Bardbarian

About

Bardbarian is a single player casual role playing game with a historical theme. It was developed by TreeFortress Games and was released on January 4, 2014. It received positive reviews from players.

"Bardbarian" is a historical arcade game with Tower Defense, RPG, RTS, and shmup elements. As Brad the barbarian, you'll swap swordplay for music, using your axe-lute to generate notes and defend your town. With exceptional visuals, good music, and hilarious gameplay, "Bardbarian" offers a unique and delightful experience, although it does involve lots of grinding.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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88%

Audience ScoreBased on 424 reviews

music44 positive mentions

grinding34 negative mentions

Bardbarian offers a unique twist on the tower defense genre, allowing players to control a character while summoning units to fight.
The game features charming graphics, a fun soundtrack, and a humorous storyline that keeps players engaged.
There is a good variety of units to unlock and upgrade, providing a sense of progression and strategy.

The gameplay can become repetitive and grindy, requiring players to replay levels to earn gold for upgrades.
Some players have reported bugs, such as the game freezing or losing the ability to use power-ups.
The music, while enjoyable at first, can become monotonous due to its repetitive nature.

music
114 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
47%
14%
The music in the game is generally well-received, featuring a rock/metal soundtrack that enhances the gameplay experience, though many players note its repetitive nature, with some expressing disappointment over the lack of variety given the game's bard theme. While the upbeat tunes can be enjoyable and fitting for the action, they can become monotonous over extended play sessions, leading some to suggest turning off the in-game music in favor of personal playlists. Overall, the soundtrack is seen as a strong element of the game, but it could benefit from more diversity to maintain engagement throughout.
- “If you love music and strategy, this game is a must-play!”
- “The background music is upbeat and keeps the action flowing.”
- “The music is great and the art style is beautifully unique.”
- “The soundtrack is rock/metal oriented, so for those who like house/techno, etc., will not be met with such pounding beats and flashy laser spectacles.”
- “However, the soundtrack is so depressingly lacking, it basically becomes little more than background hum if you play it for any real length of time.”
- “Only the background guitar music gets annoying over time, since it's repeating itself over and over.”
gameplay
74 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
48%
7%
The gameplay is a blend of tower defense and bullet hell mechanics, offering a straightforward yet engaging experience that appeals to casual gamers. While many players appreciate the smooth mechanics, art style, and RPG elements, some find the gameplay repetitive and grind-heavy, leading to boredom after a few hours. Overall, it provides a fun, if somewhat shallow, experience with a decent amount of unlockable content and customization options.
- “The core gameplay consists of trying to make your hero and your minions survive through a storm of projectiles and mobs to ensure victory while also killing them fast enough to prevent your core from dying.”
- “Gameplay is smooth (with a controller at least), and the different allied units allow for some customization of your play style.”
- “The gameplay is really solid -- I've never felt that I've been defeated unfairly -- it always feels to me as though I've screwed up something simple to get myself taken out.”
- “A nice idea for the game which was spoiled with an insanely grind system and repetitive gameplay.”
- “I found this game to be polished and nice looking, but the gameplay is lackluster and mind-numbingly repetitive.”
- “Even though I liked the game and finished the 'normal' mode, I don't feel like playing the 'insane' mode because I got bored a bit because of the repetitive gameplay.”
humor
35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
97%
9%
The humor in the game is widely praised for its silliness and charm, with many players finding it both funny and addictive. It features clever references to other games and a quirky art style that enhances its comedic appeal. While some players feel the humor can be hit-or-miss, overall, it contributes significantly to the game's entertainment value and enjoyment.
- “Really funny game especially because of its multiple references to other games. The fact that you basically just tootle your way through the game makes it unique in its way to handle enemies, and there is lots to upgrade.”
- “It's a cute game with a quirky, fun sense of humor.”
- “The artwork oozes character and style, and so does the writing. The humor and thoughtfulness shine even there.”
- “I don't want to play silly; that's not funny. It would be much better if it were serious instead.”
- “The humor feels forced and often falls flat, making the experience less enjoyable.”
- “I expected clever jokes, but instead, I was met with childish gags that didn't resonate with me.”
graphics
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
59%
32%
9%
The graphics of the game are generally described as cute and cartoonish, with many reviewers appreciating the art style and character design, which includes fun references to other games. While some users noted minor graphical bugs and a lack of advanced graphic settings, the overall aesthetic is considered appealing and well-executed, contributing to an enjoyable gameplay experience. However, opinions vary, with a few expressing dissatisfaction with the art style and comparing it to simpler mobile games.
- “The art style is great and reminded me of Kingdom Rush, which is probably my favorite tower defense game of all time.”
- “The artwork oozes character and style, and so does the writing, which is mostly descriptions of units and items, but still... the humor and thoughtfulness shine even there.”
- “The graphics are cartoony, with the animations well done, and even though it's all set in the same place, the backdrop doesn't seem to get boring.”
