So far, the information about The Bard's Tale 4 has been rather few and far between. During a visit to the inXile developers, the pcgamer colleagues were able to take a look at the Kickstarter title.
The Bard's Tale is a traditional series of dungeon crawlers that started in 1985. At that time still distributed by Interplay / Electronic Arts, the titles appeared on systems like the C64, Amiga, Atari and PC, which were widespread at the time. In the first person perspective you explored dungeons with your party and fought turn-based battles. His party was chosen from adventurers who had typical D&D classes such as fighter, magician, bard etc.
2005 appeared with The Bard's Tale under the direction of Brian Fargo, the so far last part of the series as a standalone action game, in a new contemporary design.
The Kickstarter campaign for The Bard's Tale 4 started in 2015 and was successfully completed. The game has been in development since then. The number 4 shows that the traditional RPG series should be continued at this point.
The Bard's Tale 4 with a grandiose upper world
If you now expect the first glimpse of gloomy dungeon walls, you were pleasantly surprised. A beautiful overworld depicted in modern graphics that rivals the landscapes of Skyrim.
In the basics of the game, the traditions come to the fore again, there is a party with several members and turn-based battles again. Hidden doors like in the oldies invite you to explore the area and promise rewards.
While the game offers an open world and free movement, there is also the possibility for nostalgics to switch to the old system in which the party always moved around a square. Anyone who likes to draw cards on squared paper will be delighted. The Bard's Tale 4 offers something for every taste.
Skara Brae as the first dungeon
Skara Brae, the town some of the veterans from The Bard's Tale 1 can still remember, will be the first dungeon in Bard's 4. In the meantime a city has been built on Skara Brae, but the dungeon follows the same floor plan as in 1985, but thanks to the UE4 engine it appears in new splendor.
In addition to the dungeons and monsters contaminated forests, players also meet friendly NPCs who trade or distribute tasks. More than 20 dungeons have already been implemented and the upper world, like the forests full of monsters, is more or less a huge dungeon to which the remaining dungeons connect.
As a result, it can also happen that the party ends up in an area that is much too difficult and it is better to retreat quickly. Of course, this also offers the opportunity to get high rewards with superior tactics.
The combat system has been reworked a bit, if you encounter enemies, the game switches to a 4 × 4 battle arena. Clever positioning will focus your enemies and hopefully win the battle. Thanks to effects such as bleeding, which cause damage when moving, there are many decisions to be made.
The developer video at the beginning of the article gives an overview of the system.
The Bard's Tale 4 will be released for PC in 2018.
