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- InXile Entertainment
- InXile Entertainment
- InXile Entertainment
- InXile Entertainment
The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep
Released On: Sep 18, 2018
71
6.5
All Platforms
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 44 Critic Reviews
71
48% Positive
21 Reviews
21 Reviews
39% Mixed
17 Reviews
17 Reviews
9% Negative
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 44 Critic Reviews
71
48% Positive
21 Reviews
21 Reviews
39% Mixed
17 Reviews
17 Reviews
9% Negative
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
This is your grandpappy’s old-school RPG, but it is made for the modern day. It’s made for RPG lovers of all types, ages, and experience. Bard’s Tale 4 follows squarely in the footsteps of giants without missing a beat. It has taken all those classic features and brought them into modern game play. It feels both fresh and true to its roots, at the same time. I highly recommend this to veterans and newcomers to the series alike.
The Bard’s Tale 4 is a splendid and fresh take on the RPG genre. Production values are very high and the experience never fails to entertain. Bugs and glitches abound but are being hunted down by the devs.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 102 User Ratings
6.5
58% Positive
59 Ratings
59 Ratings
12% Mixed
12 Ratings
12 Ratings
30% Negative
31 Ratings
31 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 102 User Ratings
6.5
58% Positive
59 Ratings
59 Ratings
12% Mixed
12 Ratings
12 Ratings
30% Negative
31 Ratings
31 Ratings
In my estimation, inXile has managed to do what so many creative people fail miserably at. They have taken a beloved classic property (personally, I played the classic games on my Apple II back when they came out), updated it, made it different enough to be fresh but clearly in the spirit of the original games.
This is obviously an update and a reimagining of The Bard's Tale, but not in the way that the 2004 Bard's Tale tried to do something completely different. This is a dungeon crawler in the spirit of the classic games, only with interesting, new and updated gameplay systems and absolutely gorgeous visuals. I am consistently amazed by how good this game looks, and I have to keep reminding myself that this game was produced as the result of a Kickstarter. You WILL be impressed when you play it, I promise you that.
Simply put, if you like dungeon crawlers like Legend of Grimrock, Eye of the Beholder or Ultima Underworld... this is a game you will really enjoy. I would also like to point out that the turn based combat is a breath of fresh air in this era where everything is so "twitchy". I don't mind real-time combat, but I chafe at the realization that I can't even find a good turn based RPG nowadays without resorting to playing games I never got around to fifteen or twenty years ago.
Basically, I am loving The Bard's Tale IV. If you enjoy dungeon crawlers, and particularly if you have fond memories of The Bard's Tale from "back in the day" I highly recommend that you give this game a try.
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PC
Beside of the Bugs its a great game overall. Atmosphere, Sound, Character Creation. Unfortunately the most players don't get more than 5 hours into it and blame technical bugs for it to be a bad game. The game gets better after 10 hours. If you like dungeon crawlers like legend of grimrock 1/2 and older ones like stonekeep go play it.
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PC
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.
The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep has a satisfyingly deep and flexible battle system, surrounded by heavy puzzle exploration and a narrative that doesn't manage to stay interesting. There are some really neat systems at play here for those looking for intricate combat, but performance issues and a lacking storyline make it a hard sell to a larger audience.
A delightful blend of well-done modern and classic elements will appeal to many RPG enthusiasts, with the few impediments being less-than-stellar graphics, a few trivial bugs, and a world where — literally — not every door is open to you.
Despite occasional success in its stripped-down, straightforward approach, it suggests that maybe simplicity and escapism has limitations of its own.
Without the bugs, The Bard’s Tale IV is okay at best. With them, it’s perhaps best to preserve your nostalgia and play the HD remaster of The Bard’s Tale I to III instead.
They got this one right. As a big fan of the original series, I think a complete retread would have pleased me at first but quickly lost its shine, so I'm very happy with the way they sustained what I love but developed beyond a simple sop-to-the-fans profit-maker. Victor Minor may be in the vault, but I'm gonna be spending a lot of time with this one in the near future.
