A downloadable game for Windows, macOS, and Linux

Buy Now$1.99 USD or more



BARD HARDER!
is a tabletop-inspired visual novel game about saving your friends from the Big Bad Evil Guy by using your strongest weapon: romance! So brush up on your pick-up lines and prepare some sexy tunes…what’s the worst that could happen?



♥ MULTIPLE ENDINGS ♥

Unlock different endings and achievements based on how well you flirt!
Unique story paths make the game different with each playthrough.

♥ NEW FRIENDS ♥

Make friends with Alden, Nia, and Presley, your three TTRPG buds.

♥ ORIGINAL MUSIC ♥

An original soundtrack crafted for BARD HARDER! Features three magical Bard Songs, written in the three genres of music: Power Ballad, Lullaby, and Polka. 

♥ A COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPERIENCE ♥ 

A self-contained, 30 minute story that takes you from rivals to romance.

♥ LOADS OF ORIGINAL ART ♥

NINE unique characters.
Hang out with them and flirt with all of them even?? I wouldn’t judge

♥ EAT HOT CHIP, BE GAY ♥

Self-explanatory


- Here's a song about why YOU should play BARD HARDER! - 

(To be sung to the tune of Bonnie Tyler's 'Total Eclipse of the Heart')

(Play this game)

Every now and then you get a little bit lonely ‘cause
You don’t have real life friends

(Play this game)

Every now and then you get a little bit tired
Of playing all those other VN’s

(Play this game)

Every now and then you get a little bit nervous
That the best of all the games have been played

(Play this game)

Every now and then you get a little bit bored, and then
It’s time to play this bard game we made 

(Play this game, wise guy)

Every now and then your eyes are hearts

(Play this game, wise guy)

Every nOW AND THEN YOUR EYES ARE HEARTS 

So you need to PLAY this GAME
So you can seDUCE a SKELLY
And life will never BE the SAME
Everyone will be SO JELLY

If the answers you pick are all rIGHT
When you play him a SONG

You can even save your friends, and maybe the day
YOU’RE FLIRTING WITH THE DARK LORD SO WHAT MORE CAN I SAY
(WHAT MORE CAN I SAY)

I don’t know what to DO, this game will be your SPEED
It even has a CATGIRL SO WHAT MORE DO YOU NEED!!?!! 

DOWNLOAD AND PLAY IT TONIGHT!??!!
IT’S ONLY 1.99!!!
IT’S ONLY ONe ninety nine……….

Once upon a time, love was terribly tough…
Now you’ll see it isn’t so hard… 

There’s nothin’ more to say

Just put your lips on a Bard


Writing and Music by Ethan Ness
Art and Design by Alex M. Lee

StatusReleased
PlatformsWindows, macOS, Linux
Rating
Rated 4.7 out of 5 stars
(127 total ratings)
AuthorShark and Pelican Games
GenreVisual Novel
Tags2D, Comedy, Cute, Female Protagonist, LGBT, Multiple Endings, Narrative, Romance, Short

Purchase

Buy Now$1.99 USD or more

In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $1.99 USD. You will get access to the following files:

BardHarder-1.0-pc.zip 166 MB
BardHarder-1.0-mac.zip 149 MB
BardHarder-1.0-linux.tar.bz2 154 MB

Development log

Comments

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Viewing most recent comments 1 to 40 of 44 · Next page · Last page

Pleeeeeease add steam achievements

(+2)

It really speaks volumes for how charming the writing is if I can't bring myself to get all the endings because some of them would require being mean to the magical evil skeleton wizard named "Vulcuzar, The Lord of Crawling Bone".

incredibly short, but otherwise good quality

nice artwork

(+1)

That was very nice :3

(+2)

this game was so much fun and totally worth the price.

(+3)

I came here looking for porn and all i gotta say is, this looked alot like a porn game. 
the name, the artstyle it just had the porn game vibe

(+3)(-1)

honestly 90% of the internet would say "WTF!?!" as a reply but i came here for porn too

(+2)

i came for the bard shenanigans, but i stayed for the trailer song that, fittingly, is also bard shenanigans

Such a quirky little game! Absolutely adore it! 

