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⬅️ Previous capture (2023-09-08)
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3 of 5 Stars
While I liked the attitude and metatextual humor — the main character gets into arguments with the narrator, and points out odd coincidences that only make sense in video game logic… and there are a number of references to The Princess Bride in a game in which Cary Elwes voices the main character — it was also annoyingly linear. The whole game felt like one long railroad.
Admittedly the original games didn’t have much in the way of side quests, but they felt more expansive, particularly the first two in which every dungeon level was built on a 22×22 grid. You could really explore the levels, while most of the dungeons in this game are essentially start at point A and work your way to point B, hacking up two types of monsters along the way.
Update: The newer Bard's Tale IV is much more an update of the original gameplay!
— Kelson Vibber, 2007-06-11