The Bard's Tale

About

About the Game Now includes original classic games The Bard’s Tale 1, 2 & 3! You are the Bard: a selfish rogue weary of pointless sub-quests and rat-infested cellars.

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6
Based on
992 reviews
Country Compatibility:
Languages:
Developer:
inXile Entertainment
Release date:
11 December 2009
Recent Steam reviews:
Mostly Positive (11)
All Steam reviews:
Mostly Positive (992)

Game features

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Description

About the Game

Now includes original classic games The Bard’s Tale 1, 2 & 3!

You are the Bard: a selfish rogue weary of pointless sub-quests and rat-infested cellars. Through magical song you summon characters to join your quest!

Prepare to immerse yourself in over 20-30 hours of adventure, featuring:
  • 50 enemy types (not counting bosses!)
  • A vast world to explore with towns, wild forests, rivers, castles, towers, secret dungeons, snowy mountains, caverns, haunted tombs and more
  • A full cast of bizarre NPC’s
  • Over a dozen special boss enemies to defeat
  • 16 magical characters to discover and then summon at will to aid you
  • Over 150 unique items of weaponry, armor, instruments, tokens, artifacts and loot!
  • More Song & Dance numbers than any other game, including a zombie dance-off!
  • Over 14 hours of outstanding voice-acting from top Hollywood talent, including Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride) as the Bard, and the inimitable Tony Jay as the Narrator
  • Classics Games—includes original classic games The Bard’s Tale 1, 2 & 3.

Recommended system requirements

minimum*

OS *:
Windows 7
Processor:
Pentium 4 2Ghz / AMD AthlonXP 2400
Memory:
512Mb
Graphics:
GeForce FX5700 or better / ATI Radeon 9600 or better
DirectX®:
9.0c
Hard Drive:
6GB of free space
Sound:
DirectX 9 Compatible Sound Card

recommended*

Not specified

User reviews

Boogieman Sam
Recommended | 04 Dec 2025
16.1h played

I 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,

Helpful: 17
THE_REID
Recommended | 29 Apr 2026
10.2h played

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

Helpful: 12
Neft
Recommended | 15 Nov 2025
63.1h played

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

Helpful: 11
TheSponge
Recommended | 27 Mar 2026
42.6h played

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

Helpful: 5
xxadonisxx
Recommended | 27 Oct 2025
15.5h played

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

Helpful: 9
Sylvr
Not recommended | 13 Nov 2025
16.8h played

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.

Helpful: 1