The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep

inXile entertainment

Rank: #2 / 7
Released: 2018
Studio: inXile entertainment
Genre: dungeon crawl, role-playing video game

At a glance

The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep is a dungeon-crawling role-playing game from inXile entertainment, built around party creation, exploration, puzzles and turn-based tactical combat. Players can adjust options such as saving, the mini-map and waypoint markers, including a save-anywhere setting. The party can begin with one character and grow through recruited or created heroes. Four archetypes—Bard, Fighter, Practitioner and Rogue—offer 60–70 skills each and combine into 21 classes. The adventure moves through towns, dungeons, forests, hills and icy areas, with riddles and traps alongside combat that rewards positioning and tactical choices. The store description lists more than 40 hours of gameplay, 350 speaking parts and over 100 pieces of music, as well as a Legacy Mode for returning fans. Steam lists single-player, achievements, trading cards, Steam Cloud and Family Sharing. The developer and publisher is inXile entertainment. The game released in 2018 and is listed for Windows on Steam, with Linux and macOS also listed among its platforms.

Who it is for

It suits solo RPG players who want to shape a party, tune several gameplay options and solve puzzles between tactical battles. Legacy Mode is specifically listed for returning fans.

What is good

Party can start with one character
Four archetypes and 21 classes
Save-anywhere option listed
Tactical turn-based combat
Linux, Windows and macOS platforms listed

What to know first

Single-player only
Steam platform list names Windows only

Verdict

Barrows Deep pairs party-building and turn-based combat with puzzles and adjustable options. Its platform listings differ: Windows appears on Steam, while the broader platform list also includes Linux and macOS.