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PC
The Bard's Tale IV: Director's Cut - отличная игра, сочетающая различные геймплейные аспекты: раздолье для исследования и поиска секреток, пища для ума - головоломки, сложные и вполне увлекательные тактические бои. К тому же игра красиво оформлена и приятно звучит.
Думаю The Bard's Tale IV: Director's Cut прежде всего подойдёт первопроходцам жанра Dungeon Crawler (Blobber'ов), олды же справедливо подвергнут критики. Я не смог осилить Wizardy и Might and Magic, но The Bard's Tale IV понравился.
The Bard's Tale IV оказался слишком затянутой игрой. И дело не в размере игрового мира и загадках, а скорее в несовершенстве навигации и избыточности незначительных боёв (не всегда быстро найдёшь маршрут, через часов 10 забудешь кому сдавать квест, по пути наткнёшься на пятёрку проходных боёв и т.д).
Достоинства перевешивают незначительные недостатки. И пусть Брайану Фарго не хватило денег с продаж The Bard's Tale IV на покупку Interplay, но ему удалось сделать достойный сиквел культовой игры.
ОЦЕНКА 7.8/10:
The Bard's Tale IV: Director's Cut достоин прохождения, игру совсем не обязательно изучать вдоль и поперёк. Повторное прохождение затронет лишь самых преданных поклонников жанра, но вряд ли удовольствие окажется соразмерно первому опыту, всё же игра линейная.
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Bards Tale IV Directors Cut
Es ist ein OldSchool RPG aus der Ego Perspektive aller Black Crypt oder Lands of Lore (kleiner Verweis: jahaa ich weiß, dass die Wizardry Reihe und Dungeon Master viel populärer sind, aber ich habe weder das eine noch das andere je gespielt (Notiz an mich: Bildungslücke???)
Dennoch habe ich dieses kleine feine Genre für mich wieder entdeckt und als Experiment eben Bards Tale bei Steam erworben. Die Alternative wäre Operencia: The Stolen Sun gewesen, aber ich hatte bis dato keinen Epic Store Account und dieses Spiel ist eben temporär exklusiv für diesen welchen,
Nun aber zum Spiel:
Die Story vom Bards Tale ist recht schnell erzähl: Ancient Evil is lurking in the Dark... Punkt.
Anfangs weiß man noch nicht genau worum es geht, aber alle fremden Rassen und Andersgläubigen in der Spielwelt werden von der vorherrschenden Klasse der Kirche und ihren fanatischen Paladinen verfolgt und tyrannisiert. Schnell bekommt man aber mit, dass mehr dahinter steckt und loooooos gehts.
Ich will nicht spoilern deswegen... gleich zum Fazit: Nett, nicht mehr aber auch nicht weniger.
Interssanter ist die Spielmechanik:
-Elfenwaffen die, wenn man ihre Rätsel löst, zusätzliche Bonusfähigkeiten freischalten.
-Tolle Anspruchsvolle Rätsel, zum Teil seeeehr anspruchsvoll (ich habe 2 mal in ein Walkthrough gucken müssen und bis heute nicht verstanden warum man von einem Bild mit Krähen auf ein Glockenspiel schließen kann, Notiz an mich: viellicht bin auch einfach zu blöd???)
