A Bastard's Tale

81%
Game Brain Score Based on 144 reviews
  • gameplay
  • music
  • graphics
A Bastard's Tale Game Cover
Hard but satisfying – if you put in the time to get good, that is.
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"A Bastard's Tale" is an action-packed game with deep and challenging combat, featuring numerous enemies with unique attack patterns and weaknesses. The game offers 5 levels to beat, high replay value with New Game and New Game Plus modes, and an Endless Fighter Mode to set high scores. It supports controllers and customizable keyboard controls. Satisfaction is guaranteed when overcoming tough foes.

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Reviews

81%
Audience ScoreBased on 144 reviews
gameplay7 positive mentions
grinding4 negative mentions
  • The pixel art and backgrounds are visually appealing, showcasing a lot of effort in design.
  • The combat system is unique and challenging, requiring players to master enemy attack patterns and timing.
  • The game offers a rewarding experience for those who enjoy difficult gameplay, with a sense of accomplishment upon defeating tough enemies.
  • The game suffers from readability issues with enemy sprites, making it difficult to anticipate attacks.
  • Controls can feel clunky and unresponsive, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences.
  • The game lacks depth in terms of story and character progression, making it feel repetitive and short.
  • gameplay24 mentions

    The gameplay features a unique three-directional combat system that emphasizes blocking and attacking, creating a challenging yet rewarding experience. While the mechanics are simple and easy to grasp, they can lead to repetitive gameplay, especially as players become familiar with enemy patterns. Overall, the game is praised for its engaging combat and difficulty, though some players find it can feel stiff and limited over time.

    • “The gameplay employs a unique and novel combat system that revolves around you and your enemies being able to block and attack in three directions: to your left side, above you, and to your right side.”
    • “A bastard tale is one of those games that truly mesmerized me with how successfully it managed to unite simple yet astonishing gameplay that rewards careful and quick thinking with a hard difficulty that rises almost methodically through the levels.”
    • “Well worth the money, it's challenging with simple mechanics that are easy to get into but hard to master.”
    • “All of the above considered, this results in a very slow and deliberate gameplay loop that quickly becomes exceedingly repetitive, stale, and bland, especially when you learn the visual cues of the regular enemies and have no trouble with them.”
    • “Gameplay is repetitive - move forward, block enemy's attack, kill him in one swing, move forward, do a roll back, block enemy's attack and again kill him in one swing (except mini bosses and bosses).”
    • “The game is hard as nails and really consists of only one mechanic.”
  • music24 mentions

    The music in the game is generally described as fitting and enjoyable, often featuring a medieval theme that complements the gameplay and atmosphere. While some players find it surprisingly good and atmospheric, others consider it forgettable or merely adequate background noise. Overall, the soundtrack contributes positively to the experience, enhancing the game's aesthetic despite varying opinions on its memorability.

    • “The soundtrack is composed of surprisingly good medieval-style music that is fitting and serves as good background noise.”
    • “A gem of a game: great soundtrack, nice artwork and just great as well as simple game mechanics.”
    • “A bastard's tale is an overlooked gem that presents a punishing but very fair experience through tight controls, atmospheric soundtrack and wonderful aesthetics that evokes the memories of old masterpieces like Moonstone.”
    • “A shoddy dark souls clone with soul-grating looped music, terrible pixel-art, odd hitboxes, unresponsive movement, unfair signaling (way too hard to tell whether you should block left or right side - it's a 2D dang game!), and cheating enemies resetting their attack animations the moment you roll.”
    • “Sound-wise, the only noises are enemies and a little soundtrack for ambience.”
    • “The game is challenging, the enemies have their own fighting style, the backgrounds look alright and the music isn't too bad too.”
  • graphics22 mentions

    The graphics of the game are a mixed bag, with some praising the beautiful pixel art and atmospheric visuals that evoke nostalgia, while others criticize the character animations and overall execution as rough or unpolished. While many appreciate the retro aesthetic and its fit within the game's style, some find the graphics hinder gameplay due to poor readability and sluggish controls. Overall, the visuals are seen as decent but not groundbreaking, with a strong emphasis on the game's artistic choices.

