The Banner Saga

A difficult one to rate. If you are interested in story and character rich games then you will probably like it. If the plot was presented as a two part movie I would gladly watch it, especially because the artwork really fits the theme. Soundtrack is also really good.
However, if you want to get this game because you've seen "turn-based" or "tactical" tags then I'm not really sure I would recommend it. Don't get me wrong, I think the overall gameplay concept is interesting and well made. The problem lies in the fact that it is very repetitive and lacks diversity. Every battle feels the same because fields and enemies are very similar.
Caravan management is interesting at the beginning but gets boring as the times goes on. Decisions you have to make are similar to each other and outcomes feel a little bit random at times.
While I don't mind several different character classes, I do feel there were a few too many. I made it to the end game and still wasn't quite sure what each of my heroes exactly does.
Overall rating would be 7 out of 10. I got it discounted and would encourage you to do the same. I don't think I'd pay the full price and in fact I'm currently waiting until the next two parts go on sale.

Got into The Banner Saga completely blind and what I discovered is an absolutely gorgeous, engrossing RPG that features well balanced and pleasingly tactical turn-based combat. A journey that's definitely worth taking, making you eager to jump straight into the next two titles of the series.
The soundtrack is on point, building the atmosphere perfectly.
Unique artwork, beautiful colors and a huge world that makes you want to know more.
The script is the strongest element of the game, as it's unpredictable, giving you literally full freedom to make every choice, and believe me every choice matters and changes the progression.
Make allies as you travel with your caravan across this stunning yet harsh landscape, take everything into account no matter how simple it is and be sure that at the end of the journey your time will be well spent.

The Banner Saga 1 is the start of the Banner trilogy, and if you don't find any enjoyment out of it, it's not worth playing the rest of them. But I personally quite enjoyed the game. It's a very tactical game but has an overarching, greatly done story combined with music that really feels like they've gone in-depth for the lore building of the world, as everything just feels like it could be real, which is the best-case scenario for any fantasy-based story.
The story starts off a little slow in the first game, but if you enjoy the gameplay, that's a small obstacle. This game is definitely worth trekking through to get further in the series.

The Banner Saga is first and foremost a story-heavy game with lots of reading. If that's not your jam then this game is not for you.
The combat is secondary and is made up of relatively simple turn-based combat. Keep in mind that there is a difficulty setting in the option menu that you can turn down if you want to almost entirely enjoy the game for its story.
There is minimal party management as well, nothing complicated.
The story is wonderful and so is the art, and the soundtrack and SFX is very impressive and adds heavily to the atmosphere when playing, stereo mixing was the cherry on top.
It does have voice acting as well but from start to finish most dialogue is not voiced, which I must admit is disappointing.
If you're in the mood for a viking-inspired story game then this is for you, and it's not for you if you want to play this game for the combat because that is not the main focus.
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The combat was a little confusing at first since it's different than other TTRPGS - essentially it boils down to "Do I want to lower this enemy's defense so I drain more health later?" or "Do I go for the hit now." I've only been playing on easy so far in order to get used to the combat, but it's still pretty engaging. the setting is pretty cool in that it's not about saving the world or saving everything - it's about surviving and shaping the two narratives, and the character design + animations are pretty good. A few critiques I do have are that it can be hard to see where the controlled character is when there is a huge mob of allies + enemies and the character designs on the battlefield look blurry when you zoom in close to them.

Other than that it's been one of my go-to games to enjoy on-and-off. Even if you are someone who isn't familiar with any of the lore or mythology, the combat, banter, and situations your characters are put in make it worth it.

This game pretty much has it all, great music, story, choices, game play and art style. It's short, but is well executed in the time frame that it takes to complete. Highly recommend.

I don't play tactics games like this ever, but the Oregon Trail on-rails style storytelling paired with the absolutely breathtaking art style made this one of my all time favorite series. I didn't love the end, but this is probably the most beautiful game in terms of art direction I've ever played.