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

[Bohr]

Here are peak player numbers for the first Saturday. Normally a game beats its launch day peak at this time, but inXile last two releases have been exceptions. Torment memorably collapsed from 7k to 4k , while BT4 has only lost about a hundred players.

75.429 - D:OS 2
21.848 - Deadfire
18.846 - Wasteland 2
15.730 - Tyranny
 6.075 - Legend of Grimrock
 4.146 - Legend of Grimrock 2
 4.072 - Torment
 2.887 - Ex-Vikings
 2.542 - Star Control: Origins
 2.269 - Battle Brothers
 1,831 - Bard's Tale 4     <----
 1.716 - Neverwinter Nights EE
   595 - Stranger of Sword City
   450 - Starcrawlers
   172 - Grimoire

Perhaps too soon to write it off though, itz coming

 

[taxalot]

So I finally got my BT4 key but after reading the rest of the posts here, all I want is my Bard's Tale 1 key. Thanks Brian.

I got my BT4 key thanks to some inXile insider help and Brian Frago helping me himself on Twitter so there's at least that. I guess I can still never play it now.

 

[BEvers]

Perhaps too soon to write it off though, itz coming

Interesting discrepancy, Steamdb gives BT4's launch day peak as 2,058: https://steamdb.info/app/566090/graphs/

 

[Bohr]

Man, those comparisons to the likes of Grimrock, Tyranny and Deadfire (let alone DOS 2) are brutal, esp given the reported budget of this game

 

[Infinitron]

Interesting discrepancy, Steamdb gives BT4's launch day peak as 2,058: https://steamdb.info/app/566090/graphs/

It works by taking a sample every N minutes. I'd assume each site uses a different interval, so discrepancies are to be expected.

 

[BEvers]

Man, those comparisons to the likes of Grimrock, Tyranny and Deadfire (let alone DOS 2) are brutal, esp given the reported budget of this game

Is there any data on what Grimrock 2's budget was? It's considered a semi-flop, but its numbers look better than BT4's, and I doubt it cost 10 million to make.

 

[Serus]

Man, those comparisons to the likes of Grimrock, Tyranny and Deadfire (let alone DOS 2) are brutal, esp given the reported budget of this game

Is there any data on what Grimrock 2's budget was? It's considered a semi-flop, but its numbers look better than BT4's, and I doubt it cost 10 million to make.

Grimrock 2? Battle Brothers is higher than BT4 on this list and Battle Brothers is as indie and niche as it gets and had a small fraction of the budget.

 

[V_K]

Man, those comparisons to the likes of Grimrock, Tyranny and Deadfire (let alone DOS 2) are brutal, esp given the reported budget of this game

Is there any data on what Grimrock 2's budget was? It's considered a semi-flop, but its numbers look better than BT4's, and I doubt it cost 10 million to make.

Well it was still made by the same 4 guys. They rented bigger offices though, so there's that.

 

[2house2fly]

Weird to think Pillars 2 probably had about the same budget and 21k peak players was considered a catastrophic failure

 

[Bohr]

Apology accepted

 

[Morkar Left]

Man, those comparisons to the likes of Grimrock, Tyranny and Deadfire (let alone DOS 2) are brutal, esp given the reported budget of this game

Did you read further? It's in the same ranking as Neverwinter Nights EE which is just a re-release from a 2002 game with some minimal patching. THAT IS BRUTAL!

 

[toro]

One pixie puzzle too much and I'm done with the game. After 20 hours and like 50% of the game content, I simply cannot take it anymore.

It's true that the game looks occasionally good but I cannot stress enough the importance of the word "occasionally". There are a couple of visual set-pieces but most of the time the game looks like a schizophrenic's work, not to mention the bad animations and stiff movements.

But it doesn't matter how it looks, how it moves or how many game breaking bugs it has because the game is garbage. Pure undistilled garbage.

I honestly don't know what to mention first because there are a myriad of issues with it.

First of all, the world and the story are mediocre at best. The most interesting thing in this entire world is that Skara Brae is located on top of a sunken town. That's like the peak creativity because everything else is pure derivative shit.

There are a couple of NPCs which are trying to be funny but they are not. Interacting with them is reduced to selecting all dialog options because that's the status of what inXile can create in 2018. It makes me miss the dialog wheel.

Quests are designed with the quest compass in mind therefore good-luck trying to play without it (only possible if you track the wrong quest with intention).

There are a couple of stand alone puzzle weapons but overall the itemization is shit. Expect to encounter +1 stat weapons based on your level. Maybe it scales like in DOS2 but I'm not sure.

Second big issue is that the level design actually enforces a linear progression. If you like to clean-up areas before moving to other areas then your game will look like the alphabet: area A -> area B -> area C ... and so on. Also the tutorial and start areas are linear by themselves.

