The Bard's Tale IV

68%
Game Brain Score Based on 1,071 reviews
  • music
  • graphics
  • story
The Bard's Tale IV Game Cover
The Bard's Tale 4: Barrows Deep is a rousing but technically rough adventure driven by great music, clever puzzles, and challenging turn-based combat
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"The Bard's Tale IV" is a heroic adventure game with 40+ hours of gameplay and over 100 pieces of music. Customize your experience with various sliders, and create your party of characters from 4 distinct classes, each with unique skills. Explore a rich world filled with quests, enemies, and items as you face an evil that has waited patiently in the shadows.

  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Cloud
  • Linux
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
  • Xbox Game Pass
  • x_box_cloud_gaming
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

68%
Audience ScoreBased on 1,071 reviews
music231 positive mentions
optimization77 negative mentions
  • Great atmosphere and music that enhances the experience.
  • Engaging turn-based combat with tactical depth and character progression.
  • Interesting puzzles that provide a good challenge without being overly frustrating.
  • Frequent bugs and crashes that disrupt gameplay.
  • Long loading times and performance issues, even on high-end systems.
  • Limited character customization and a confusing skill system that can lead to frustrating choices.
  • music404 mentions

    The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising its exceptional quality, particularly the authentic Gaelic and Celtic influences that enhance the overall atmosphere. Players appreciate how the soundtrack integrates seamlessly into gameplay, often using music as a mechanic for puzzles and character interactions. While some noted occasional repetitiveness, the majority found the music to be a standout feature, significantly contributing to the game's immersive experience.

    • “The music is absolutely fantastic, and I love how the story reflects upon the previous Bard's Tale games.”
    • “The music becomes spectacular, particularly in the countryside/forest maps, which I would revisit for the singing alone.”
    • “The atmosphere, the mesmerizing folk music in the background in the various worlds you enter while playing.”
    • “The bard singing upon loading the game and at other points has turned the game into a personal horror and there does not appear to be any apparent way to disable singing music.”
    • “One set is the epitome of torture as the sanctuary in the Inshriach insisted on playing its melody at an atrocious and arrogant, repetitive and I hate this music level of stupidity while you are trying to figure out what you are supposed to do next.”
    • “Even with master volume at 10% and all other volumes at 20%, sound levels are all over the place (a harpist's music follows me through the town, sounding louder than if he was standing next to me, but my footsteps are fine), and many are louder than anything else on the system.”
  • graphics391 mentions

    The graphics in the game receive mixed reviews, with many players noting that while some environments are visually appealing and atmospheric, character models and animations often appear dated or subpar. Performance issues, including frequent stuttering and low frame rates even on high-end systems, detract from the overall experience, leading to frustration among players. Despite these shortcomings, some appreciate the nostalgic art style and find the graphics acceptable for a game of this genre, especially when considering its budget constraints.

    • “The graphics are quite beautiful (better water than Skyrim, hah!), the dungeons are spooky and pretty, and while they are based on grids like the old Bard's Tale, there is actually a lot of verticality to them as well.”
    • “This is a dungeon crawler in the spirit of the classic games, only with interesting, new and updated gameplay systems and absolutely gorgeous visuals.”
    • “The graphics are decent but the game does run slow at max settings on my MSI GT-70.”
    • “It's quite buggy (there're no bugs that prevent you from finishing the game, but some of them weren't fixed since the release) and unoptimized, 'cause graphics aren't top level, but on my okayish rig I saw constant freezes and fps rarely was above 50.”
    • “The graphics are poor for a top-tier game like this... and while the mechanics are fairly faithful (turn-based stationary combat), that format has not aged well at all.”
    • “The graphics are woeful for 2018 and it runs unbelievably terribly on my 1080 ti.”
  • story382 mentions

    The story of "Bard's Tale IV" is a nostalgic homage to the original series, featuring engaging characters, excellent voice acting, and a rich musical score that enhances the experience. While some players appreciate the depth and callbacks to previous games, others find the narrative somewhat generic and linear, often overshadowed by the game's puzzle-heavy design and occasional technical issues. Overall, the story is seen as entertaining and immersive, particularly for fans of the franchise, but may not resonate as strongly with newcomers.