-Taktische Rundenkämpfe die gerade anfangs recht fordernd sind, nachher aber fast ein bisschen zu einfach, wenn man die richtige Allround Taktik gefunden hat. Ein Wechsel der Skillung ist bei meinem Durchlauf nur ein mal notwendig gewesen (Schwierikgeitsgrad Normal ohne Permadeath),
Die Atmosphäre ist meist recht gelungen. Sehr liebevoll gestaltete Musik. Obwohl ich kein Fan irisch oder schottischer Volklore bin ist es hier, wo es doch im Kern um den Barden an sich geht, sehr passend und gelungen. Vor allem steckt viel arbeit drin, und das merkt man! Die Grafik hat sehr schöne Glanz und Lichteffekte, allerdings sind die Animationen teilweise recht hölzern. Außerdem gibt es auch in der DR Cut Version teilweise in den Kämfen fehlende Animationsphasen und das ist wirklich nicht das was ich von einer DR Cut Version erwarte. Die Sprecher sind ausnahmslos gut (alles Englisch mit häufig starkem schottischem Akzent und deutschem Untertitel (sehr empfehlenswert, wie gesagt schottischer Akzent))
Insgesamt hatte ich viel Spass, wenn auch gleich das Spiel zum Ende hin (die letzten 4 Stunden Spielzeit) teilweise Qualvolle Rätsel beinhaltete. Am Ende war man aber dann doch froh und stolz wenn man sie gelöst hatte.
Kurzum: Ich bin froh dieses Experiment gewagt zu haben und werde irgendwann nächstes Jahr dann auch mal zu einem anderen Rollenspiel dieser Art linsen,,, evlt auch Operencia, es erscheint dann ja auch bei Steam, Nachtrag: Operencia wird aktuell gerade von mir gespielt
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PC
I played this game some time ago, in the end I uninstalled it. I don't think this game deserves 0, but I can absolutely understand anyone who rated it this poorly. If you're looking for a game that combines a lot of fun and great moments with absolute frustration and disappointment, this is the one you're looking for. Ignoring all the negative issues, the game is quite good. I like the combination of (almost) open world with turn based combat. With 'almost' I mean, you can't just step off the road and enjoy the view. The story is OK; the puzzles are quite good too. One remark I have, often the game is confusing and doesn't explain things clearly. This includes some advanced skills, but also basic stuff like walking. You have to try a path to know whether the game will allow you to walk there or not (it isn't visually clear). And you don't want to try it, because you can get stuck (bug). The main reason, why I rate this game poorly - controls and bugs. Sometimes I had a feeling no one from InXile tried to play this game before. Definitely no one tested it. I lost some battles just because I accidentally switched two characters (my mistake). Then I lost some, because my fighter mastery book got reset (bug) after every cut-scene (whenever I forgot to fix it, I lost the next battle). A lot of disappointment comes from bugged abilities that doesn't work as expected or doesn't work at all (Master Thief, Blood for Blood, Archmage). I was able to cope with everything mentioned before. I learned from my mistakes and with some (a lot of) discipline, I could avoid some (a lot of) bugs and have fun too. But then, the most frustrating - game breaking bugs, when you have to repeat same section/fight again and again, because something happened. And a lot of things could happen. After every important fight I ran to the nearest save totem to avoid ‘bad luck'. Don't use the stone teleporter, they can crash too. I remember a battle where instead of opponents I've seen a hill and they were somewhere behind, I wasn't able to select them. They were able to attack me though. I lost. Last chance I gave this game - there was a barricade it my way. I used dragon's bomb and somehow I stepped on the wall next to the barricade (very small broken stone wall, I was about 10 cm above the ground). A skeleton was walking right in front of me (I could literally touch the skeleton). But I wasn't able to attack it, or step of the wall. I was just standing there, unable to find any solution, avoiding to load my 45-minutes old save slot. Maybe they'll fix the bugs later, but it won't fix my ruined experience. The game brought me a lot of negative feelings and didn't deliver the fun I expected. It wasn't worth the money and I would not recommend this game to any friend.
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PC
Summary The Bard's Tale IV returns to the classic fantasy RPGs of years past. Featuring dynamic turn-based combat, a full party of characters to build and customize, and first-person exploration of maze-like dungeons with devious puzzles and riddles, The Bard's Tale IV is a true successor to the original Bard's Tale trilogy, and is crowdfunded b...
Platforms:
- PC
- Xbox One
Initial Release Date: Sep 18, 2018
Developer:
- InXile Entertainment
Publisher: InXile Entertainment
Genres:
