The Banner Saga 3 Kickstarter campaign begins

UPDATE 31ST JAN: Unsurprisingly The Banner Saga 3 is funded with miles to go. The $200,000 goal was reached within a week. How high can it go?

We're into stretch goal territory now and the first is fascinating: playable Dredge. They have been your enemy up until this point.

ORIGINAL STORY 24TH JAN: The Banner Saga 3 Kickstarter campaign has begun, seeking $200,000 for the third and final instalment in the series. There's no mention of console or mobile versions, nor a release date, although the campaign's estimated date of delivery is December 2018.

The series skipped crowdfunding for the second instalment, The Banner Saga 2, but now needs it again.

"Making games is an intricate business," Stoic said in its pitch, "and we take it very seriously. Stoic formed in 2012 with the launch of the Kickstarter for Banner Saga, and a humble ask of $100,000. We were blown away by the response and support of the community who raised more than $700,000! That first Kickstarter campaign helped us launch the game, develop and launch the sequel and accrue many awards in the process. Putting all the money we raised back into the development of the game raised the bar higher than we could have managed on our own.

"Now we're back, in a similar position as before, hoping you'll support Banner Saga 3 to make this game just as special. We're still solidly indie, not accepting any investor funding so Kickstarter is still a great way to rally the community to show support for the game, while letting us call the shots on the games we make.

"We're paying for most of the game ourselves, but the funds we're asking for will enable us to take the time we need and bring the band back together one more time!"

Some of the areas the money will be spent on include hiring composer Austin Wintory, and an orchestra to play his score, plus an animation studio to do fancy designs, a sound studio to do fancy sounds, and a recording studio in Iceland so everything sounds suitably Viking-ish.

The Banner Saga 3 will carry the story on where The Banner Saga 2 left off. As with the second game, the choices you made during your previous adventure will carry across. There's not much story detail other than that The Darkness will play a major role as you explore it in the game. "Interact with the vast city of Arberrang and travel its streets," the pitch said. "The gods may be dead, but their godstones and their world, remain full of wonder."

Both The Banner Saga and The Banner Saga 2 come Recommended by Eurogamer. "The Banner Saga's strong mechanics are enhanced by a compelling storyline and characters as colourful as its visual palette," we said in The Banner Saga review.

In The Banner Saga 2 review, we said: "Gorgeous and mournful, The Banner Saga 2 is enriched by a story that meaningfully remembers the choices we've made.

I spoke to Stoic about the making of The Banner Saga back in 2013, back when the team was working in a shed of an office behind a bar (doesn't sound that bad).