The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep
The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep is a dungeon crawler video game developed by inXile Entertainment.
| The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | inXile Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | inXile Entertainment |
| Designer(s) | David Roger |
| Composer(s) | Ged Grimes Julie Fowlis Mark Morgan |
| Series | The Bard's Tale |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 4 |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows macOS Linux PlayStation 4 Xbox One |
| Release | Windows
PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, MacOS, Linux
|
| Genre(s) | Dungeon crawler |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Gameplay
The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep is a party-based dungeon crawler role-playing video game with gameplay experienced from a first-person perspective.[1][2]
Development and release
The Bard's Tale is a fantasy role-playing video game series established by Interplay Productions in the year 1985.[3] Two sequels were released in the 1980s before the series went dormant.[3] In 2004, inXile Entertainment developed and released a spin-off game to the series.[3]
In January 2015, Brian Fargo, CEO of inXile Entertainment, announced plans to develop The Bard's Tale IV.[3] Fargo's vision was to a create a true successor to the original trilogy of Bard's Tale games.[3] In May 2015, the studio announced that they would launch a Kickstarter campaign to crowdfund development costs for The Bard's Tale IV.[1] InXile had previously used Kickstarter to successfully crowdfund previous projects—Wasteland 2 and Torment: Tides of Numenera.[1] The crowdfunding campaign for The Bard's Tale IV launched on 2 June 2015 with a target of US$1.25 million.[1] The crowdfunding surpassed its target on 15 June 2015.[4]
The game is built using Unreal Engine 4.[1] The development team will make use of photogrammetry to create textures for 3D objects.[1]
Scottish folk singer Julie Fowlis is contributing to the game's music.[1]
The game was released on September 18, 2018 for Windows.[5] A Director's Cut version for the game, which includes new dungeons and quality of life features, was released on August 27, 2019 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, macOS, and Linux. Existing owners of the Windows version can upgrade their game to the Director's Cut version for free.[6]
Reception
Awards
The game was nominated for "Best Original Song" with "Across the Seven Realms" and "Best Sound Design for an Indie Game" at the 2019 G.A.N.G. Awards,[7] and for "Best Audio Design" at The Independent Game Developers' Association Awards.[8]
References
- Yin-Poole, Wesley (18 May 2015). "Brian Fargo's vision for The Bard's Tale 4". Eurogamer. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
- Cobbett, Richard (18 May 2015). "Epic Lute: Brian Fargo On Bringing Back The Bard's Tale". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
- Yin-Poole, Wesley (26 January 2015). "Brian Fargo announces The Bard's Tale 4". Eurogamer. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
- Purchese, Robert (15 June 2015). "Get Bard's Tale 1-3 free for backing Bard's Tale 4". Eurogamer. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
- Chalk, Andy (12 July 2018). "The Bard's Tale 4: Barrows Deep release date set for September". PC Gamer. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
- Wales, Matt (July 11, 2019). "The Bard's Tale 4's massive Director's Cut update is finally out this August". Eurogamer. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
- Lagumbay, Emmanuel (14 February 2019). "2019 G.A.N.G. Awards Finalists". Game Audio Network Guild. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
- Stephenson, Suzi (19 September 2019). "TIGA Announces Games Industry Awards 2019 Finalists". The Independent Game Developers' Association. Retrieved 25 September 2019.