    • “The story is engaging and well written, the characters are interesting and have some great dialogue.”
    • “The music is wonderful, the story is great, the combat is original and the puzzles are incredibly satisfying.”
    • “The story is quite interesting and the gameplay is well thought out.”
    • “The weakest aspect of the game is the story, which to be honest never really grabbed me.”
    • “The story is a generic fantasy story which doesn’t tread any new territory.”
    • “I found the story a bit meh, the go get these people and appease their problems in order to fight the big bad a very ho-hum formula - they felt like MMO quests... the depth of a World of Warcraft side quest.”
  • gameplay268 mentions

    The gameplay of Bard's Tale IV is a mixed bag, featuring enjoyable and challenging puzzles alongside a tactical combat system that pays homage to the original trilogy. While many players appreciate the innovative mechanics and immersive atmosphere, they also note significant issues such as poor explanations of game mechanics, bugs, and performance problems that detract from the overall experience. Despite these flaws, the game offers a unique blend of old-school RPG elements and modern design, appealing to fans of the genre who enjoy exploration and strategic combat.

    • “The puzzles are fun and challenging, and the tactical combat system is well done and harks back to the mechanics of the original trilogy.”
    • “The gameplay is enjoyable and challenging, the graphics are good, and the music and atmosphere are great.”
    • “Great puzzles, superb fighting mechanics and the ability to take your time and explore as much as you dare.”
    • “However, there were a lot of bugs, misspellings, and lots of mechanics issues -- and I actually didn't get around to playing it until over a year after it came out.”
    • “The gameplay isn't interesting.”
    • “The game was way too easy, mechanics were failing and loot just really didn't have much meaning.”
  • optimization255 mentions

    The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with many players reporting significant performance issues, including low frame rates, long loading times, and frequent crashes, even on high-end systems. While some patches have improved stability and performance, many users still find the game poorly optimized and recommend waiting for further updates before playing. Overall, the consensus is that the game feels unpolished and requires substantial optimization to meet player expectations.

    • “The developers have promised performance improvements over the coming weeks, but I've got other games to play and I don't like the idea of having to download god knows how many gigabytes of patches just to maybe have a smoother experience in a few weeks time.”
    • “After a few patches, the game's performance has become quite a bit better.”
    • “Absolutely beautiful game running perfectly on 'ultra' settings on a 3-year-old machine, so no complaints performance-wise.”
    • “Very poorly optimized, crashes frequently, bad game.”
    • “Obscenely long loading times, regular bugs, crashes, and graphic stuttering take a unique and novel concept and weight it down to mediocrity.”
    • “This game is buggy, it is not optimized, it does not run well even on high-end hardware.”
  • atmosphere72 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive and captivating qualities, enhanced by a brilliant soundtrack that features Celtic folk music. Players appreciate the detailed world design, which effectively conveys a sense of exploration and emotional depth, despite some criticisms regarding graphics. Overall, the combination of music, voice acting, and environmental storytelling creates a rich and engaging experience that resonates with many players.

    • “The atmosphere, the mesmerizing folk music in the background in the various worlds you enter while playing.”
    • “The atmosphere is fantastic, the music awesome and the fights are fun.”
    • “Absolutely love this game, the atmosphere and character is amazing and the soundtrack is even better.”
    • “The first part of the game, which is designed to evoke atmosphere, does a poor job.”
    • “Character interaction, terrible lip syncing, lifeless atmosphere, my first reaction is that this was a forced game that does not have a soul on its own but tries to ride on the glory of its predecessors.”
    • “(an 11 year old game) the atmosphere/environment feels dead, except for the continuous variety of ambient music.”
  • stability56 mentions

    The game's stability has been widely criticized, with many users reporting frequent bugs, crashes, and performance issues such as frame rate drops and long loading times. While some players noted improvements after patches, significant glitches and unoptimized performance remain prevalent, making the game frustrating for many. Overall, it appears that while the game has potential, its current state is marred by instability that detracts from the experience.

    • “The game looks and runs great.”
    • “It runs great!”
    • “The game is visually appealing and performs smoothly.”
    • “It's quite buggy (there are no bugs that prevent you from finishing the game, but some of them weren't fixed since the release) and unoptimized, because graphics aren't top level, but on my okayish rig I saw constant freezes and FPS rarely was above 50.”
    • “It's been shipped with uncompressed files and lots of technical bugs leading to extremely long load times between levels (ironically worse on some systems with high-end GPUs), freezes, stutters, and crashes.”
    • “The game was released buggy and quite unfinished, showing us all the wrongs of the game industry nowadays.”
  • humor52 mentions

    The humor in the game is described as a mix of juvenile and clever, with engaging character interactions and witty banter that often enhances the overall experience. While some players miss the more overt humor of earlier titles, many appreciate the subtle, atmospheric jokes and well-written dialogue that contribute to the game's charm. Overall, the humor is generally well-received, though opinions vary on its effectiveness and style compared to previous installments.

