I had the chance to speak to some of the developers of The Bard’s Tale IV: Barrows Deep at Gamescom this year. They talked passionately about making a game that felt like it had evolved with industry over the many years the series has been silent. After trying the title myself I’m not sure they accomplished that goal, but I also don’t think that is a bad thing.

The Bard’s Tale IV: Barrows Deep straddles the line between nostalgic warmth and gameplay ease. It doesn’t feel as new and fresh as perhaps the developers wanted, but its oldness is comforting. Playing it feels like the smell of an old book, like an impossibly well-preserved relic from another time, that somehow exists and comingles with its counterparts today.