The Bard's Tale IV: Director's Cut

1. Ferrante79

   Jun 11, 2021

   10

   There is no way this game have less than a 9. It has some flaws, but they are few and small, versus the big ammount of great features it has.There is no way this game have less than a 9. It has some flaws, but they are few and small, versus the big ammount of great features it has. One of my best experiences with videogames ever.… Expand

   • 0 of 1 users found this helpful
2. vietmart

   Oct 21, 2019

   10

   There's a lot to unpack here, so buckle up. pathetic puzzle game pretending to be an rpg that's what this is.

   • 1 of 4 users found this helpful
4. Egres

   Jul 12, 2020

   10

   Very beautiful, research-oriented and puzzling Dungeon Crawler with an original combat system and a terrific soundtrack. The best game in itsVery beautiful, research-oriented and puzzling Dungeon Crawler with an original combat system and a terrific soundtrack. The best game in its genre in decades.… Expand

   • 3 of 5 users found this helpful
5. BeetlejuiceGr

   Apr 23, 2020

   8

   Yes i am 40+ years old. I have played bard's tale 1 and 2 and 3. I never managed to finish the first. The second and third, midway i was soYes i am 40+ years old. I have played bard's tale 1 and 2 and 3. I never managed to finish the first. The second and third, midway i was so busy rl, it was the first game that i hexedited a save, a hobby that i kept and loved.
   I still remember the first phrase in one of the trilogy "As i lay down and die..." Grandpa bard's tale was gone for years, few times i did install it and tried to play again, who has time nowdays to write down maps and so on.
   
   On to Bard's Tale 4. The music, the "not so well dressed for the occasion" bard and listeners video while loading a game, the battles, the story, the reminder that many "quality of life" scripts in other games is a plus if they dont exist in this game..makes you focus to important parts..
   
   In general Bard's tale 4 tried to bring back the pure experience of old pc-rpgs, It reminded me King's Quest and Ultima IX
   
   The best of this game are
   
   You will return on the same areas to discover more things as more abilities are unlocked.
   You will have to read poems and text in order to solve puzzles and riddles and unlock abilities
   You will have to make compromises and put your characters back and forth and change them skill sets and whole setups and armor and weapons.
   You will search all the game to find materials for certain food or weapons..
   The chat between your characters even the mercenaries is fun! and it exists (considering so many new games dont have more than 2 lines..)
   You will have so many things unanswered you will play the game from scratch again.!
   You will realize that a game without jump or speed/jump is better for rpg, no-action rpg is a pure rpg perhaps? but yes..use your brain not a trye to cheat jump a road or obstacle. I am surprised a game like this hasn' let me stuck at all in corners or stairs etc.
   Did i mention the music and songs?
   You think the vendors will give you better gear later on? Nope! You think you can sell everything ? nope! choices matter, purchases matter, sales matter, when you fill your inventory think well if you want ot clear it or destroy items..There are not so many apples!!! That's what i thought till i played it second time..
   I played 1/3 of the game and then i realized there is teleport through special areas!
   I played 3/4 till i figure out what those offerings were, and half of it till i understand that there are special shrines to "upgrade" certain items
   
   The bad parts.
   There should be an option to search an item in inventory. There should be a "auto arrange/sort" inventory.
   Sometimes the game will disappear. (really few occasions with the latest patches)
   Graphics design amazing at some parts, average or bad at others...
   Overall too many puzzles ,i would prefer slightly less, i dont mean they are very hard, but too many at some areas..
   The plot , it is interesting, you listen names that you have played spells with their name on ("mangar's malet "? ) however it is not very intelligent. An unknown villain has other villains (cant write more or there is spoiler) to do his biding (which is unknown) but all in all is linear. I was surprised about who he was in the end, didn't expect it but the truth isyou dont get so much contact with possible suspects to get an idea who or why. I would like to have more side quests and i would like some NPCs to really have a story and sidequest . The Cabbage for example..The farmer that asks for some plants as if he sells them but not, the Blackhawk..is just like nameplaces and i would like to see a sidestory and quest..Thats why i hope for IV...
   
   If you want numbers
   
   Gameplay 8/10 (it needs some shining here and there)
   Sound/music/speech 10/10/10
   Graphics 8/10
   Immersion in RPG 10/10
   Replayability 10/10
   Difficulty 7/10 (i havent played hard but i am sure if i spend more time it is doable).
   