The late game areas were supposed to have better design but all I found was: corridor -> fight -> corridor -> puzzle -> puzzle -> puzzle -> corridor -> fight -> corridor -> puzzle -> puzzle -> puzzle ... repeat ad nauseam.

Linearity it's not an issue by itself when the content is decent but this is not the case.

The level design for areas is barely amateurish in quality. Whoever designed the world is so retarded that most shortcuts will never be used.

The combat is completely trivialized by a couple of combos which you cannot miss because the game makes sure of that. Hint: some of the main companions don't have some critical skills therefore it's better to create your own party members.

Then you have a limiting skills tree, at max you can develop like 3 abilities per character where one ability is free (as it will not consume opportunity points), a retarded shared actions points mechanic (in most fight you will only use like 3-4 characters max while the others will simply sit out) and brain-dead AI.

The puzzles are retarded and honestly an insult to the intelligence of any RPG connoisseur. Instead of bazillions of retarded puzzles they could have made 5 puzzles of each type and move on. But no, I had to do 30+ pixie puzzles ... which eventually was too much even for me.

The third issue with the game is that certain mechanics are completely opaque. There is no in-game easy way to find out how the puzzle weapons shrines work? There is no indications for how the geodes should work? And so on.

The offering statues are really big offenders in this department because not only some of them don't offer any indications for the offerings but it is possible you will not have the required items in your inventory. Great riddle design where there is no riddle.

Anyway this game is one of the most vomit inducing game I've played in long time cause there are no redeeming qualities. It's just a constant stream of bland and mediocre content nobody cared about.

The game starts like a dud but then it gets progressively worse until you will not be able to take it anymore. It's as soulless as it can get.

Don't trust the apologists and more importantly don't buy this shit.

 

[BEvers]

https://www.shacknews.com/article/107462/the-bards-tale-iv-review-past-its-due-date

The Bard's Tale IV review: Past its due date
inXile's latest dungeon crawler looks to revive the more traditional RPG, but does it succeed? Here is our review.

September 22, 2018 2:30 PM

The role-playing genre has seen quite the evolution over the years. Today, games described as an “RPG” tend to lean more into the action and adventure elements, leaving the extensive world building, character designing, and overall lore to the wayside. The original trilogy of Bard’s Tale games are classic RPG’s and were pioneers for elements that would become staples of the genre. Thirty years later, the franchise looks to make a triumphant return in a much evolved landscape of gaming. For better or worse, The Bard’s Tale IV: Barrow’s Deep is a true RPG to its core, but that isn’t enough to save it from its several shortcomings.

Crafting your own adventure
Where The Bard’s Tale IV shines the brightest is in its character customization and world building. I was more than impressed when designing my character by the amount of diverse options I had when it came to race, class, skills and appearance. More specifically, the fact that the character creator offered several different male and female voices with different tones and emotional ranges is a feature I found really cool. The majority of games in which you get to create your own character from scratch usually go the “silent protagonist” route; you can see inXile put in the extra effort in creating a genuine role-playing experience. Hearing your own character speak and react to the events around them audibly seems like a simple addition, but really drives home the sense of immersion we crave so desperately when playing an RPG. Also, being able to assign any voiceover to my character, regardless of gender, is a neat touch.

Diving further into the world building, many of NPC’s feel like real people, usually with something interesting to share. Some may tell you of an old legend that’ll send you on a wild goose chase of side quests, hoping to find gold at the end of the rainbow. Others however, may just share a funny story, or tell you of an old urban legend that helps to build the world out more. Again, this isn’t a mindblowing component, but it’s another example of the developer taking the extra step to create a living and breathing world.

The Role-Playing elements in Bard’s Tale IV are well-done, and work as a great first impression in the opening hour or two of the game. That being said, the game does little to build upon them or compliment them from there on. Many of its most key ingredients are bland, unnecessarily convoluted, or just flat out boring.

Combat woes
Turn-based combat is a hallmark of old fashioned RPG’s. Although this style of combat is starting to show its age, it can still work really well if done properly. The combat in The Bard’s Tale IV is pretty much a mess. It was obvious that they had to bring something new to the table, since video games have progressed past the completely text-based combat seen in Bard’s Tale III decades ago. The turn based combat set on a 4x4 grid was a valiant effort, but one that falls flat. It’s anticlimactic, difficult to fully grasp, and overall just more complex than it needed to be. The integration of skills and abilities was fine, but all in all battling in Bard’s Tale IV felt like a chore. I often found myself maneuvering around dungeons to minimize the amount of encounters I had. I did however like the “first strike” feature, in which you would always get the first turn on an enemy if you charged at them first.

A familiar journey
As for the story, Bard’s Tale IV falls in the middle of the road. It’s not terrible, but at the same time, nothing to write home about either. Set one hundred years After the franchises last installment in 1988, following the fall of the Adventurers Guild, you’re called upon to save the world from the powers that be. You and a party of NPC or player created characters will go from dungeon to dungeon, town to town on an epic journey. It feels like your basic “save the world” RPG questline. The narrative in Bard’s Tale IV had no lasting impact on me, but it didn’t leave a sour taste in my mouth either.

