featured above, you can view the game’s Kickstarter pitch video.

It’s worth mentioning the Kickstarter page only lists the game as having PC and Mac versions in the initial funding goal, with a tentative release window in December of 2018.

Here’s a rundown of the entire game, via their Kickstarter page:

The Rundown

Banner Saga 3 is the highly anticipated final game of an award winning trilogy. It’s a role-playing game merged with turn-based strategy, wrapped into an adventure mini-series about Vikings.

Many modern games play it safe – you are the chosen one who always saves the day. Our game is different, you can’t take anything for granted in Banner Saga.

Picture the classic tactical strategy games of your childhood but refined for the modern age. It’s not about grinding to get past the next fight. Every encounter, every decision you make has heavy and sometimes far-reaching consequences. It throws you into the end of the world and asks,”how do you deal with this”?

Banner Saga 3 is aimed at people who appreciate art, story and strategy.

Tactical Combat

Battles in Banner Saga are turn-based, harkening back to the classic “Tactics” days of gaming. The combat is straight-forward and easy to learn, but after a few battles you’ll realize the game’s simplicity hides a vast tactical depth. Each turn is an engrossing challenge for even the most seasoned tactician.

Build your party from a roster of over 40 unique characters, each with different abilities that interact in varying ways. Each unit has a combat style all their own, but it’s how they work together that counts and a well-chosen roster will equal more than the sum of its parts.

Banner Saga combat has a classic turn-based gameplay, with a strong emphasis on tactics over brute force and endless grinding.

Epic Story

Banner Saga draws heavily from Norse culture and mythology while creating its own identity. There is a low-fantasy approach to Viking themes. Giants – yes. Horned helmets – no.

The choices you make as events unfold have a huge effect 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. You’ll care what happens to them.

Banner Saga 3 is a mature story for adults, which means forming relationships and making tough decisions; not sex, violence and swearing.

Vast Landscapes

Travel through stunning landscapes that evoke films from the golden age of animation. Sweeping vistas straight out of a Norse saga will accompany an emerging storyline and pin the imagination squarely in the realm of a Wagnerian Opera.

The Darkness plays a major role in Banner Saga 3 and your exploration of it will be unlike anything you have experienced in the previous sagas. Interact with the vast city of Arberrang and travel its streets. The gods may be dead, but their godstones and their world, remain full of wonder.

Every scene in the game is painstakingly hand painted with the intent of transporting you into a bleak yet beautiful world.

Hero Progression

As the heroes gain experience in battle you can modify their stats, gain extra abilities, equip mystical items, choose Heroic Titles and more!

Individually, heroes can be strong, but as the game evolves you’ll devise new strategies on how they work as a warband. Playing off each other’s strengths will turn what seems like a rout into a great victory. In camp, rebalance each hero to fit your evolving team dynamic.

Hand Animated

Most combat animations are done using rotoscoped, frame-by-frame video shot in Arnie’s front yard. Each ‘hit animation’ may take 20 to 30 shots to get right and each ‘death animation’… well, pummeling the heck out of each other to make every action in the game look authentic. Our friends at Powerhouse Animation then take all the raw footage and add even more drama to the action. The cinemas are all done in 2D and drawn by hand using good old-fashioned traditional animation techniques. It all comes together to give the effect of playing a film from the golden age of animation.

We started this game old-school and, by Dundr’s beard, we’ll end it old-school.

A Summary of The Saga

• Banner Saga 1 threw you into a deep, strange world where the gods were dead. The sun had stopped. A colossal serpent leveled mountains, searching for answers hidden in an ancient language as darkness roiled on the horizon. You guided your flock against overwhelming odds, to protect the ones you loved. How did you fare as the world began its end?
• Banner Saga 2 remembered your deeds, both wise and foolish. Calamity tested your leadership. Friends became enemies and enemies, allies. You walked in deep places, and glimpsed places deeper still. Always one more hill to crest. Did you endure to the great city of Arberrang? Were you welcomed or feared within its black wall while the world outside was breaking?
• Banner Saga 3 concludes the tale. Steel your nerves, step forth into the approaching abyss. Cross the threshold from daylight without end into untold darkness. Warped lands within threaten your sanity, and a writhing wyrm tests your mettle. But here, in the darkness, is where secrets are brought to light and motives are made clear. Are your friends who they claim to be? They all look to you. What story will your banner tell?