The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep, the fourth proper installment in a franchise that began with an initial entry way back in 1985, arrived today on Steam. If you are so inclined, you can download the game right now and start exploring the fantastic realm of Caith.
"It's such an incredible joy to welcome back a magical world beloved by gamers for decades," said Brian Fargo, CEO at inXile Entertainment. "The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep is both a call back to and huge step forward for one of gaming's most pivotal series, capturing the classic charm and wonder of the originals while delivering a totally new adventure rich in modern design and beauty."
The Bard's Tale IV was pitched on Kickstarter in early June of 2015. The developers hoped to raise $1,250,000 for development, and instead secured $1,519,680 from many people--including myself--who wanted to see the team update the franchise while remaining true to its roots. The game was supposed to materialize in October of 2017, so it only ran about a year behind schedule. In Kickstarter time, that's not half bad.
As you play The Bard's Tale IV, you'll be able to recruit and customize as many as six heroes in your party. You'll venture into first-person dungeons, wander mazes, solve riddles, complete quests, defeat monsters and generally just have a (hopefully) good time.
The Bard’s Tale III: Thief of Fate was released way back in 1987, so clearly it has been quite some time since a proper update came along. The Bard's Tale was designed by inXile and released in 2004 as part of an attempt to revive interest in the series, but that effort really didn't go anywhere and many have forgotten the game even exists (though it did feature Cary Elwes at his sarcastic best).
It's early to say whether Barrows Deep will suffer a similar fate, but it does at least seem to be headed in a positive direction. If you would like to purchase it for yourself, you'll either need to plop down $34.99, or wait a few months or years for a terrific sale. Then again, you might prefer just to wait for the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One editions. Those are expected to arrive at some point in the future. There's no word on a possible Switch version just yet, however.
