I might as well use this review to recommend the whole trilogy, because these games literally feel like the Lord of the Rings of gaming. Not only because of the consistent top quality of its elements across all entries (making me feel hard-pressed to pick one as a favorite or better over the other), but also because it never ceased to amaze me how Stoic managed to evoke such feelings of Tolkienesque epic, like adventurous journeying, unique world-building, and apocalyptic stakes, through what is essentially a visual novel coupled with turn-based combat.
Speaking of combat, I've seen a lot of people online struggling with it, myself included initially, because it truly is such an open sandbox for tactics due to all the different classes and characters (who are a very endearing cast, btw.) available and how they can complement each other, making battles very engaging, tense, addicting, and particularly rewarding when pulled off. But it can still be a lot to take in and handle initially. Which is the reason why I just wished BS1 did a better job of tutorializing all those possible strategies to ease players in more properly; only in the second entry is an attempt made through optional training challenges at camp, which is a case of better late than never, at least.
Another con I can sadly think of, is the regrettable state of Banner Saga 3 stability-wise. Crashes are constant, were never fixed, and can only be made less frequent by disabling cloud saves, for some reason. So keep that in mind if you go in. But don't let this mar the final entry's biggest accomplishment, which ties directly to the biggest pro of the entire trilogy, which I really wanted to touch upon:
Which is that, narrative-wise, as I already said, it's incredible how much of a compelling world they managed to build and convey through deceptively simple yet well-executed mechanics, a gorgeous art style, gripping dialogue, and great overall writing. The way your decisions truly matter and can come back to massively bite you in the next game (because yes, your choices do carry over across the trilogy) not only makes for a lot of replay value potential, but also makes the entire experience even more immersive, mutable, and therefore, alive. Making the conclusion of the story quite intense, as the payoff will be entirely shaped by how you've been playing. Adding to the feeling that this whole trilogy is one big cohesive story that was split into three volumes as if for easier digestion, again, just like Lord of the Rings, but one you can play and live as your very own epic saga.
PS: Also, the LOTR parallelism extends to the music. Austin Wintory did a fantastic job with the soundtracks for all three games.
