The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep Reviews
The Bard's Tale IV isn't a game for everyone. Brian Fargo's new production is very old-school, but not archaic or outdated. It respects its heritage and the genre's rules. Still, the fans of modern RPGs could be unimpressed if they don't keep their expectations in check.
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The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep is definitely for a specific crowd of hardcore RPG and series fans, and for those, it caters wonderfully. It features a fascinating world and one of my favorite turn-based combat systems in recent memory. That being said, it may not be as appealing to a mass audience due to its complicated nature and glitches. For a franchise that hasn't been seen in 30 years, that may not have been the wisest decision. However, I do hope The Bard's Tale series sticks around because the core experience is great, making the game one of the most interesting RPGs I've played in 2018.
The Bard's Tale IV offers a modern delve into a classic RPG format, but sometimes-frustrating puzzles dim the dungeon dive
With The Bard's Tale 4: Barrows Deep, developer inXile does a great job of taking all the elements of a 30-year-old series and mixing it up with some modern era mechanics.
There are one or two missteps here and there, but The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep is a wonderful RPG that has to be explored to be understood for the gem it is.
At its roughest edges, The Bard's Tale IV shows its retro revival roots in some not so positive ways. It may not be special enough for me to easily overlook these technical shortcomings entirely, but it's an RPG that's brimming with enjoyable, challenging fights, elaborate and entertaining puzzles, and plenty of visual and musical flair. And that was more than enough to keep me humming along contentedly to its tune more often than not.
Overall The Bard’s Tale IV is a great title. Well drawn environments, dialog and an awesome accompaniment of bardic music make it worth playing for long stints at a time. Adding in elements such as a customizable leveling up system in order to style your characters just right, and the rest of the adventure is simply waiting for you to explore it the way you want to.
The Bard’s Tale IV: Barrows Deep is a wonderful RPG that is immersive and grandiose. inXile Entertainment has done this incredibly well to update the series with modern conveniences while maintaining that classic PC RPG feel. It’s great to see a series return after three decades and be such an entertaining, beautiful, tactical, and strategic RPG that will have players of any skill thinking on their feet. Without having played the prior games to compare it to, its depth and length in every aspect is on par with what you’d expect. The Bard’s Tale IV: Barrows Deep will make new fans out of it, and old fans will rejoice in this fourth installment that hearkens back to the original games as if they never left.
The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep is certainly a game awaited by many of those who loved the original trilogy, and truly wants to keep the identity of the series in its core while making it modern and welcoming to all the people who have never heard of the saga, or even the genre. Whether or not they have succeeded at keeping the core of The Bard's Tale in this title is still up to debate for veterans, but it cannot be denied that at is price, it's an enjoyable experience that will bring you 40+ hours of entertainment.
The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep is a surprisingly deep and rich role-playing game steeped in some old lore. It has some big shoes to fill given the history of the series, and while I'm not familiar with it, I enjoyed what I played. Aside from the stuttering and short learning curve, I was impressed by the game and its overall gameplay. Although, even the learning curve is softened immensely by the excellent tutorial. I'm itching to try more and more of the game and see just what Skara Brae has to offer, and I suggest others do the same.
A thoughtful, deep and rewarding RPG, with some great puzzles and a story that may not be groundbreaking, but sure is fun.
An old-fashioned game in a shiny new package, The Bard's Tale 4: Barrows Deep is a worthy addition to a classic series.
The Bard's Tale IV is a game that puts "fantasy" in fantastic. With its rich atmosphere, charming visuals and medieval aesthetic, it affords a deep gaming experience.
The Bard's Tale IV revisits the classic dungeon-crawling formula from years past, simultaneously showing reverence for its history whilst not being afraid to change it up mechanically. Visually stunning with a wonderful Gaelic folk soundtrack to go with it.
The few performance issues aside, it's a game that's hard not to like.
Ultimately, The Bard’s Tale IV is a very good game, but it’s an old school launch in both senses.
It’s not a game that I can easily recommend to the average gamer as you really do have to put up with a lot of issues and a lack of polish, and so I’d probably say this is only worth a by for dedicated RPG fans or if you spot it on sale. However, if the developers do manage to get the game properly patched this could be a solid RPG with some neat ideas.
The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep delivers on the faith its Kickstarter backers put into the project. It weaves combat, exploration, music, and puzzles into a game that stands out in a crowded market. It's unlike any other RPG, and with other old-school RPGs finding success these days — Pillars of Eternity, Octopath Traveler, and Dragon Quest XI — I hope InXile is able to come back to this fantastical world, just like it's doing with Wasteland.
Despite taking place in a marvellously detailed, humorous, and lively world, the story of The Bard’s Tale IV: Barrows Deep is rather by-the-numbers, and a lot of the game’s design harkens back to the old games in the series in the worst, most rigid ways possible. Further to this, even after a few updates, the game is still fraught with technical issues, but it is slowly being patched, and inXile has a good track record for working on their games to improve them. And the good things that are still present in this game are excellent, like the fantastic writing, refreshing approach to puzzle designs, and beautiful music present throughout. The design could also be tweaked to remove the sting of a lot of the older design tropes that cause the most grief. As it stands, the game in its current state is rough as guts, but there’s a lot of room for improvement, and I’ve faith that it will improve. It will just take time.
Overall, The Bard's Tale IV, after a few updates, is a solid game. A well-done story backed by amazing voice acting and soundtrack makes this game a must for The Bard's Tale fans. Newcomers to the series should enjoy their time as well. Finding it on sale should help seal the deal.