The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep

 PC
Metascore
71

Mixed or average reviews - based on 42 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 42
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 42
  3. Negative: 4 out of 42
  1. RPG Site
    Dec 4, 2018
    70
    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.
  2. games(TM)
    Nov 1, 2018
    70
    Charm shines through in a rough and modest RPG. [Issue#206, p.77]
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  3. GameOver.gr
    Oct 26, 2018
    70
    Bard’s Tale IV: Barrows Deep captivates the player with it’s majestic atmosphere and music, while offering a well narrated, but generic story. Turn-based battle is more than satisfying and the frequent puzzles enrich the gameplay options. On the other hand, inventory management is a nightmare and using the same abilities may become tedious after a while. Many technical problems, especially low fps and crashes spoil the overall experience.
  5. BaziCenter
    Oct 15, 2018
    70
    The Bard's Tale IV is a mixed potion that can offer a very fun gameplay experience as well as seriously damaging your nerves. It offers more than 30 hours of gameplay for just 35 dollars, and when all elements are working, it can be fun and enjoyable. But then technical issues kick in and along with a very strange save mechanism, ruin your day! The Bard' Tale IV is surely a charismatic title and if you can cope with its flaws, you can have great fun; but it still has a lot of issues to address in order to be considered one of the elite titles of the genre.
  6. Jeuxvideo.com
    Oct 11, 2018
    70
    The Bard’s Tale IV is a well-crafted dungeon crawler, at least on the gameplay side. Its dungeons are great, its puzzles are smart, its visuals are charming… But there’s so many bugs you can’t enjoy all of this.
  7. Gameblog.fr
    Sep 29, 2018
    70
    The Bard's Tale IV is a little retro pleasure that is difficult to ignore. The characters are fun, its universe is rich and the game mechanics are deep. Unfortunately, the game is not up to par visually and looks like something that was released ten years ago.
  8. The Overpowered Noobs
    Sep 28, 2018
    70
    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.
  9. CGMagazine
    Sep 28, 2018
    70
    The Bard’s Tale IV: Barrows Deep is a great game that is in severe need of polish and bug fixes.
  10. Meristation
    Sep 27, 2018
    70
    If you can manage to endure the first terrible hours and the poor technical performance, you will find an interesting RPG, with some problems of pace and puzzling decisions, but full of good ideas and intriguing designs.
  11. 4P.de
    Sep 25, 2018
    70
    Challenging battles and dungeons filled with intelligent puzzles are overshadowed by lack of direction in almost every aspect: artdesign, storytelling, quality assurance.
  12. GameCritics
    Oct 31, 2018
    65
    Equal parts fascinating and frustrating, The Bard’s Tale IV is not what I was hoping for. With patching and better documentation, it could be a stellar roleplaying experience. As it stands, this Bard needs to practice her tune.
  13. PC Games
    Oct 20, 2018
    63
    While both combat and puzzles in Bard's Tale 4 offer quite a bit of fun, it's hard to overlook the stale story, lifeless levels or technical shortcomings. The inventory and save system feel like they came straight out of an alpha version.
  14. Game Debate
    Nov 26, 2018
    60
    Your mileage, as always, may vary. But if you're looking for a rock-solid, incredibly challenging nuts-and-bolts RPG with all of the quirky flair of the original trilogy, this isn't quite it.
  15. Slant Magazine
    Oct 2, 2018
    60
    Despite occasional success in its stripped-down, straightforward approach, it suggests that maybe simplicity and escapism has limitations of its own.
  16. IGN Spain
    Sep 26, 2018
    60
    Appreciable if you're a fan of the genre but that can be rough or boring for other players. A pretty decent visual and sound section.
  17. Shacknews
    Sep 23, 2018
    60
    Bard’s Tale IV started off on the right foot, but proved to be [a] boring installment in a franchise that probably would’ve been better off staying in the 80’s.
  18. GamingTrend
    Sep 26, 2018
    50
    The Bard’s Tale IV could be a fun — but seriously flawed — game if it weren’t hamstrung by technical problems. Its frequent framerate drops, bugged combat abilities, and crashes are compounded by an archaic save system that makes it far too easy to lose progress. Though it features some great combat and challenging puzzles, they’re not without their own flaws, and become extremely repetitive over the game’s 30–40-hour playtime.
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In Progress & Unscored

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  1. Eurogamer
    Oct 4, 2018
    An eccentric and charismatic B-movie of a game. The Bard's Tale 4 is an ideal place to puzzle in. [Eurogamer Recommended]
  2. The A.V. Club
    Sep 21, 2018
    A bit like Dark Souls, except the first huge difficulty spike happens not at the hands of some glowering minotaur, but during the graphics options page, as you battle to get the damn thing to run at all.

Awards & Rankings

83
#83 Most Discussed PC Game of 2018
32
#32 Most Shared PC Game of 2018

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.5

Mixed or average reviews- based on 101 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 59 out of 101
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 101
  3. Negative: 31 out of 101
  1. RolandofYew
    Sep 18, 2018
    10
    Bards Tale IV has all the elements of previous games as well as introducing elements we take for granted in the 21st century. I say go aheadBards Tale IV has all the elements of previous games as well as introducing elements we take for granted in the 21st century. I say go ahead and buy Bards Tale IV Barrows Down you will not regret your purchase and remember, the Google analytics engine has scrutinised every written word available on the web about the game and subsequently rated it as the number one 'Steam Game of 2018'.… Full Review »
  2. razordaman
    Sep 18, 2018
    0
    Low frame rates for bad graphics. Looks amateurish. Combat slow and clunky. The game fights your every move. No exploration allowed, only oneLow frame rates for bad graphics. Looks amateurish. Combat slow and clunky. The game fights your every move. No exploration allowed, only one path to go in. Console save points, showing they don't care about the PC much. Lore as been destroyed from Bards Tale 1-3 and npcs came back to life from those games for some reason to be in this one. This is a cash grab nothing more. The only good thing is the music the rest is garbage.… Full Review »
  3. SpectralShade
    Sep 21, 2018
    3
    I had written an in-depth review listing why the game was bad. But when I reached the character limit of 5000 characters in an interview, theI had written an in-depth review listing why the game was bad. But when I reached the character limit of 5000 characters in an interview, the browser decided that instead of merely closing the box telling me my review was too long, it would turn a page back, thus deleting everything I had written.
    I can't be arsed writing it all again, especially not for a crap game like this.

    To put it short: Game is dumbed down checklist of ideas from different games that got mashed together with little thought of the interaction. Playing it consists of 'solving' monotonous puzzles, being spoonfed a gated/railed tour thorugh the areas while getting your party filled with pregenerated characters one at a time.

    And those that actually loved the trilogy: don't bother. The only heritage is the name. They could have called it barrows deep, without the bards tale name attached, and no-one would have guessed it had anything to do with bards tale.

    Avoid.    … Full Review »
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