Sometimes the best way to fight a world-ending plague or an intergalactic free-for-all conflict is not through swords or guns, but rather through performing arts. Bards excel in this category, because they not only inspire their comrades in the heat of battle, but also look cool. Unfortunately, not many games allow players to take on the role of the magnificent minstrel.
There are only a handful of games that allow players to be colorful in battles like bards. Most of them are mostly RPGs as bards have been a staple of the fantasy genre ever sinceDungeons and Dragonspopularized the class and the profession. Still, players will want to check out these games that let them play like bards just to show those crass warriors and nerdy wizards how it’s actually charisma that saves the day.
8 Divinity 2: original sin
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Year of publication
: 2017 -
Platforms
: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, macOS, Nintendo Switch, iPad
Divinity 2: original sin is often regarded as one of the best CRPGs to date thanks to its expansive gameplay system that is more like a video game refinement of the Dungeons and Dragons formula. Of course, bards are also a class in the game, and they tend to be magical.
Players don’t even need to create their own custom bard as one of the characters, Lohse is canonically a bard and class standard in character creation. In any case, don’t expect to swing guitars or juggle magic stones, as the game’s bard gameplay isn’t that deep unless you count modding as a possibility.
7 Baldur’s Gate 3
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Year of publication
: 2020 (early access) -
Platforms
: Macintosh operating systems, Google Stadia, Microsoft Windows
Currently in development by the same guys who made Divinity: Original Sin 2, Baldur’s Gate 3 is available as an early access title (at the time of writing). It has similar gameplay to the studio’s previous game, but adopts the more traditional one Dungeons and Dragons ruleset.
The gameplay is turn based and yes, this time there is a bona fide bard class in character creation. So this bard has the same abilities and dispositions as those in the Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition ruleset. Players can dive right in or wait for the official release.
6 Pillars of Eternity
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Year of publication
: 2015 -
Platforms
: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, macOS, Microsoft Windows, Linux, Macintosh operating systems
The first pillars of eternity game was a love letter to all fans of the old and hardcore CRPGs. It has put its own spin on it and created its own beautiful and deep game world, so there’s no shortage of fresh new stuff here for RPG enthusiasts. Bards are welcome here too, by the way, and they are extremely unique as far as bards go in RPGs.
They have their own separate gameplay mechanism where they can recite poems and songs, such as how wizards open their spellbook to be effective in battle. This party-based game also has a sequel in the form of Deadfire, so there’s plenty of content here for bards.
5 Monster Hunter World
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Year of publication
: 2018 -
Platforms
: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows
Monster Hunter World, was in a way one of the biggest improvements for the franchise as it is one of the few games in the series that is multi-platform. Plus it has the best graphics of all Monster Hunter titles, even compared to the latter.
As for bards, there is one weapon in the game that is actually a musical instrument. It’s called the hunting horn and it allows players to play strings of notes as combos; these can be used to achieve various results such as healing, stunning the monster, or buffing up damage. It’s one of the most fun ways to play as a prehistoric themed bard.
4 Dragon Age: Origins
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Year of publication
: 2009 -
Platforms
: Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Mac OS X
Dragon Age: Origins is no different from the old and new CRPGs. It builds on its own system, but that’s still based on a Dungeons and Dragons ruleset. What that means for bards is that they get enough toys and tools for their combat maneuvers and spells.
There is even a character whose profession is canonically a bard, Leliana. Fortunately she is there, because otherwise she would have been a formidable opponent. In any case, one of the rogue specializations allows the players to be a bard, complete with interesting skills and abilities tailored to the play style.
3 warframe
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Year of publication
: 2013 -
Platforms
: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
war celebrity is a co-op multiplayer RPG about mercenary space ninjas and their eternal war against the various factions seeking their power. How do bards fit into the equation? Well, one of the wartime celebrities in the game was designed with the bard gameplay in mind. Her name is Octavia, and she uses the power of music to strengthen her allies and decimate her enemies.
All the war frames in the game are unique, but Octavia takes the cake with her fun, musically themed skills. She can even make herself and her allies invisible with a specific music skill, while also delivering some funky and customizable tunes for the whole team so they can commit massive alien genocide in style.
2 The Story of a Bard
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Year of publication
: 2005 -
Platforms
: PlayStation 2, Xbox, Windows, iOS, OS X, Linux, PlayBook, Android, Ouya, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Players don’t have to put in too much effort to role-play as a bard The Story of a Bardthe game does it for them all the time. The Story of a Bard is a 2000s classic that defies the conventions of the typical narrative norms of the time.
Players here have no control over the stereotypical two-shoe hero. They play as a tired, cynical and self-conscious bard who is fed up with side missions and rat-infested dungeons. The game has different endings and humor appropriate to its time.
1 Lord Of The Rings Online
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Year of publication
: 2007 -
Platforms
: macOS, Microsoft Windows, Classic Mac OS
Lord of the Rings online remains one of the most successful video game adaptations of the Tolkien franchise to this day. Part of its success is how it offers players many different play styles. They can even be minstrels if they want to, and they function the same as bards.
Into the minstrel class Lord of the Rings online usually functions as everyone’s favorite support. They are some of the best group healers and the best part is that they can also put a musical instrument to battle. If players wish, they can accompany the minstrel playstyle with some Pippin-level singing, while the enemies’ heads are crushed like cherry tomatoes between Lord Denethor’s teeth.
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