While starting strong, The Tale of Bistun loses interest over time, leaving the story, gameplay, and characters to try and make something out of stretched-thin mechanics.
"The Tale of Bistun" is a story-driven action-adventure game inspired by the tragic poem "Khosrow and Shirin." You play as a stone carver with amnesia, who must battle through hostile enemies and explore two realms to uncover the secret of his past. As you journey through the real world and the Revelations Realm, you must unravel the mystery of your identity and defeat a colossal ancient evil.
The game features a beautiful story based on Persian mythology, with rich narration and excellent voice acting, particularly from Shohreh Aghdashloo.
Visually stunning with unique art design and smooth animations, the game creates an immersive atmosphere that enhances the storytelling experience.
Despite its simplicity, the game is enjoyable for those looking for a short, narrative-driven experience, making it a good choice for casual players.
The combat system is overly simplistic and repetitive, lacking depth and challenge, which may lead to boredom for players seeking more engaging gameplay.
The game is extremely linear, offering little room for exploration or meaningful choices, which can detract from the overall experience.
Many players feel the game is overpriced for its short length and limited content, with some suggesting it should be priced lower to match its scale.
story
283 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
50%
3%
The story of "The Tale of Bistun" is rooted in Persian mythology, particularly the tragic romance of Farhad and Shirin, and is praised for its rich narrative, beautiful art, and strong voice acting, notably by Shohreh Aghdashloo. While many players find the storytelling engaging and well-executed, some criticize its linearity and simplicity, suggesting that the gameplay mechanics detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game is recommended for those interested in immersive storytelling, despite some concerns about repetitive gameplay and pacing.
“The romantic story with masterfully incorporated symbolism and plot twists along with the exotic art style makes the game a sensational experience; it is short and does not overstay its welcome as well.”
“The game's core strength is the phenomenal storytelling using Persian mythology, great voice acting, beautiful graphics, and tuneful music.”
“The tale of Bistun tells a compelling story that offers a glimpse into Persian mythology and doesn’t overstay its welcome.”
“The story is not interesting enough to follow it to the end.”
“The story and the lore are so mish-mashed and mixed up from different myths and lores that it makes no sense whatsoever.”
“The main story with Farhad made no sense at all; the game felt monotonous and boring, like a walking simulator.”
gameplay
100 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
72%
10%
The gameplay of the game is characterized as simple and often repetitive, with many reviewers noting a lack of challenge and depth in combat mechanics. While the atmospheric art and storytelling are praised, the gameplay is frequently described as a walking simulator with button-mashing combat that can become tiresome. Overall, it offers a short and pleasant experience, but many players feel it misses opportunities for more engaging mechanics and variety.
“The game is focused on the art and the narration, so pick it if you are into atmospheric art style and want to enjoy a short but pleasant gameplay experience.”
“Found the gameplay fun and challenging, and the story really interesting.”
“As for gameplay, I'm happy to say that it's designed minimally but in an effective way.”
“The gameplay is a loop of extremely boring, extremely simple sequences of pressing X to attack enemies that have no challenge to them in between walking sequences where the story is told to you.”
“An enjoyable and short action-adventure that suffers from repetitive gameplay and button-mashing combat and lacks any platforming or puzzles.”
“The problem was the easy and the shortage of thrilling combats and gameplay; it took only three and a half hours to complete the game with all the achievements.”
graphics
75 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
49%
47%
4%
The game's graphics are widely praised for their unique art style and beautiful visuals, which enhance the storytelling and overall atmosphere. Many reviewers highlight the aesthetic appeal and how it complements the narrative, although some note the lack of graphical options and suggest that the graphics could be improved. Overall, the visuals are considered a core strength of the game, contributing significantly to the immersive experience.
“The game's core strength is the phenomenal storytelling using Persian mythology, great voice acting, beautiful graphics, and tuneful music.”
“The art style of the graphics and the music were so amazing and made me enjoy the game even more.”
“It's a straightforward action-adventure with an aesthetically captivating environment and art.”
“Wakey wakey, no graphical settings at all is just not good at all.”
“- no graphics options.”
“- weak graphics.”
music
63 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
38%
5%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its beautiful and culturally rich soundtracks that enhance the storytelling experience, particularly in relation to Persian mythology. While some tracks are described as masterpieces that fit the narrative well, others found the music lacking or even disappointing. Overall, the combination of music, art, and narration contributes significantly to the game's appeal, making it a memorable experience for players.
“The music of the game was wonderful and completely Iranian, the game camera had no problem and did not bother, and most of the game goes towards the narration of the story rather than destroying the enemies...”
“The game's core strength is the phenomenal storytelling using Persian mythology, great voice acting, beautiful graphics, and tuneful music.”
“It's a beautiful story-rich game with a great narration and even greater soundtracks.”
“The biggest insult here in my opinion is the music.”
“This game made by Iranians has the most questionable music for a game about Iranian mythology.”
“Boring, you'll fall asleep with the music waiting for the next boss' move.”
grinding
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and time-consuming, often requiring significant effort to progress. However, many also feel that the rewards gained from grinding make the experience worthwhile in the end, despite its initial simplicity and repetitiveness.
“The mob grinding did get a bit tedious, I would say, but I've found it to be worthwhile upon completion.”
“The game's combat, while simple and a bit tedious in the beginning, shouldn't be considered as the core focus of this game (pickaxe op).”
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
atmosphere
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its artistic graphics and engaging narration, creating a visually appealing and immersive experience. Players seeking a short yet enjoyable gameplay experience will appreciate the strong focus on atmospheric art style.
“The game is focused on the art and the narration, so pick it if you are into atmospheric art style and want to enjoy a short but pleasant gameplay experience.”
“+ good artistic graphics and suitable atmosphere.”
“It adds plenty to the overall atmosphere.”
optimization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
The game suffers from poor optimization, with users noting that the lack of a basic culling script significantly hampers performance. Despite this, the Persian dub with English subtitles offers an engaging experience for foreign players.
“At least a common culling script would have improved the performance way more.”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is frequently described as the "most emotional" experience, evoking strong feelings in players. However, technical issues such as frequent frame rate drops detract from the overall experience, leaving some players feeling frustrated and disappointed.
“Most emotional game.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, users report that the game demonstrates strong stability, performing well even on modest hardware and running smoothly on Linux systems.
“It looks nice and runs great on very modest hardware.”
“Runs great on Linux.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game primarily stems from the amusing names of the enemies, which resonate particularly well with players familiar with Farsi, adding an extra layer of enjoyment for those who take the time to explore their meanings. Overall, while the gameplay draws inspiration from Diablo, it is the clever naming that stands out as a highlight in the humor department.
“The game's gameplay has inspirations from Diablo, from its combat to its camera, which might be interesting to some. Of course, the names of the enemies might be even more interesting, as they are funny to someone who knows Farsi and even funnier to one who searches their meaning.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has limited replayability due to its simplistic combat mechanics and structurally repetitive gameplay, which detracts from the overall experience.
“The combat is very simplistic, which leads to a lack of replay value. The game feels structurally repetitive.”