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The Bard's Tale IV

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
68%Game Brain Score
music, story
optimization, stability
77% User Score Based on 844 reviews
Critic Score 49%Based on 5 reviews

Platforms

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About

"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.

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77%
Audience ScoreBased on 844 reviews
music180 positive mentions
optimization20 negative mentions
  • Engaging story with a nostalgic feel for fans of the original Bard's Tale series.
  • Unique turn-based combat system that requires strategic thinking and offers a variety of character builds.
  • Beautiful graphics and an outstanding soundtrack that enhances the overall atmosphere of the game.
  • Excessive and repetitive puzzles that can detract from the overall gameplay experience.
  • Numerous bugs and performance issues, including crashes and glitches that can interrupt progress.
  • Limited character customization and a clunky inventory system that can frustrate players.
  • music
    333 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in "Bard's Tale IV" is widely praised for its immersive and enchanting quality, featuring a rich blend of original compositions, particularly Scottish Gaelic songs, that enhance the game's atmosphere and storytelling. Many reviewers highlight the soundtrack as one of the best in gaming, although some express a desire for more variety in the background music over time. Overall, the music is considered a standout feature that significantly contributes to the game's charm and experience.

    • “The soundtrack is one of the best in a game ever; I highly recommend it even if you skip the game, but it is much more influential if you get familiar with it inside the game.”
    • “The music is enchanting and woven into the story, an actual 'bard's tale' with actual songs where the lore and lyrics matter.”
    • “The audio and the original music soundtrack are excellent, really add to the lore and immersion of the game.”
    • “I felt like the songs that did special things didn't feel very special at all.”
    • “All the characters are boring, the soundtrack is irritating, the puzzles frustrating, the graphics unremarkable.”
    • “Music is a weird thing to complain about in a game, but you will want to turn it off with this one, trust me.”
  • story
    312 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story in the game is described as a mix of engaging and typical RPG fare, with some players finding it compelling and others deeming it derivative or simplistic. While many appreciate the character development and humor, others criticize the convoluted quest tracking and pacing issues that detract from the overall narrative experience. Overall, the story is seen as a decent backdrop for the gameplay, but it varies significantly in quality and engagement among players.

    • “Great story and the characters really feel alive.”
    • “The immersive music and story line are great, well done Inxile, kudos to them, you can tell that there is a lot of love crafted into this cult classic game.”
    • “A fantastic story, great music, decent graphics and fun exploration and gameplay.”
    • “The story is forgettable and not particularly interesting, nor are the side quests.”
    • “The game has nothing to do with the original Bard's Tale; bad graphics, boring story, doesn't make any sense, it's bad as it is.”
    • “The quests and underlying story are hard to follow or make sense of.”
  • graphics
    172 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the beautiful environments and artistic design, while others criticize them as cartoonish or outdated, likening them to games from a decade ago. Many players appreciate the vibrant world and thematic visuals, but there are notable complaints about performance issues, graphical glitches, and a perceived downgrade from previous versions. Overall, while the graphics have their charm, they may not meet the expectations of all players, especially those seeking modern standards.

    • “Absolutely incredible graphics.”
    • “The music was great and often haunting, with its Celtic themes, the combat was pretty well balanced, the voice acting fun, and the artwork was gorgeous.”
    • “Bardstale4 has some absolutely amazing artwork built into the 3D world and textures.”
    • “Game suffers a weak prologue partly due to the ugly models and optimization issues (really low frame rates in the city as well as many areas), it really takes time for some players to get used to such graphics in 2022, I guess it was already an issue back in 2019 as I could not even bear it upon its release.”
    • “Some of the graphics, like the characters, close up textures of some objects, and the facial animations, look like something out of a game from 10 to 15 years ago.”
    • “Its awful ...the graphics and textures are amateur level at best, it's like a game from 10 years ago.”
  • gameplay
    144 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of Bard's Tale 4 is a mixed bag, featuring a complex combat system and a heavy emphasis on puzzles that can frustrate players due to their frequency and difficulty. While some appreciate the strategic depth and unique mechanics, others criticize the lack of save options and the overall pacing, which can feel padded with repetitive elements. Despite its flaws, many find the game enjoyable, especially for fans of turn-based RPGs who appreciate a blend of old-school and modern gameplay elements.

