The Bard's Tale

 PC
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 103 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 61 out of 103
  2. Mixed: 31 out of 103
  3. Negative: 11 out of 103
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  1. DonnieBrasco
    Jun 15, 2005
    4
    Awesome, hilarious absurd humor a'la Monty Python paired with subpar graphics, no RPG elements and "dumbed-down-to-ground" playflow make this a very mixed game. With a nice skills/char development and much more depth concerning gameplay this could have been a classic. Does the name "Anachronox" ring a bell? Not far....
  2. Knief
    May 19, 2005
    4
    Judging by the demo, anywho, this is a game well after its time, bringing nothing new to the genre.
  3. MitchellS.
    Aug 23, 2005
    1
    This thing sucks. Barely worthy of the name Bards Tale. Sorry I paid full price for it. It's a cheap, shoddy effort to cash in on the name by the original creator, who must have had a bad run of business luck or something, and got desperate. And it shows. The graphics are circa 1999. They're SERIOUSLY BAD, and if you told most gamers this came out in 2004/5 and they'd not This thing sucks. Barely worthy of the name Bards Tale. Sorry I paid full price for it. It's a cheap, shoddy effort to cash in on the name by the original creator, who must have had a bad run of business luck or something, and got desperate. And it shows. The graphics are circa 1999. They're SERIOUSLY BAD, and if you told most gamers this came out in 2004/5 and they'd not heard about it prior, they would have no reason to believe you. Gameplay is basically non-existent; I'm tempted to say this game isn't even finished, and that they decided to throw in the towel and release it at the "walk-through demo" state, which is pretty much what it is. That said, some of the content is damn funny. So it gets a one, not z ero. It just isn't worth $40. Or even $20.… Expand
  4. ghorahn
    Mar 23, 2012
    3
    Vapid, mediocre, pointless game. Makes me concerned about the $15 I pledged for Wasteland 2 on Kickstarter...if these people consider this Bard's Tale game to be a game worth playing, who knows how they'll butcher Wasteland. Here's my guess: Dull, pointless combat. (Face your target, click him. Rinse, repeat.) The lowest common denominator of character development. Uninspired,Vapid, mediocre, pointless game. Makes me concerned about the $15 I pledged for Wasteland 2 on Kickstarter...if these people consider this Bard's Tale game to be a game worth playing, who knows how they'll butcher Wasteland. Here's my guess: Dull, pointless combat. (Face your target, click him. Rinse, repeat.) The lowest common denominator of character development. Uninspired, sometimes-obnoxious voice acting that plays right to tired gaming stereotypes. And an obsession with polygonal bosoms that only happens when you're a porn-obsessed teenager or a desparately lonely old man. What an embarassing piece of junk this game is. Glad I only spent $5 on it on Steam.… Expand
  5. RedJay
    Nov 6, 2013
    3
    While the send up of RPG tropes is appealing and, at times, very amusing, this game is simply awful. It suffers from one of the worst combat systems I've ever had the misfortune to have been subjected to, being both extremely unresponsive and uninteresting. The graphics are primitive and dull and the art direction is uninspired to the extreme. The writing is a little uneven but, for theWhile the send up of RPG tropes is appealing and, at times, very amusing, this game is simply awful. It suffers from one of the worst combat systems I've ever had the misfortune to have been subjected to, being both extremely unresponsive and uninteresting. The graphics are primitive and dull and the art direction is uninspired to the extreme. The writing is a little uneven but, for the most part, really well done with some very funny and enjoyable comedic bits. The voice acting is excellent for the most part during the game's cutscenes, only to be offset by some atrocious voice work during combat. Cary Elwes seems wasted, often choosing to play the Bard in a bored and disengaged characterization instead of a likeably charismatic rogue. The overall sound design is also horrible, with low quality effects, out of place and repetitive ambient sounds and voiceover lines stepping on each other. The RPG elements of the game have been dumbed down to near non-existence, and the loot system (for what paltry loot there is) is unrewarding since all finds are immediately converted into money, with no management of inventory or equipment. Summoned companions have settable AI modes which have almost no effect on actual gameplay. The game also has a tendency to screw up the controls coming out of cutscenes.
    Given the inherent promise of a humorous skewering of RPG clichés, it's disappointing that a serviceable game couldn't have been produced around that premise.    … Expand
  6. Ekon
    Jan 20, 2022
    4
    I played The Bard's Tale on Xbox One Game Pass. I was enjoying the game for the most part although I was surprised how combat heavy the story was. I thought there would be a lot more character development. Also, The Bard is suppossed to be a 'Ladies Man', but there was way too little going on between him and the girls in this game. Things quickly came to a halt when a character namedI played The Bard's Tale on Xbox One Game Pass. I was enjoying the game for the most part although I was surprised how combat heavy the story was. I thought there would be a lot more character development. Also, The Bard is suppossed to be a 'Ladies Man', but there was way too little going on between him and the girls in this game. Things quickly came to a halt when a character named Mell kept getting stuck in front of an energy barrier he was suppossed to clear, so the Bard could progress to a big confrontation with an enemy and get a magical instrument. All online hints failed, including reloading from an earlier point and/or shooting enemies out of camera range with his bow. Doing that was suppossed to enable Mell to be able to proceed. I'm a slow player and this glitch isn't all that far into the game. This game has to be replaced by an updated version that has been cleared of bugs.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

51
#51 Most Discussed PC Game of 2005
30
#30 Most Shared PC Game of 2005

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
70

Mixed or average reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 11
  3. Negative: 1 out of 11
  1. PC Format
    45
    A victim of its own sneers, this is the world's first self-parodying game. [July 2005, p.90]
  2. Computer and Video Games
    68
    While The Bard's Tale is told amusingly enough, the disappointing combat fails to lift it from the upper end of mediocrity.
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  3. CPUGamer
    80
    The wit present in this game is second to none and I honestly think this is what would have happened had Mel Brooks gotten into game making.
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