Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 65 | 6 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 78% | 73 | 69 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 100% | 97 | 0 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 1 reviews sampled · 1 total reviews in window · weighted 1 up / 0 down · computed 1h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (19)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 50
“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.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“Bard’s Gold is designed to kill you and it’s good at what it does. It can be frustrating, it can be infuriating, but it can also be fun and it’s a challenge that is as much against the environment as it is against yourself as you have to remember where everything is at all times.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Bard's Gold is decent. The gameplay is good enough, but many will be driven away by the high level of difficulty in the opening stages, especially with a few unfair elements at play. The presentation is fine, and the abundance of secrets gives the game some more elements to look forward to when the grind becomes too much. It doesn't do anything special in the genre, and while roguelike fans will garner the most enjoyment from it, you'd be better served by the more popular representatives, if you haven't already played them.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“It’s a fun and rewarding experience given the difficulty that it brings due to it’s 90s platformers inspiration. However, for the price, you could do a lot worse...”
read full review ↗ - 80
“I keep coming back to the thought that Bard's Gold keeps me coming back. I play a lot of games and retro inspired ones can be the most frustrating; more often than not I just give up and move on to something else. Bard's Gold is different from those, I'm rewarded for my efforts in success and failure.”
read full review ↗ - 40
“Which brings me to my biggest complaint, the lack of variety. Unlike Rogue Legacy, there is only one class in Bard’s Gold, and that’s the titular Bard. This wasn’t actually that bad, since I grew to enjoy the simplistic yet hardcore gameplay. What was more frustrating was realizing that the 4th World was the last one. I felt the game was starting to hit its stride towards the end, and even thought I would unlock more worlds after the boss. Unfortunately, all you get by beating the game is the Contract of Reaper, which randomizes traps more yet gives you more money. That’s it. No real incentive to keep playing, other than unlocking and maximizing all the upgrades. Which is too bad, because despite all the things holding it back, Bard’s Gold is not half bad. The problem is that for anyone except serious fans of roguelikes, it’s not going to hold any real appeal. It’s definitely a bargain to get 3-5 hours of gameplay at $8.99, but I find it hard to recommend to anyone outside that small crowd. That said, I did actually end up enjoying my time with Bard’s Gold, and hope to see a more robust game next time from Pixel Lantern. If they can build upon what they have here and add a lot more content, their next game might be a legendary quest instead of a small diversion.”
read full review ↗ - 50
- 91
“Once again I got sucked down the rabbit hole on a game like this. I’m not complaining, mind you, but it happened. You can lose hours just grinding your way through, and I didn’t mind a bit.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Although it’s not as big as other roguelike/lite games, Bard’s Gold is lots of fun and challenging. The game looks great, with its pixel-based retro-inspired visuals, and it controls just as well as the bigger budget titles out there with it’s pixel-perfect precision and fast-paced action. Bard’s Gold is an addictive title, I’ve picked it up and played it four times whilst writing this review, it calls out for ‘one more try’ every time you die as it dangles the possible upgrades in front of you and promises you’ll do better next time.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“A satisfying, if limited, rogue-like and a decent platformer all rolled into one. The lack of framing and context for your actions fades into insignificance as you settle into the 'one more run' gameplay loop. The base difficulty level and rather basic gameplay may be off-putting for some but this is definitely one to try for fans of roguelikes and 2D platformers in general. Cutesy character designs and addictively simple gameplay are Bard's Gold's strongest features.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“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.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“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.”
read full review ↗
ZTGD
Chalgyr's Game Room
Worth Playing
GameGrin
ThisGenGaming
oprainfall
Honest Gaming Reviews
The Vertical Slice
GamePitt
Pure Playstation
PlayStation Universe
New Game Network…and 7 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Bard's Gold is ready for Halloween! Are you!?Oct 19, 2015significant · resets scoring window
- Bard's Gold is ready for Halloween! Are you!?Oct 19, 2015significant · resets scoring window
- Bard's Gold v1.1 Update now Live!Sep 11, 2015
- Bard's Gold v1.1 Update now Live!Sep 11, 2015