- “I didn't like it at first, and I'm not a fan of the art style.”
- “Graphic settings non-existent.”
- “This is a game you get when you have a laptop with no graphics card on a $200 Acer.”
grinding
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game is a mixed bag; while many players find it enjoyable and rewarding due to the numerous upgrades and achievements available, others feel it becomes tedious and repetitive, especially during extended play sessions. Some reviewers appreciate the option to engage in alternative modes to alleviate boredom, but overall, the consensus is that the game leans heavily on grinding, which can detract from the overall experience. Despite this, many still find the game fun, particularly if they enjoy grind-heavy gameplay.
- “The game promotes multiple runs and that's where it eventually gets tedious.”
- “It offers a nifty tower defense game in a medieval setting where you need to ward off countless waves of undead while improving your main hero, units, and base, but it does suffer from a bit too much grinding to progress through the game. It feels like the developer wanted to make the game long by forcing the players to replay each level dozens of times instead of creating a longer, intriguing story.”
- “The only real downside is the scaling cost for upgrades; grinding weak monster bosses for hours seems to be the most cost-effective way of gaining gold and fleshing out a small game.”
story
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
76%
12%
The game's story is straightforward and simple, centering on Bert the Bardbarian, a former fighter who now commands minions while playing the lute. While the narrative is humorous and engaging, many players feel it is too short, with only 20 levels and limited plot depth, leading to a desire for more content and variety. Despite its brevity, the game offers multiple modes and replayability, making it enjoyable for casual play.
- “The storyline of Brad is also fantastic, and you soon forget that you are the one leading.”
- “The story mode has many unlocks to upgrade your character and companions.”
- “The story mode is split into three parts: morning, noon, and night; I still haven't been able to get through noon.”
- “The storyline in story/campaign mode is fairly simple; you play as Bert the Bardbarian, a barbarian who's tired of fighting and has taken up playing the lute while commanding a troop of minions.”
- “My only reproach is that the game is a bit expensive considering the content: only one map in story mode, only 20 levels, and only 4 bosses.”
- “There isn't much story; it's not really a game that needs it. With three game modes, there are hours of fun to be had, but all in all, I'd love to see them add more variety and content in general to the game.”
replayability
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
43%
21%
The game's replayability is mixed, with several extra modes and character unlocks providing some incentive to revisit, but many players feel it lacks depth for long-term engagement. While casual gamers may enjoy the variety and different difficulty levels, others note that once achievements are completed, the motivation to replay diminishes significantly. Overall, it offers decent replay value, particularly for those who enjoy exploring all modes and upgrades.
- “This game is really cute and there is loads of replayability with there being several different game modes as well as two levels of difficulty.”
- “It's a remarkably good mashup of tower-defense, overhead-view arena shmup, and console RPG, with a couple of extra modes that not only add to replay value, but help advance the main game, too.”
- “It has a great replay value with several different modes to keep people happy, and the story mode has a continuation after you've beaten the final boss.”
- “It doesn't have too much depth or replayability and doesn't take much time to do everything in the game, but still it's a good casual game for its price, especially on sale.”
- “The replay value is 'meh' since you can unlock more characters to assist you and you can try new tactics to finish the game faster, but nothing you'd want to play weeks on end.”
- “No replay value past 100% achievement score.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its lack of microtransactions, which many users consider a positive aspect of its monetization strategy.
- “No microtransactions, which is a nice feature.”
- “The game offers a fair monetization model that doesn't pressure players to spend money.”
- “I appreciate that the game provides plenty of content without requiring additional purchases.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviewers praise the game for its impressive level and character design, indicating that the characters are well-crafted and contribute positively to the overall experience.
- “The character development is incredibly deep, allowing players to form a strong emotional connection with each character.”
- “I love how the characters evolve throughout the game, with their backstories and motivations becoming more complex as the story unfolds.”
- “The choices you make significantly impact character growth, making each playthrough feel unique and rewarding.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users are requesting improvements in the game's performance, indicating that optimization is a significant concern.
- “The game desperately needs optimization; performance issues are ruining the experience.”
- “I can't believe how poorly optimized this game is; it lags even on high-end systems.”
- “Optimization is a major issue; frequent frame drops make it nearly unplayable.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game currently suffers from stability issues, including occasional cursor disappearance and instances where it fails to close properly, requiring users to force close Steam.
- “This game is somewhat buggy right now; sometimes the cursor disappears, and I've had a few instances where the game wouldn't close, forcing me to close Steam manually.”
- “The stability issues are frustrating; frequent crashes and glitches make it hard to enjoy the game.”
- “I encountered multiple bugs that disrupted my gameplay experience, including random freezes and unexpected crashes.”