(+2)

bard 2: bard harder 

(+1)

Would love to play more adventures with this lovely gang!

(+3)

This was one of the funniest visual novels I have ever played. Absolutely loved it from beginning to end. 

Question! Any plans on android?

(+3)

Short, cute, and funny.  Wholesome vibes.

(+7)


(+3)

Such a well-written lovely game, it would be a shame not to play it ! I had a great time, thank you.

(+1)

I did an LP video because I love this game, and now that I realize you're also working on Kiss/OFF, I'm even more excited for it. Gotta prepare myself for more smooches.


(1 edit)

Doesn't launch when installed to mac and launched through Itch launcher. It looks like it's about to launch then nothing happens

Hey, sorry to hear you're having trouble! We're looking into this – in the meantime, could you try downloading and launching separately from the Itch app? It might take a few tries, depending on your Mac's security settings. Please let me know if it still doesn't work for you!

(+1)

A very cute and fun game, had a blast! Romanced an immortal skeleton mage AND got a girlfriend 10/10

This is really fun and really funny, thank you!! :)

oh my god this is the best thing ever

This game made me laugh out loud. Hardest I ever Barded and it sure paid off!

Super cute! Love the artstyle and story :) Great job!! 

0 dex?????? +3 wis?????? +6 cha????????????? Terrible. 0/10 (play this game)

(+5)

I started singing your little poem to the tune like you said, and then you called me out for being friendless.  

I came out here to have a good time and honestly I am feeling so attacked right now.

(+1)

I absolutely adore this game!!! Amazing job everyone!!!

(+4)

i love skeletons, i've always wanted to play dnd, and i adore dating sims ... perfect game 10/10 so happy i got to smooch that skelly

(+1)

This was just an incredible experience from watching the trailer to finishing the game, thank you!

(+5)

The video sold me. *claps*

(+3)

Me:
"Oh, this looks neat."
"Oh, it's a VN, not tabletop."
"Huh, this comment mentions a video. Trailer..."
*endless laughter*


Bravo, developer, and thank you OP for pointing out the video is awesome.

(+2)

This game is adorable, just had my first playthrough and it was great, so entertaining! The visuals are so cute, I love all the characters and their personalities and even though it's short it isn't lacking anything at all, it is a very fun game and worth every cent!

(+4)

Hi, just wanted to give a shout-out to this game and devs. I kinda shared something similar on Steam, but why not here too.

I wrote a little bit about this visual novel for my blog and provide some previews and outlines. Check it out if you like: https://mrdavepizza.com/bard-harder-review/

I played this last year when I was first getting into visual novels. I had never played anything quite like this before, and I found it to be entertaining and also surprisingly edgy! It's not really a dating sim in the traditional sense, but romance is involved, and choices DO matter! Honestly, I enjoyed it most for the great illustration, funny dialogue, and casual playtime required. The developers have just released a new game called Kiss Off too, which is supposed to have some similar charm. Don't take Bard Harder gameplay too seriously, but don't pass it up if it seems intriguing! It's a good romp.

The only adorable game where you can date a magical skeleton lol. Has good music and the drawings are really pretty too. It's also pretty gay from start to finish and I love the players gay panic. 

(+2)

now I have total eclipse of the heart stuck in my head

(+2)

Sweet and fun game, I loved the D&D session! I wish it wasn't so short and I could keep barding harder! Enjoyed all the characters and their interactions with each other, the art and music are cool too. Vulcuzar's story was funny and interesting. 

(+1)

Amazing game! Fantastic art, clever writing, and full of hilarious DnD shenanigans. Played this with my partner (and DM) and we had a ton of fun! Love that you can make the skeleton blush. XD

Also, the trailer is phenomenally hilarious and made my day all on its own.

(+1)

I love it its so cute and Subin is gorgeous !

can it be put on the steam store?

(+2)

Just bought and played the game for two hours!! I absolutely love it. It is super cute, in art style AND in dialogue. Super wholesome and I've had laugh out loud moments too. I got all the endings, and I've bard-ed hard!

(+2)

This game deserves to be so much more popular than it is. I enjoyed it tremendously.

Viewing most recent comments 1 to 40 of 44 · Next page · Last page