The Bard's Tale Trilogy

Really brings me back to when I played this game on the C64. I remember this game as being really brutal and killing me several times. I figured I was just too young to understand this game, and I was, but seems it was not the main reason I kept dying so much... this game is very brutal. Somehow they have managed to add some 3D graphics to the city you walk around in without making it feel out of place. It keeps feeling like the classic game, with the same controls and same combat. It is probably not for everyone, but its a nice change of pace to try one of these games that were one of the games to lay the foundations for RPG games as we know them today.

What a wonderful work. I don't really know the original but I'm into old games. I was searching for a way, to catch up on this old gem. The work done by InXile is just wonderful. With the Patch to 1.09 it now works with Linux wine and is finally playable. It adds some comfort functions like a minimap to the original and as I learned in Podcasts adjusts the game balance. The result is a polished gem from the past. It's long ago, that a game instantly sucked me in and made me just want to explore and play it. Here it is. I'm so much looking forward for the next parts and more stuff like this. It's just wonderful and amazing. Thanks a lot.

... with slight enhancements to the games. Short review: A lovingly crafted rework of the original games, with plenty for old and new school players to discover and get excited about. If you've ever wondered what the fuss is about, this is a great way to get into the series and still get the feel without it being overly punishing. I've you've run it a million times already, it's save anywhere, mapping, and easier XP curve make it more accommodating to play with less grind. Long review: https://youtu.be/77TyLTXfp2Y

I strongly recommend that you get this game if you have played the original ones, but if you haven't, just don't bother (unless you want to see how a 80's game feels like, but you'll most likely hate it :). I remember playing the original Bard's Tale in 1990 and the countless hours I spent meticulously drawing all dungeon maps on grid papers. The game was really hard and brutal (like most 80's games) and the only way to save it was getting back to the Adventurer's guild, which was not easy after getting deep into a dungeon. After 30 years, I still remembered many aspects of the original game, like how to get into the first dungeon and even some of the spell names. Somehow I think all those years feel just like a quick break.

Bard's Tale is a classic RPG - a must for any fans of the genre. But, like many games of its era (1985) it's not very accessible for modern audiences. This remastered version totally nails the sweet spot between making the game more accessible without losing the essence (and, importantly, the difficulty) of a mid-80s RPG. You cannot call yourself an RPG fan if you have not played this game. And this is the best way to do it :-) (And bonus - Part IV is about to come out!)