Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Game
Game2009
The Bard's Tale ARPG: Remastered and Resnarkled
Developer inXile Entertainment
The Bard's Tale is a 1985 fantasy role-playing video game designed and programmed by Michael Cranford for Interplay Productions and published by Electronic Arts for the Apple II. Set in the fictional city of Skara Brae, which has been engulfed in eternal winter and overrun by monsters due to a spell cast by the evil wizard Mangar the Dark, the game tasks players with assembling and leading a party of up to six… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
90 reactions from 2 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky) · newest Sep 17, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
64
Fresh
57 positive · 32 negative
95% range 54–73%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 57 | 32 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
1 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
1,095 of 1,454 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
Summary pending — the reactions are listed below.
Reactions
60 of 90 · most liked firstI recommend this game very conditionally. If you have any nostalgia for it, it is pretty much exactly the same game as you remember. The biggest drawback is that it is pretty much EXACTLY the same game as you remember, flaws and all. That said, Cary Elwes as The Bard and Tony Rice as The Narrator are an absolute joy. The rest of the voice acting is fun, and lively, and silly as well. The music is of course pretty fun as well! The gameplay is clunky and dated and can be very frustrating.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Only 24 percent of players have beaten the rats in the cellar (This is the first fight of the game) The single BEST comedy musical ARPG from the ps2 era! Avoid spoilers, this is key. The HARDEST top down ARPG you will never finish. P.S. The guy from Princess bride is the voice of the bard.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A classic game full of fun and song, though it may be a bit old and clunky for some people. Tip 1: Do not waste points on Charisma. Once you've made a deal with the barrel maker in Houton you can go through the tavern and its basement twice to smash barrels, return for a 500 gold reward, then repeat indefinitely. (Stops working once you enter the cold mountains.) Tip 2: When you reach Dounby you should have at least 30 000 gold. Save, donate all you've got at the Kirk, then load to get your…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I doubt anyone will ever read this, so i will put this here. Multiple Endings - yes Good combat? no - but feel free to disagree its dog sheet. Good storyline? Mediocre at best. Jokes - i think only one joke genuinely made me laugh, overall pretty mediocre. i feel like this game doesn't know what it wants to be, it could have been a genuinely great game, one people actually loved and hailed as good especially in an ARPG genre, but unfortunately those that made it didn't fully understand…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the most memorable action RPGs in my opinion. There isn't a single part of this game that I don't adore as the music, the writing and the characters are all very near and dear to my heart. It has aged extremely well and still holds its own among many other titans of the genre. Highly recommended!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Despite it's age, this game gets somehow better with time. It's a rare breed of parody-RPG made by the titans of Interplay with genuinely good puns and terrific songs. Plus it's also spots industry legends like Tony Jay (his last work) as a narrator and Tommy Tallarico as a songwriter. The game itself is not that brilliant (it's just OK arpg with cool summon gimmicks) but oh my good is it funny, refreshing and full of clever puns and truly insightful jokes. It's a Steam Hidden Gem and I…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Beer beer beer, tiddly beer beer beer. A long time ago, way back in history, when all there was to drink was nothing but cups of tea, along came a man by the name of Charlie Mops, and he invented a wonderful drink and he made it out of hops. Hey! He must have been an admiral, a sultan or a king, and to his praises we shall always sing. Look what he has done for us he's filled us up with cheer! Lord bless Charlie Mops, the man who invented beer, beer, beer, tiddly beer, beer, beer. The…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Bard’s Tale, developed and published by inXile Entertainment, is a humorous reimagining of classic fantasy RPGs that stands out for its irreverent tone and self-aware storytelling. Rather than the usual tale of noble heroes and world-saving quests, the game places players in the boots of a sarcastic, money-minded bard whose interests lie less in heroism and more in personal gain, drink, and the occasional romantic encounter. From the very start, it’s clear that this is not a traditional…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Review I've been wanting to play this game for a long time, but I lost interest very quickly after only a few hours. The game has a really unique concept as an action-adventure with some RPG elements, acting as a parody of the genre. Unfortunately, it fails to be much more than that. Gameplay You can create your own character, but the choices you make barely matter. You can choose to focus on either bows or melee combat. Investing in health, luck (for more money), and rhythm (for…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's peak in a 7/10 kind of way, which is something that more games need to aspire to be
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is probably the most well written and perfected voice acting in any game. The game is just outright brilliant and the jokes makes the game one hell of an adventure. I highly recommend this game to any true player who want to get a kick out of listening to corny jokes and amusing bickering between the main character and the narrator. P.S: use dxvk-gplasync to get the game to work using vulkan and enjoy lag free game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Do you like games where the hero has, at best, average intelligence and almost no wisdom? Do you prefer games that have an abundance of meta-commentary and humour revolving around it's own genre? Do you like witticisms and jokes? Or laughing at the protagonists fumbles and faux pas? Then look no further! This game is for you! It's effectively a 20-25 hour long adventure comedy game focusing on riffing on tropes of the RPG genre of it's era. With some of the best dialogue in gaming, some of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is by far the worst release of this game ever. It's so bad that you can't attack half the time because the controls are glitched out. The creatures are broken and don't attack. You constantly get stuck in the game world, unable to move. When you are able to attack, the Bard aims the wrong way. I played this on PC and PS2 back in the day, and it was nothing like this! Please, do yourself a favor, and DO NOT BUY this version. Seek an older copy elsewhere.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Bard's Tale is quite a fun game. I appreciate the humouristic approach; even if I do not laugh at such jokes, they do amuse me. The combat is pretty fun, if simple, but here comes the game's biggest problem. It is super repetitive. After a few hours the combat will become mundane and that is what you will be doing for the vast majority of the game. It reminds me of Loki a lot, another RPG game where the vast majority of the gameplay is combat and while it is pretty good it becomes tiresome…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I understand that this is a remaster of a game that was originally made almost 25 years ago, but it feels like it was made by someone who had only heard about computer games before and was still learning how to code. It has a glacial pace, both in terms of story and literal walking speed. Load screens are preposterously long given the low quality of the programming. The combat system is laughably bad, with no sense that there is any relationship between a click of a button and a swing of the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Why we don't have those stories and characters in the video games today? An era when games used to be fun...