    • “The gameplay is much more complex than the original games, despite what looks like simplifications in the number of archetypes. The variety in the available builds is staggering, and the unique way the combat system uses opportunity to give the party a certain number of actions without specifying how many each character must use opens up a lot of dynamic options to handle different situations differently.”
    • “I'll admit to being a bit leery of all of the puzzles, but only a couple were obnoxious, and the rest of the gameplay was highly entertaining.”
    • “The game introduces its combat mechanics in a stepwise fashion by adding new members with new abilities to your party and introducing new monsters with abilities you need to counter or mitigate, making combat much more strategic than any of the previous three games. After accepting that I wasn't going to spell blast all my enemies to death, I found this new strategic combat to be very enjoyable.”
    • “To me, it's just a way to force the player to waste more time... to constantly replay hours of gameplay because the devs decided they won't let you save wherever you want.”
    • “Overall, it's a game that could have been a lot of fun to play had the devs made the right decisions in quite a few of the mechanics.”
    • “Also for me, the game fails because they have decided to pad gameplay time by putting endless puzzles everywhere.”
  • optimization
    56 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization has been a contentious issue among players, with many reporting significant performance problems, especially at launch. While the director's cut has addressed some stability and performance issues, players still experience inconsistent frame rates and graphical downgrades, leading to mixed reviews on overall optimization. Some users noted improvements, but others found the game still poorly optimized, particularly on decent hardware.

    • “The performance has greatly improved.”
    • “+ better optimization than the original game.”
    • “It launched with performance issues and bugs, but now it's very polished and looks even better and has even more depth; it has gone from an enjoyable RPG that had a good amount of issues to now a wonderful RPG that everyone should check out.”
    • “The original game was so poorly optimized that it was unplayable for me.”
    • “I only played for a few hours because of how badly optimized the game was, and how poorly it ran.”
    • “Inconsistent visual quality, laggy performance (my gaming computer is less than three months old) and there are still tons of bugs in the game, even after the 'director's cut' has been put out.”
  • stability
    44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's stability remains a significant concern, with many players reporting persistent bugs, glitches, and occasional freezes, particularly in specific areas like Harkyn's Castle. While some users note that many issues have been addressed since the initial release, they still encounter frustrating problems that require reloading, making it difficult to recommend for casual players. Overall, the game is described as playable but riddled with enough flaws to deter those who are not dedicated fans of the genre.

    • “Don't buy this unless you want a buggy mess, poor level design/layout, and puzzles that are more frustrating than interesting.”
    • “The amount of bugs, glitches, typos and broken quests is astounding.”
    • “Tl:dr; director's cut notwithstanding, Bard's Tale 4 is still too buggy to recommend to any but the most dedicated players who enjoy nostalgia of old school games.”
  • humor
    40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is generally well-received, with many players appreciating its cleverness and ability to evoke nostalgia reminiscent of earlier titles in the series. While some found the humor to be lighthearted and entertaining, others felt it lacked the comedic depth of previous installments, with mixed opinions on the overall effectiveness of the storytelling and character interactions. Despite some criticisms regarding gameplay and combat, the humor remains a highlight for many, contributing to an enjoyable experience.

    • “If you ever played Bard's Tale, this game captured the spirit and humor of my early gaming days and made me feel like a drunk teenager with new best drinking buddies saving the world.”
    • “In short, this game is brilliant, hilarious, clever, incredibly fun, and addictive.”
    • “Music, dialogue, and storytelling are superb; it's funny and makes one laugh out loud.”
    • “It's not funny.”
    • “It's an alright game, but it's really not funny.”
    • “It's not funny.”
  • atmosphere
    34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its rich, gothic design and immersive soundscapes, featuring Gaelic and new age music that enhances the unique setting. Players appreciate the detailed environments that evoke a sense of mystery and suspense, complemented by strong voice acting that adds depth to the experience. Overall, the atmosphere is described as captivating and otherworldly, making it a standout aspect of the game despite some minor technical issues.

