Bard's Tale The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep - Director's Cut

[Contagium]

Let's see how enthusiastic you are when faced with your 7,543rd fairy golf puzzle.

Fuck those fucking puzzles. The puzzle skip option is the only thing that made that game playable. I really liked the combat but even that got old in the end. The music in the game was great, especially the female singers.

My PC also ran incredibly warm during that game. My GPU at the time ran on overdrive (RX 570 8gb). Be interested to see how my 6600 XT handles it, but I have no desire to replay that game.

 

[anvi]

I think I preferred M&MX to this game. But I can't remember.

 

[4249]

I can't fucking take it. I generally don't like ignoring people, but whenever I start reading a Fluent post I feel like I'm losing at least a few brain cells.

 

[V_K]

I'm not sure what this game's problem is

UE4

 

[Fluent]

Hey guys. it took me 20 hours but I finally left Skara Brae (with MUCH more to do there later) and am exploring the wildnerness. Man, this game is gorgeous and fun to explore! I added yet another new party member with a story to my roster, so that makes about 8 or 9 characters I can choose from, for a total of 5 out of 6 party member slots (we unlock the 6th slot later). The character development and way you kit your character with Masteries is so freaking interesting to me. You can make just an infinite amount of interesting builds and party synergy. My new member is our first Bard, and they put a lot of work into this Archetype too. Not only can they chug different types of booze if u equip a Tankard, they can sing lovely little songs that can help u so much in challenging encounters on Hard difficulty. I dare not stay on Legendary difficulty, u pretty much have to min/max I take it just to survive. But man, I am loving this game so much. I feel at home in this world InXile has gently and carefully and lovingly crafted. Cheers to Brian Fargo and company!

 

[fantadomat]

gorgeous

Not on release....

LOLOLOLOLOL i just played the game for a half an hour and i am going to bed. It is ugly,when it started i looked around and thought it is on medium graphics because my card is old.....turned out it was on ultra with all the extras. It was really choppy so i decided to lower it to medium....here is how it looks

The game feels....meh in the first few minutes. All the dialogue was press continue,everyone in the city was singing or talking about muh racism. I just run past a few fanatics burning a elf bitch and i was all "Oh please shut up,i am opening barrels for loot here!". It really feels like waster resources.

 

[Fluent]

Cheers fanta. It did have a rough release, and I guess that hurt it both in reputation and sales numbers. But man, it's nice now, and exploring outdoors and getting a high vantage point fills me with such a sense of adventure! You can see snow-capped mountains, valleys, little ruins here and there, tall monuments, it's just really pleasing to the RPG Nerd in me. Also, the quest I received after 20 hours said "A Long Road Ahead", which also fills me with joy and wonderment. Tons of content yet to come, sweet! Heh. Thanks for the response and rating fanta. Appreciate u buddy.

 

[fantadomat]

Cheers fanta. It did have a rough release, and I guess that hurt it both in reputation and sales numbers. But man, it's nice now, and exploring outdoors and getting a high vantage point fills me with such a sense of adventure! You can see snow-capped mountains, valleys, little ruins here and there, tall monuments, it's just really pleasing to the RPG Nerd in me. Also, the quest I received after 20 hours said "A Long Road Ahead", which also fills me with joy and wonderment. Tons of content yet to come, sweet! Heh. Thanks for the response and rating fanta. Appreciate u buddy.

The under city in the start is the best part of the game,later it becomes meh. Still i did replay it a few month ago. It is not terrible game,but not good too.

 

[Fluent]

Well I'm glad u enjoyed it enough for a replay fanta. That's pretty cool! I enjoyed the undercity a lot too, and I look forward to coming back later and tying up a bunch of loose ends there.

 

[Atlet]

Hey guys. it took me 20 hours but I finally left Skara Brae (with MUCH more to do there later) and am exploring the wildnerness. Man, this game is gorgeous and fun to explore! I added yet another new party member with a story to my roster, so that makes about 8 or 9 characters I can choose from, for a total of 5 out of 6 party member slots (we unlock the 6th slot later). The character development and way you kit your character with Masteries is so freaking interesting to me. You can make just an infinite amount of interesting builds and party synergy. My new member is our first Bard, and they put a lot of work into this Archetype too. Not only can they chug different types of booze if u equip a Tankard, they can sing lovely little songs that can help u so much in challenging encounters on Hard difficulty. I dare not stay on Legendary difficulty, u pretty much have to min/max I take it just to survive. But man, I am loving this game so much. I feel at home in this world InXile has gently and carefully and lovingly crafted. Cheers to Brian Fargo and company!

Is there any rpg you dislike?