    • “Characters are mostly great, the 'team banter' is often hilarious and totally on point, great both in writing and voice acting.”
    • “The game rewards you for poking about (where you probably don't belong) with regularity, and often with a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor.”
    • “What remains is an engrossing adventure in a high fantasy world with plenty of humor, well thought out tactical combat, great sights to see, and of course, loads of music.”
  • grinding25 mentions

    Overall, reviews indicate that the game has significantly reduced grinding compared to its predecessors, with a more natural progression of character leveling and a focus on exploration and puzzles. While some players found the combat and puzzle mechanics tedious, the absence of endless monster grinding was appreciated, allowing for a richer narrative experience. However, a few users noted that certain puzzles became repetitive and could detract from the overall enjoyment.

    • “There is no grinding in the game, just a natural progression of power.”
    • “The previous Bard's Tale games have had a lot of grinding.”
    • “Grinding is pretty much impossible if you're stuck at a boss battle as enemies don't respawn in areas you've cleared until you advance the story.”
    • “Combat is boring, slow, tedious.”
  • character development15 mentions

    Character development in the game is generally viewed as limited and becomes less engaging after the initial hours of gameplay, with players noting a lack of depth and relevance in later levels. While the early stages offer interesting choices and strategies, many reviewers criticize the repetitive nature of skill acquisition and the restrictive mechanics that diminish the impact of character growth as the game progresses. Overall, while the character development system has potential, it ultimately fails to maintain player interest throughout the entirety of the game.

    • “I enjoyed the unique combat and the team strategy that relied on the skills chosen in character development and items/gear.”
    • “The character development is interesting enough that you often wonder how some other build choices would play out in your current group or even a completely different party.”
    • “Fun and intricate combat, interesting character development, charming dialogue and stories, and more secrets and exploration than I expected.”
    • “Character development feels limited; you can make any character a healer through quests, even a rogue.”
    • “They definitely suffer a tad from repetitiveness on some of the puzzles, and the character development mechanics are a mess.”
    • “This streamlining feels needlessly restrictive, and it trickles down into character development.”
  • replayability13 mentions

    Overall, the game's replayability is considered very limited due to its linear storyline and lack of meaningful variation in gameplay. While some players appreciate the crafting system and potential for different character builds, many feel that the repetitive nature of quests and scripted events detracts from the experience, leading to a consensus that replay value is minimal.

    • “Generally, I hate crafting in RPGs, but many people don't, and it adds to the replayability of many games.”
    • “Don't know about the replay value since the quests will be the same, but I might give it a replay from scratch when the director's cut comes out with the new DLC, playing with different characters.”
    • “I already know the replay value is limited; yeah, you can have new characters, but the game is too linear to really get much variation; you'd just be playing the same game with your characters in different positions.”
    • “You have to repeatedly go back to the same places you already went in order to simulate replayability.”
    • “I already know the replay value is limited; yeah, you can have new characters, but the game is too linear to really get much variation. You'd just be playing the same game with your characters in different positions.”
    • “This appears to have very limited replayability.”
  • monetization4 mentions

    Reviews indicate a mixed perception of the game's monetization strategy. While some players appreciate the absence of aggressive in-game purchases and cheating, others feel that the game exploits its legacy for profit, labeling it a cash grab due to unmet promises associated with higher-tier purchases.

    • “Early days, but this clusterf**k is one of the worst releases of a game ever. I paid for a higher tier of the game but have none of the promised bonuses, etc. It feels like a cash grab.”
    • “This is pure and simple a cash grab abusing the Bard's Tale name.”
    • “Seems they put their heart into this; it's not some fast cash grab or scam, but it required a lot more testing.”
  • emotional2 mentions

    Users express a lack of emotional or nostalgic connection to the game, highlighting that the save system, which requires players to reach specific save towers, detracts from their overall experience and engagement.

Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

51% average critic score

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Play time

26hMedian play time
32hAverage play time
12-50hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 25 analyzed playthroughs

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