The Banner Saga 2 is finally here and fans of the original are hoping that Stoic have taken note of their feedback to make the sequel even better. Check out Chella’s The Banner Saga 2 playthrough for the first hour of gameplay and first impressions.

If you’re not familiar with the game, Banner Saga is a Norse-style strategy role-playing game. Know for stunning art and a strong, emotional story, The Banner Saga struck a chord. However, detractors were disappointed by what they called the repetitive combat sections.

Cue The Banner Saga 2, which offers a deeper combat system and new characters and races. Fortunately, Stoic have kept all the stuff people loved, such as the gorgeous animation and the mega feels storytelling.

The old gods are dead, the sun is frozen in the sky, leaving a cold, twilight, wasteland. To top it all, a scourge of enemies called the Dredge presses forward like an unstoppable force. Food is scarce, happiness is in short supply and tensions are high between tribes, such as the horned giant Varl and various human communities. But they have to stick together to have a hope, in a world where people die by the sword or the axe and the magical menders are the only ones who seem to know what’s going on.

Chella dives in to see how The Banner Saga 2 picks up the story.