    • “The atmosphere is gothic, rich in spooky surprises, suspenseful, and full to the brim with swirling mystery!”
    • “Environments are glossy and highly rendered, manifesting exuberant joy or sinister dread, showcasing excellent lighting and reflection within atmospheric locales.”
    • “Outstanding atmosphere, it really feels like another world, but be wary as it is not free; people here have problems and monsters lurk around every corner, so to witness the beauty of it takes some work.”
    • “The atmosphere in this game is really something special.”
    • “Bt 4 dc gets high marks for atmosphere, including sound handling.”
    • “There are indeed some minor optimization issues when looting certain containers, but honestly, I'm so caught up in the game's atmosphere and environment that I hardly even notice.”
  • grinding
    28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, particularly due to the abundance of puzzles and the need for crafting, which can feel like filler content. While some options exist to bypass certain challenges, many still feel overwhelmed by the repetitive nature of the tasks, leading to a lack of enjoyment. Overall, the grind is seen as a significant drawback, detracting from the overall experience.

    • “On the downside, the elven weapons were pretty underwhelming, the loot drops frequently not worth the effort, and some of the missions a bit grindy.”
    • “Lots of people have valid complaints but the dealbreaker for me was just how tedious it got.”
    • “I'm someone who doesn't particularly enjoy crafting in RPGs, and requiring this class to use these items means having a bard requires a lot more grinding to make sure you have enough booze stocked.”
  • character development
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Character development in the game is criticized for stalling around 80% of the story, with players reaching a high level early on and finding limited opportunities for further growth or exploration in the latter stages. While there are meaningful choices in class specialization and combat strategy, the overall experience is marred by a lack of engaging content and poor character design, leading to a mixed reception regarding this aspect.

    • “Meaningful character development (4 classes but each has a wide variety of very significant decisions to be made about how to specialize and configure them), combat that requires clever decision making, lots of exploration and hidden stuff to find, and some genuinely clever puzzles too (some outright diabolical, though those tend to be optional).”
    • “Character development stops at around 80% of the story, as you are close to level 25 (I finished the game at level 27). You can possibly struggle with the economy, but it swiftly goes away after the mid-game. There isn't really much to explore or 'grind' around the last quarter of the game, which is just okay.”
    • “My other major issue with BTIV was that loot and character development stalled about halfway through the game.”
    • “Honestly, this isn't Bard's Tale; it's a mildly fun turn-based tactics game filled to bursting with awful puzzles and some of the worst character design I've ever seen.”
  • replayability
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The reviews present a mixed perspective on replayability; while some users highlight that different party setups can significantly alter the experience, others argue that the game offers little to no replay value. Overall, the consensus suggests that replayability may vary depending on player choices and configurations.

    • “I reckon this is very replayable - with a different party setup, the experience would be quite different.”
    • “Replayability - very little.”
    • “No replay value.”
    • “Replayability - very little.”
  • emotional
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players express a strong emotional connection to the game, reminiscing about the joy and camaraderie reminiscent of their youth, despite criticisms regarding its graphics and story. While some find it captures the spirit and humor of earlier gaming experiences, others feel disappointed and frustrated, leading to requests for refunds.

    • “If you ever played Bard's Tale, this game captured the spirit and humor of my early gaming days and made me feel like a drunk teenager with new best drinking buddies saving the world.”
    • “This game has nothing to do with the original Bard's Tale. The graphics are bad, the story is boring, and it doesn't make any sense. It's bad as it is, and I rarely request refunds, but now it's time.”
  • monetization
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The monetization aspect of the game has been criticized for lacking transparency, as users feel that the promotional materials did not adequately convey the game's puzzle nature, leading to dissatisfaction with their purchase.

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49%Critics’ scoreBased on 6 critic reviews
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84h Median play time
88h Average play time
70-113h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 14 analyzed playthroughs
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