Hey really happy to have you here Zack! I've got a few recommendations. For manga, if you want something intense but a bit under the radar, Made in Abyss or Blame! are incredible. Anime-wise, Mushishi and Kaiba are great too.
For RPGs that won’t murder your laptop, Pyre, GreedFall, or The Banner Saga series are super fun and don’t take up tons of space.
I haven’t had the chance to play The Banner Saga myself yet, but after watching several gameplay videos, I can already tell it’s something special. There’s a quiet beauty to it - a kind of somber grace that immediately stands out in a world full of loud, flashy RPGs. Even as an observer, I could feel its atmosphere seep through the screen. The combination of its art, tone, and combat gives the game a soul that’s hard to miss.
The first thing that caught my attention was the art. It’s absolutely stunning - every scene looks hand-painted, almost like a moving tapestry. The snowy landscapes, the crimson banners swaying in the wind, and the subtle details in the character designs all feel deliberate and crafted with love. Watching the caravan move across the frozen horizon feels almost meditative, like you’re watching a painting slowly come to life. It’s rare for a game to capture that sense of visual poetry. The art alone tells a story, and it's a story of one of endurance, struggle, and fleeting warmth in a cold world.
Then there’s the tone. The Banner Saga radiates a quiet melancholy - not the kind of sadness that drags you down, but one that invites reflection. The world feels ancient and fragile, a place where hope is precious and hard-earned. Even without playing, I could sense the emotional weight behind every dialogue choice and every step of the journey. The story doesn’t seem to glorify heroism or victory; it’s about survival, leadership, and the cost of decisions. It feels mature in the best way - understated yet deeply human.
What surprised me most was how the combat blends seamlessly with the storytelling. From the videos I watched, it’s not your typical “power fantasy” strategy game. The turn-based battles demand careful thought - positioning and timing matter more than raw strength. Each move looks deliberate, every attack a risk. It’s the kind of system that rewards patience and planning rather than brute force. And what really drew me in is how the consequences from battle spill into the story itself. Losing a fight or making a bad decision doesn’t just mean “game over” - it means living with what comes next. That level of narrative consequence makes the experience feel personal, even when you’re just watching. It feels like an emotional journey - a story told in brushstrokes and quiet moments, where every choice carries weight. There’s something poetic about it: a world on the edge of collapse, yet people still marching forward beneath their tattered banners. If just watching the game can stir this much emotion, I can only imagine how powerful it must feel to actually play it.
