Bard's Gold
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Critic Reviews for Bard's Gold
Bard’s Gold is like the bastard child of Rogue Legacy and Spelunky, but it’s more Ramsey Bolton than Jon Snow.
A scrappy but accomplished take on the whole Metroidvania shtick, Bard’s Gold marries tactical platforming action with great progression systems to create an effort that is highly worthwhile for fans of the genre.
2D pixelated graphics and retro gameplay, paired with the simple controls and great AI design outshine the areas of the game that fall short.
Bard Gold is a decent little indie title, but it’s one specifically aimed at people who are into these roguelike games. Side scrolling, with a little dose of death and progression goes a long way to keep the game entertaining enough, but it just doesn’t do enough different or interesting things to garner much attention.
All in all, I can’t fault Bard’s Gold for any real technical shortcoming. That said, its simplistic approach has little to offer that you won’t find in dozens of other titles, many of which include that something extra that makes them stand out.
"2D retro-inspired platformer" is something we hear a lot nowadays, this game falls into that category. We can't be the only group sick of this type of graphical style. But regardless of that, Bard's Tale doesn't really amount to anything. We've seen all of this done before and done better, so without anything unique then what's the point in playing? There isn't an end goal to the game as far as we are aware, the game just pads itself out for as long as possible, upping the difficulty instead of throwing something unique at us. Those that are much more acquainted with dungeon crawlers and platformers may enjoy this game a lot more than us, but judging from what we played, we can't say we would want to go back to it unless to wrap up the rest of the easy gamerscore. But even for those more experienced platform players, the nonsensical platforming may be far too easy.
Bard’s Gold comes off largely as a homage to tricky hardcore dungeon crawlers. But it is solid enough in its own right, proving to be fun, addictive, and rewarding, despite its somewhat simplistic concept and the often grueling gameplay that can lead to some frustrating moments.
Overall the game is a lot of fun. There’s plenty of options for people of all skill levels to enjoy the release, and there’s a lot of content to play. I liked the pixel art graphics and the catchy music. After doing several runs, and even after writing this Bard’s Gold review, I’ve continued going back to the game. It’s priced at a very reasonable $5, and, while it doesn’t have a Platinum trophy, its trophy list will keep you very busy.