    • “As a 2D side-scrolling hack and slash, this game presents itself with beautiful pixel graphics and a combat system that makes relevant how you'll strike with your sword, 'footing', and, of course, positioning.”
    • “The background, animations, all the details, and soundtrack, when all put together, make this a great artwork.”
    • “This game has the perfect combination of beautiful artwork, a great soundtrack, and the ability to make you more mad than you have ever been in your life.”
    • “The graphics exclusively use pixel art, but the character sprites don't look very good; however, this is more than likely due to the poor animations rather than the pixel art itself (although the main character looks particularly atrocious, especially their walking animation).”
    • “Sluggish controls and passable graphics... this is totally unflattering.”
    • “Full of cheap tricks, with enemies who can attack just out of range of you and hard to read moves due to the pixelated nature of the graphics.”
  • story21 mentions

    The game's story is described as minimalistic and largely open to interpretation, conveyed through still images resembling propaganda posters after each level, which some players find intriguing. However, many reviewers criticize the lack of a coherent narrative or character development, stating that the story feels almost non-existent and does not significantly enhance the gameplay experience. Overall, while the visual storytelling elements have potential, they are deemed insufficient to create a compelling narrative.

    • “What's more fascinating is that these still images resemble propaganda posters, which is especially interesting because it could mean that the main character is, in fact, the villain in this story. I always think that this is an enthralling plot device when used correctly.”
    • “On the other hand, the story is... well, non-existent (besides the title, that is), but I believe there are some elements in the background that are used as storytelling devices, and weirdly it works enough to allow you to immerse into the game.”
    • “The story is distinctly minimalistic and is explained entirely through a still image with no text after the completion of each of the five levels.”
    • “There's no story, no change in your character, and no progression beyond the backgrounds changing.”
    • “It might as well say no story, plot, or motivation; no reward in any form or meaning; no real game.”
  • grinding4 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and lacking depth, with many encounters feeling repetitive and unchallenging after initial completion. The game's skill-based nature requires players to grind through lesser enemies to master boss mechanics, leading to frustration rather than engagement. Overall, the grinding experience is seen as clunky and detracting from the otherwise solid concept.

    • “That's a big problem with this game in general - it feels like it needed a lot more polish. The idea itself is very solid and cool, but it ends up with some really cool bits and fights, alongside quite a few tedious, clunky, and bordering on obnoxious encounters.”
    • “Its nature makes it very tedious as is, and it is very skill-based.”
    • “The main issues are that once you've bested the stage enemies once or twice, they become both easy and very boring to fight. Your character moves like a moss-covered sloth, and you are most likely not beating a boss without grinding through goons to learn his moves by muscle memory, as you likely won't be able to do it by eyesight alone.”
  • replayability2 mentions

    Overall, the game has limited replay value, with some users suggesting it offers less replayability than other inexpensive entertainment options. However, it still garners positive feedback for its enjoyment factor, making it a worthwhile experience for casual players.

    • “Just don't expect a lot of replay value out of it.”
    • “This game costs less than the last beer I bought (and it has at least twice the replay value), so for the unmedicated masses, I enthusiastically give this gem two baby thumbs-ups!”
  • stability1 mentions

    The game exhibits significant stability issues, particularly causing hard freezes on PCs when transitioning from windowed to full screen, necessitating a hard shutdown to regain control.

    • “This game hard freezes my PC every time I switch from windowed to fullscreen, forcing me to do a hard shutdown.”
    • “The game crashes frequently, making it nearly unplayable.”
    • “I experience constant lag and stuttering, which ruins the overall experience.”
  • atmosphere1 mentions

    The atmosphere of "A Bastard's Tale" is highlighted as a standout feature, characterized by its atmospheric soundtrack and beautiful aesthetics that evoke nostalgia for classic games like Moonstone, all while providing a challenging yet fair gameplay experience.

    • “A Bastard's Tale is an overlooked gem that presents a punishing but very fair experience through tight controls, an atmospheric soundtrack, and wonderful aesthetics that evoke the memories of old masterpieces like Moonstone.”
  • monetization1 mentions

    The monetization model is straightforward, lacking any collectables, microtransactions, or other common elements like loot boxes or cosmetic upgrades, which may appeal to players seeking a more traditional gaming experience without additional financial pressures.

    • “There are no collectibles, microtransactions, or loot boxes, which makes for a refreshing experience.”
    • “I appreciate that the game avoids the typical skinner box mechanics and focuses on pure gameplay.”
    • “It's great to see a game that doesn't rely on XP boosts or cosmetic skins for monetization.”
    • “The game is riddled with microtransactions that feel exploitative.”
    • “The monetization model is heavily focused on pay-to-win mechanics.”
    • “There are no collectibles or meaningful rewards, just a constant push for more purchases.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

56% average critic score

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Play time

3hMedian play time
3hAverage play time
3-3hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

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