The original Bard's Tale games were hard as nails. You were expected to work everything out the hard way: where to go to level up, weapon damage (you had to use them in a fight and work out what they were doing), and map yourself on paper while the game pulled horrible tricks to mess you up. And most people just ended up wandering Skara Brae's streets as there was only the vaguest hints of how to get to the first dungeons. For those who persisted though, there was a superb game for its time which picked up momentum as it went. This Trilogy remake has obviously been done with nostalgia and fondness. You can pick and choose modern quality of life options (mapping, reducing experience needed). You don't need to sit through slow-scrolling text like the sports results coming in. You can still make it close to the masochistic grind of old, but the old roughness has been smoothed off. BT2 and 3 mechanics have been backported into BT1, i.e. distance of groups, missile weapons, and being able to hit from first four ranks, so the old foibles like the Rogue being absolutely useless are no longer a thing. It's modernised, much friendlier, more playable, and a hell of a lot less grindy than the originals. It's not going to take you months or years to get through them. That said, the remake is still not going to be everyone's idea of fun. If you're not into old-school 80s RPGs, and you might want to steer clear, especially if you've never played the BT games before. But if, like me, you did and just never could complete them, they're a treat.