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →That game was my childood in between 2007/2008 we need a sequel. Even today it holds up remarkably well. The gameplay might not be groundbreaking, but the storytelling and satire are timeless.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this has got to be the funniest RPG I've ever played. I've beat it multiple times and am fixing to reload and play it again
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Unfortunately the Bard is not aging well. With its outdated and slow gameplay, the game quickly becomes boring. On the positive side - funny jokes and catchy songs to sing in the pub is enough for me to recommend. EZ to 100%.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game, is intolerably frustrating to play. The combat relies on the animation of your swings and the timing of your blocks, but the input is sticky and unresponsive. The summons are expected to do a lot of work, but the later you get the slow manna recharge means you have to just Sit for a long while so you can fill your squad, or charge ahead and be understrength. Mechanics of the missions are varied, but often rely on indeterminably long bits filled with frustrating set pieces, Example:…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Some sounds are messed up (especially with the Trow so far). The bow doesn't work properly, it doesn't respond most of the time when I try to use it. As a result, I've found myself unable to pass the section with the force fields and the Trow. When you try to go to help and support to try to report problems, the link is broken. It really is an amazing game, but I can't recommend it in the state I'm trying to play it in.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Remastered, But you didn't think to put the controller buttons on the screen ?
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →still fun after all these years
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun game! Very snarky and full of crazy humor.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have an eternal soft spot in my heart for this game. Tony Jay's narration is totally unbeatable.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fantastic game, a truly hidden gem. Voice acting, jokes and songs are the highlight, but the gameplay itself is really solid too. Its still smooth and responsive and gives a lot of fun.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It comes basically down to the question: do you like driving old cars despite all the issues? If it's fun to you, in the context of old games with old designs and old flaws, this one is a gem. I really like the tone of it, the fact that it never takes itself seriously and voice acting is stellar. It is especially hilarious when the narrator and the protagonist start to argue on things. Silly on purpose, that's what it is in general and it's great. It is exactly as I remembered from 20 years…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Should you play Bard's Tale? If you are curious about one of many Diablo clones of early 2000s with a self-aware humor twist that plays like your usual repetitive jankslop? Well, yeah, you may give Bard's Tale a shot but other than that... I don't see why one would bother. I bet I would've loved it as a kid though. It has those early 2000s comfy video game vibes that we all know and love. So, nostalgia googles required.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →honestly this is a better bards tale than the first 3 and the 4th. i enjoyed the combat of this one WAY more than the turn based ones. i dont know why all the bards tales werent like this. would have been so much more fun
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Reddit tier humor I have no idea how people find this funny or fun
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you don't like jokes that are provocative and/or break the 4th wall, you'll probably hate this game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →very fun game with lots of secrets and amazing humor
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →fun game, old school hack and slash rpg. wish the prompts would match the controller tho. surprised no one has modded it yet.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A mostly competent early ARPG. Fun enough, despite some rough patches, and while it does show its age when it comes to the menus and options, even as a remastered version, it still holds up well enough to play. The voice work is good, the songs are decent, but there is a strange lack of music overall.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Thank Paradise for the Gift! TL;DR: A weird comedic RPG game that I watched my cousin play back in the day, that suddenly peaked my curiosity. Summary: So back in 2007, I would met my uncle and cousins for a family visit during the holiday. Then I get to watch them play this game. Which I did not understand. I don't know what about this game so special. So, as a curious player I am, browsing through inXile Library, I happened to find this game. Yeah, so you play as the eponymous…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It is a console-style action RPG, and the controls were clearly designed with a gamepad in mind. Playing with a keyboard and mouse is extremely uncomfortable. For example, when using a bow I regularly opened a menu by accident instead of firing. So if you have a gamepad, use it from the start. Another piece of console heritage is that you can only save at specific locations. First and foremost, this is a parody of classic RPGs. Usually the main character is a warrior, mage, or rogue. Here,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I know we are 20 years on, but I have tried this on two different platforms (iOS and Steam Deck) and encountered catastrophic bugs in both cases. I can't even get past character creation on the deck. The game just goes into an eternal load screen. If this doesn't run on deck that's fine, but it should be labeled as such. Until it's fixed or updated info-wise it's a big thumbs down for me.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hidden gem right here. Loved the dry humor from Tony Jay (narrator) and Cary Elwes (the Bard) and the music you have to save for your playlist.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've completed this game on PS4, so excuse my low hour count. This is pre-Deadpool Deadpool. It's good. Play it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Does anybody else have the bug where when you play a tune then you cannot move around correctly? Instead the bard just runs in place