 

[BruceVC]

I completed Bards Tale 4 and it was a great, overall gaming experience. inXile created a compelling game and I support this studio. I spent about 150 hours to complete the game but I will add it was the hardest RPG I have ever played because of the puzzles and how they are intrinsically part of the design...so yes if you dont have much patience for puzzles rather avoid this one

I am normally not a puzzle person, I dont like to spend more than 20 minutes on a puzzle but I realized with BT4 that their was a common thread with all the puzzles and how to solve them and once I understood this design it made them a little more fun and rewarding, pixie golf was nothing compared to the exasperation of understanding how the " liquid flowing " puzzles worked. And I did use several gaming guides on the hardest puzzles

But I did enjoy the combat mechanics and how you could design your party build with relevant skills that really made a difference in high level battles

 

[Slimu]

Fluent Have you tried https://store.steampowered.com/app/985950/Operencia_The_Stolen_Sun/ ?

 

[BruceVC]

Fluent Have you tried https://store.steampowered.com/app/985950/Operencia_The_Stolen_Sun/ ?

I have this game on Steam and have yet to play it, how did you find it as I know very little about it ?

 

[Slimu]

I have this game on Steam and have yet to play it, how did you find it as I know very little about it ?

I know about it because I played the demo and liked it. From the review it looks like a better Bards Tale 4. I still have to play it.

 

[Hobo Elf]

it was the hardest RPG I have ever played because of the puzzles and how they are intrinsically part of the design...so yes if you dont have much patience for puzzles rather avoid this one

The Director's Cut edition has a song that lets you bypass every single puzzle in the game so for anyone who is interested in this game but not interested in heavy puzzling, it's not a problem. The crawling and combat is still enjoyable even if you skip the puzzles.

 

[Reinhardt]

From the review it looks like a better Bards Tale 4.

If even this is better than bard's tale 4 than bard's tale 4 truly is shit.

 

[BruceVC]

it was the hardest RPG I have ever played because of the puzzles and how they are intrinsically part of the design...so yes if you dont have much patience for puzzles rather avoid this one

The Director's Cut edition has a song that lets you bypass every single puzzle in the game so for anyone who is interested in this game but not interested in heavy puzzling, it's not a problem. The crawling and combat is still enjoyable even if you skip the puzzles.

Yes I played the directors cut and I remember that specific song, I didnt realize it could be used for all puzzles....I only used it once right at the end

For me I felt I had to learn how the puzzles worked because that was part of design of the game so I would have felt I was " betraying " the developers ethos if I just bypassed the fun and frustration of the puzzles and opening doors

But you right, that is one easy way to mitigate all the vexation people may have with BT4 puzzles

 

[BruceVC]

I have this game on Steam and have yet to play it, how did you find it as I know very little about it ?

I know about it because I played the demo and liked it. From the review it looks like a better Bards Tale 4. I still have to play it.

I found it received good reviews and general feedback so I will give it a go once I have finished Disco Elysium ..I am about to start on this game

 

[Fluent]

Fluent Have you tried https://store.steampowered.com/app/985950/Operencia_The_Stolen_Sun/ ?

I know about the game, it's been sitting in my wishlist thru several sales. I'll pick it up eventually and check it out. I'm sure I'll have fun with it. Thanks, Slimu !

 

[fantadomat]

Fluent Have you tried https://store.steampowered.com/app/985950/Operencia_The_Stolen_Sun/ ?

I have this game on Steam and have yet to play it, how did you find it as I know very little about it ?

I would recommend it too,very good game.

 

[Fluent]

I find myself just stopping to listen to the music in this game (BT4). So beautiful, can almost bring a tear to your eye in some spots. I just love it, man. One of my favorite CRPGs right here, already. Truly a special game.

 

[Fluent]

The fun just does not STOP when it comes to character and party customization & development! For example, I did a puzzle weapon for a wand that my Practitioner is using. After some character development and buying her an expensive new Oakheart Staff, she has Strength very comparable to my main damage dealer, my strength-focused Rogue. Strength can also be important for casters as u can develop their physical spell attacks too, and even specialize in Bladecasting that focuses on weapon skills. This is important because her one spell does a TON of damage based on physical strength, and the puzzle weapon I unlocked 2 tiers of has a 100% chance of inflicting armor Rend. So not only will she hit for big damage when she has enough spell points to cast (for free, btw, since spells don't use Opportunity Points, only Spell Points), she will strip Armor from enemies who may be heavily armored. She's a BEAST, in other words, heh.

