15 Best Indie Video Games Of 2016 (So Far)

13. The Banner Saga 2

Following Final Fantasy swapping its turn-based combat for 'real-time' in the early 2000s, the industry's spotlight moved away from this combat model in popular RPGs - which I still maintain wasn't only a mistake for that franchise, but is precisely why a package as elegantly put together as The Banner Saga 2's is so exquisitely refreshing.

Allowing you to carry forward your save from the original (TBS is a three-part epic, so playing the first is a must to get a handle on the narrative groundwork), this sequel doesn't let up on the dour and desperate tone already established. The world itself is still dying, allegiances are still forged through necessity rather than preference, and combat is forever a weighty, tactile affair, with victory always being snatched from the jaws of defeat.

You'll attempt to keep your war-torn bunch alive with stocks of supplies, foster a smaller troupe of specialists to deploy in combat, make a ton of decisions that can see characters lost in between skirmishes - and generally feel the weight of surviving in this tumultuous time.

TV may have Game of Thrones for its dark, cerebral fantasy needs, but gaming has The Witcher 3 and The Banner Saga to fly that flag even higher.