Whether you appreciated its fresh approach or loathed the concepts behind The Bard’s Tale 4, it’s hard to deny that the revival of the ancient RPG series needed a few more months in the oven. Today’s big ol’ patch, which developers inXile are calling the Second Sight Update, smooths over some of the bigger cracks in its pseudo-old-school facade. For the good of everyone, you can now save the game anywhere, but those wanting a more uncompromising retro experience can enable grid-based movement and even recruit the original six pre-made Bard’s Tale heroes.

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Are you nostalgic for The Bard’s Tale? I certainly played them back between 1985 and 1988, but being under 10, that was a very long time ago. I don’t really remember them with any special degree of affection. And I’m certainly free of the peculiar reverence of those for whom such cows are too sacred to criticise even the decades-later follow-ups (subtweet). What I’ve been playing for the last couple of days is a bit of a crap RPG with some nice puzzles, and a decent combat system. And if that’s faint enough praise to damn The Bard’s Tale IV, I’ve done my job already.

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Looking at screenshots of The Bard’s Tale IV: Barrows Deep, it seems a crying shame that it’s not a game about a metal band putting on a rockin’ good show to get the mosh pit fired up. Sadly, the game inXile Entertainment released today is just an olde schoole turn-based RPG – and one that our John tells me is a bit bum. He’ll have more to say about it tomorrow but for now, here’s word that it’s out. Given that thousands of folks chipped in a combined $1.5 million during its 2015 Kickstarter campaign, I assume at least some of you do want turn-based fantasy fisticuffs more than big doomy beats.

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