The dungeons featured throughout the game were solid. Solve some puzzles, fight some monsters, find some treasure. I enjoyed my time in some dungeons way more than others, and found the puzzles to be oddly placed at times, but the general dungeon crawling experience was fine. Those who are a sucker for a simple gameplay loop will find themselves spending the vast share of their time dungeoning in The Bard’s Tale IV.

There are other inconveniences that plague Bard’s Tale IV such as bad loading times, poor optimization, bugs, and lackluster UI. Although my PC met the technical requirements, there were still several skips and the game struggled to run at 60 fps. The inventory management system could also use some touching up to help things feel less cluttered. However, these are probably the most fixable issues, so I won’t hark on them too much.

Conclusion
Bard’s Tale IV started off on the right foot, but proved to be boring installment in a franchise that probably would’ve been better off staying in the 80’s. In-depth character creation and customization along with an immersive world are nice, but aren’t enough to overcome poor combat and a lackluster story. In the end, The Bard’s Tale IV: Barrow’s Deep is a game that tries to bring the old school RPG to modern audiences, but instead serves as a reminder as to why those games died out decades ago.

6/10

 

[Hamster]

In the end, The Bard’s Tale IV: Barrow’s Deep is a game that tries to bring the old school RPG to modern audiences, but instead serves as a reminder as to why those games died out decades ago.

6/10

Fuck off, you worthless cuck.

 

[Hamster]

Donovan Erskine
Intern

Donovan is a young journalist from Maryland, who likes to game. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his moms desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games.

 

[BEvers]

Pokémon Emerald

Roqua

 

[fantadomat]

The game will become good in a month time. Seeing how many things they are intending to change,all of which should have been in the released version. Like better map ui,sorting inventory,more slots for skills,performance and less bugs. I intend to continue it after i finish the kingmaker game.....unless it also have a game breaking bug. As a whole the game will become worth checking out after it gets patched.

 

[Morkar Left]

The game will become good in a month time. Seeing how many things they are intending to change,all of which should have been in the released version. Like better map ui,sorting inventory,more slots for skills,performance and less bugs. I intend to continue it after i finish the kingmaker game.....unless it also have a game breaking bug. As a whole the game will become worth checking out after it gets patched.

Can you link me to where they claim that, please?

 

[Robespierre]

To think I've wasted over 100 bucks for this trainwreck... And now I don't have enough money to buy and play and enjoy Grimoire. Fuck you Fargo.

 

[fantadomat]

The game will become good in a month time. Seeing how many things they are intending to change,all of which should have been in the released version. Like better map ui,sorting inventory,more slots for skills,performance and less bugs. I intend to continue it after i finish the kingmaker game.....unless it also have a game breaking bug. As a whole the game will become worth checking out after it gets patched.

Can you link me to where they claim that, please?

https://steamcommunity.com/games/566090/announcements/detail/1685925928806603042
Patch 2&3,also i read it in some of the steam discussion. Most likely it will become a lot better game after a few patches.

 

[Metal Hurlant]

I find it a little odd that most of the digital extras including the manual weren't included in the download with the game. And that you have to manually download all the digital extras from the crowdox website.

 

[Haba]

To think I've wasted over 100 bucks for this trainwreck... And now I don't have enough money to buy and play and enjoy Grimoire. Fuck you Fargo.

A single session of ass-whoring should be enough to get you a copy of Grimoire.

But look at it from another perspective - there will never be another Grimoire, or anything alike it. Once you have played it through it will be gone. Maybe it is better to save it for a true moment of desperation.

 

[Don Peste]

Have they screwed up the AI with the patch?

This was my first fight against paladins. Yellow group, it was supposed to be of medium difficulty. But the enemies just stayed in the corner for the whole fight, without attacking me not even once, until I killed them. They cast Shield Wall and Heal, and that's it.

And this also happened in a previous fight, a two-legged beholder just stayed put waiting to die.

 

[fantadomat]

Have they screwed up the AI with the patch?

This was my first fight against paladins. Yellow group, it was supposed to be of medium difficulty. But the enemies just stayed in the corner for the whole fight, without attacking me not even once, until I killed them. They cast Shield Wall and Heal, and that's it.

And this also happened in a previous fight, a two-legged beholder just stayed put waiting to die.

It was a bug from before the patch,sometime people in the most right column will stop attacking. It is no big deal,it happens rarely.

 

[Zombra]

Is it weird to anyone else to see these quick post-release patches fixing huge things? "Oh, now we're going to patch framerate so the game can run. We didn't bother to do that in the last 3 years but since feedback indicates players want the game to run we will patch that in by next week."