   PRiceless : The blacksmith's note about his daughter and the bag hanging on the top of his house..!
   
   Dont play the game on easy, normal is what this game should be played, dont take the "music to solve puzzles" its lame and you lose half the magic.
   
   This game brings back the "no pain no gain" and the pain is in the brain (perhaps i am not awesome puzzle solver or its becaues i play at nights as i have kids who occupy the pc)
   Teaches many things to players who are used in action rpgs, reminds to old players older rpgs which were not a full complete game but still had beauty
   
   Leaves you with surprises as a game should be. Weapon puzzles! Offerings!! and so on. You want to unlock healing? GOOD LUCK! :P (well it is not hard but you need to unlock it)
   
   Overall
   
   8/10
   Hope they give us Bard's Tale 5, The bar is high now InXile, i hope you are up to it, I want more NPCs more sidequests, more Humour, more music, better and more arced plot!… Expand

   • 1 of 3 users found this helpful
6. EvgeniLinuxUser

   Jun 21, 2020

   7

   A meditative walk simulator along a full of puzzles path. Turn-based battles and ethnic music are included. Works more or less fine on UbuntuA meditative walk simulator along a full of puzzles path. Turn-based battles and ethnic music are included. Works more or less fine on Ubuntu 18.04 (AMD Ryzen 7 2700X + Nvidia GTX 1080 + QHD + 32 GB+Intel SSD). There are some freezes after every location load. Turning around ones helps. Probably the SSD speed is crucial.… Expand

   • 2 of 3 users found this helpful
7. DAMreviews

   Oct 18, 2019

   4

   PS4 Pro - I finally tapped out at after 5 hours due to the balance of difficulty hindering game progress. The world looks like a mobile game,PS4 Pro - I finally tapped out at after 5 hours due to the balance of difficulty hindering game progress. The world looks like a mobile game, very similar to the Elder Scrolls Blades. Load times take 20 seconds-plus. So moving back and forth for some quests began to feel like a chore and caused feelings of dread about simply wanting to grind outside of the main quest.
   Combat is the biggest issue because of difficulty. Every meaningful quest encounter is balanced to be barely passable and often felt due to the luck of draw. I died several times on any mid-level battle and then sat through another significant load time, stunned at how punishing it is. After trying new areas, progressing the main quest out of sheer luck, only to repeat the punishing process with no direction or tips from the game, I had to stop.
   I want to support InExile but I’d be lying if I said this game wasn’t trash.… Expand

   • 3 of 5 users found this helpful
8. bladex

   Sep 2, 2019

   0

   pathetic puzzle game pretending to be an rpg that's what this is.
   
   you'll soon discover early this is not an rpg game the amount of puzzlespathetic puzzle game pretending to be an rpg that's what this is.
   
   you'll soon discover early this is not an rpg game the amount of puzzles in it are insane and annoying.
   
   ranging from crappy pushing block puzzles to annoying gear puzzles. there is a cheat to skip all these puzzles but that's not what makes this bad.
   
   the rpg elements are some of the worst i've ever experienced in my life.
   
   1st of all there are no re-spawns there are a set number of enemies on the map which makes it difficult to gain exp and gold.
   
   you will find yourself up against 100 HP enemies than can spawn up to 4 50 HP goblins when all you have is a party of four ranging from 12 to 20 HP when you only do 7-10 dmg and they each do 8-10 dmg against your party and you will be slaughtered! and because you won't have the right gear because everything in the stores is INSANELY expensive you will find yourself getting wiped out again and again!
   
   it NEVER gives you enough opportunities to grow your party before your thrown into the gauntlet against insanely hard mobs and this is just on the normal settings!
   
   spell casting sucks also it takes 1 turn to cast a spell and if your hit before the turn is up your spells are cancelled and ythe same goes with enemy spells you have to drop what your doing and do a pitiful low level attack just because it does mind dmg to stop their spells and did i mention you usually only have 2 party members that can do this? the amount of unfairness in this game is just insanely unfair!
   
   there are much much better rpg (rpg lol what a joke calling it that) out there than this polished turn. try them instead!… Expand

   • 6 of 13 users found this helpful

See all 14 User Reviews