Playing this game reminded me very much of the experience I had playing 2003’s comedy platformer Whiplash. It was perhaps the funniest game I’d ever played, but it was terribly bogged down by bad controls and monotonous gameplay.

If you’re a real RPG junkie (which I freely admit I am), the fresh, irreverent, humorous tone of Bard’s Tale may be entertaining enough for you to ignore the fact that it’s sitting on top of a pretty mundane, flat game experience. If you aren’t as seduced by the jokes, you’ll probably be better off by playing any number of meatier RPG choices out there.