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the best and most entertaining games.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →All of the characters are voiced very well, but Seamus just cracks me up every time he speaks. That was very well done. I never got around to playing this series, so I decided to give this one a shot and I am glad it is an improved version. It is very funny. I hope to get around to playing all of them, but I rarely go through all of the games in a series back to back.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →OMG! What a pathetic way to completely destroy an iconic game. The controls are an abomination. It's beyond unacceptable. I only wish I tried the game right away so I could get a refund. The game also crashed almost immediately (after killing the rat and leaving the bar). Terribly disappointed.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Are you ready for "The Bard Song"? I said are you ready for "The Bard Song"? Then let's sing "The Bard Song, In the Forest" Now you all know the bards and their songs When hours have gone by, I'll close my eyes In a world far away we may meet again But now hear my song about the dawn of the night Let's sing the bard's song Tomorrow will take us away far from home No one will ever know our names But the bards' songs will remain Tomorrow will take it away the fear of today It will be gone due to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game has aged very poorly so keep that in mind if you plan to play it. First the good. The story, world, and characters are still really good, some of the humor may not stand the test of time for some folks but overall, I found the humor to landed more the missed. The bard as a character is also a huge POS so if you like playing more traditional heroes you might not like him as much, though Karma almost always hits back at the bard in all his encounters. Then the bad, sorry to say the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really tried, but lack of QoL plus the camera height made it too difficult, I'm afraid. Sucks because it seems like a really funny Cary Elwes role.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I had never played it before, so no nostalgia here. And I can say objectively: the game really didn't age well. I didn't even have crashes or bugs. But the controls are clunky, gameplay is boring (outside the dialogues) and, of course, the game is dated in terms of graphics. I liked the voice acting and witty dialogues, but unfortunately, they are but one small part of an otherwise boring RPG.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is very funny and enjoyable. I love the dark crude humor.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Due to a control breaking bug this game is sadly unplayable at the time of writing on most linux systems including the steam deck
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Broken. Frames locked too low.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Bard's Tale is a genuinely funny action-RPG that earns its laughs through sharp writing, excellent voice acting from Cary Elwes and Tony Jay, and a refreshingly self-aware take on fantasy RPG tropes — the dynamic between the snarky Bard and the contemptuous Narrator alone is worth the price of admission. The musical numbers, especially the recurring 'Bad Luck' song sung by the Trow Trio, are catchy enough to stick with you long after you've put the game down. That said, the combat gets…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'll be honest this ain't worth the money for the remaster. Full disclosure I've only played for a couple hours but its boring as hell. The sense of humour is cool and stuff but the gameplay is slow as hell and repetitive. Puzzles low key whack as well. I did like the owls though those guys were cool. 3 / 10 good birdsong
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →oh gods why. i was never gonna change to a thumbs up. I was gonna be like 'well, it's gone some charm on occasion in spite of itself'. but then i got to the final boss and oh gods why.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really only wanted one thing out of this, and that was Bard's Tale III. Which I got... except it was literally the worst version: The Apple ][ crapfest. They really should have gone either with the C64 version or offered us multiple retro hardware choices. Guess it's black to a hacked copy running on VICE.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →At this point in time, it doesn't start for me on Windows 10. I'm pretty sure this is a good game, but since it won't start, I do not recommend buying it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →controller doesnt work. game wont boot.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Too quirky to play, at least by today's standards. If you want to enjoy the humor, a better option is just watching someone else playing and avoid unnecessary pain.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →2025: I enjoyed it a long time ago but I can't make it work anymore
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was enjoying the game until I reached a point where the game simply began to break down and trying to talk to any NPC led to me being frozen in place and forced to ALT F4. Spent about 30 minutes looking for a solution (which is damn near impossible since searching anything related to the game just leads to the mainline series)
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this is a very funny game, only 1 playthrough worth, but honestly i wish i found something semilar ^^
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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