Limiting characters to 4 Mastery slots is huge, because u can create real synergy and interesting builds based on those Masteries. They are game-changers, and you'll have to select them carefully and thoughtfully. Of course how u develop their skill trees individually is important too, there's a LOT u can do there to create interesting and unique builds. I have about 9 characters now of all the various archetypes and not 2 of them play the same. And when I switch party members, the entire strategy of the party may change based on what they are capable of. Right now my party is Me (Rogue, focused on Alchemy and giving Draughts Of Strength to other party members to temporarily increase their damage), Fighter (who I'm focusing into a Guardian, aka a pure tank with a bit of strength to also do some Mental damage), another Rogue (who is much stronger and deadlier in combat), a Bard (focused on chugging booze to sing songs that reduce ability cooldowns by 1 and also shrink the enemies for a damage-free turn), and a Practitioner focused on setting enemies on fire, doing high Mental damage and also now has a very powerful Physical and armor rendering spell attack. I could list my reserve roster characters and they would all be different as well. There's a lot of flexibility here and great customization.

Just fun to play and talk about. Thank u for reading and hopefully this helps someone make up their mind if they are considering playing the game! Cheers!

 

[Reinhardt]

One of my favorite CRPGs right here, already.

so just like every other game?

 

[BruceVC]

The fun just does not STOP when it comes to character and party customization & development! For example, I did a puzzle weapon for a wand that my Practitioner is using. After some character development and buying her an expensive new Oakheart Staff, she has Strength very comparable to my main damage dealer, my strength-focused Rogue. Strength can also be important for casters as u can develop their physical spell attacks too, and even specialize in Bladecasting that focuses on weapon skills. This is important because her one spell does a TON of damage based on physical strength, and the puzzle weapon I unlocked 2 tiers of has a 100% chance of inflicting armor Rend. So not only will she hit for big damage when she has enough spell points to cast (for free, btw, since spells don't use Opportunity Points, only Spell Points), she will strip Armor from enemies who may be heavily armored. She's a BEAST, in other words, heh.

Limiting characters to 4 Mastery slots is huge, because u can create real synergy and interesting builds based on those Masteries. They are game-changers, and you'll have to select them carefully and thoughtfully. Of course how u develop their skill trees individually is important too, there's a LOT u can do there to create interesting and unique builds. I have about 9 characters now of all the various archetypes and not 2 of them play the same. And when I switch party members, the entire strategy of the party may change based on what they are capable of. Right now my party is Me (Rogue, focused on Alchemy and giving Draughts Of Strength to other party members to temporarily increase their damage), Fighter (who I'm focusing into a Guardian, aka a pure tank with a bit of strength to also do some Mental damage), another Rogue (who is much stronger and deadlier in combat), a Bard (focused on chugging booze to sing songs that reduce ability cooldowns by 1 and also shrink the enemies for a damage-free turn), and a Practitioner focused on setting enemies on fire, doing high Mental damage and also now has a very powerful Physical and armor rendering spell attack. I could list my reserve roster characters and they would all be different as well. There's a lot of flexibility here and great customization.

Just fun to play and talk about. Thank u for reading and hopefully this helps someone make up their mind if they are considering playing the game! Cheers!

I know I have mentioned this before but BT4 is a great game if you understand its design and get to appreciate what it excels at

I agree with basically everything you are sharing, I am not an expert in the game and I dont have your knowledge but the character builds and how they allow you a myriad of combat strategies really is fun, I had a very interesting party. 2 x Thieves, 2 x Tanks and 2 x Magic Users....no Bards. I use to love different ways to utilize skills and items...like the Feathered Charm to move dangerous enemy mages , trying to hide in the backrow , in front of my tanks or thieves ....they werent so clever now

 

[Fluent]

I know I have mentioned this before but BT4 is a great game if you understand its design and get to appreciate what it excels at

I agree with basically everything you are sharing, I am not an expert in the game and I dont have your knowledge but the character builds and how they allow you a myriad of combat strategies really is fun, I had a very interesting party. 2 x Thieves, 2 x Tanks and 2 x Magic Users....no Bards. I use to love different ways to utilize skills and items...like the Feathered Charm to move dangerous enemy mages , trying to hide in the backrow , in front of my tanks or thieves ....they werent so clever now

Thanks for the kind words! Nice details there, too! Yeah, the Trinket items are definitely very cool, there are many different items u can equip and use to make new strategies and synergies for your party. I made my Bard a Rabble-Rouser to start, which gives a very precious +1 Opportunity Points to the party. I am still learning how to use her effectively but chugging booze and generally using her Masteries she came with is somewhat effective. I love when she gets Smashed and her strength increases GREATLY. She's a sword user so a quick Storm Of Blades in that state does very nice damage.

There's just a lot of ways you can play the game and experiment with builds. It's very fun as u said, once u learn and understand its design. U really can make your group YOU with your fingerprints all over it, and I greatly appreciate that. Thanks for the response BruceVC ! Cheers.