Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon review

by

In this scenario, you find yourself, a fugitive, drawn into safeguarding the war-ravaged island of Avalon against an approaching supernatural threat known as “the wyrdness.” Additionally, the spirit of the long-dead King Arthur has taken refuge within your unconscious mind. After centuries of captivity, he yearns to reclaim his kingdom, and you, it so happens, are the perfect candidate for this mission.

There’s an air of assurance in Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon, which is evident in its intricate world design and palpable in its vibrant cast of characters. The idea that it’s like Skyrim but with the specter of King Arthur haunting you is a concept that screams ambition.

Despite Questline being relatively inexperienced in the industry, there was a high chance they might stumble. However, after investing numerous hours, it’s a pleasure to share that we now have an intriguing, immersive open-world first-person RPG adventure to engage with.

Despite its self-assuredness, it has its flaws too. In fact, while Tainted Grail offers some truly commendable moments, there are equally irritating encounters with enemies and confusing UI elements that make the gaming experience unevenly balanced, which can be best described as “inconsistent”.

Setting the Round Table

The game titled “Tainted Grail” offers a gloomy reinterpretation of Arthurian tales, sharing the same universe as the well-known board game. Remarkably, its creation was fueled by the extraordinary success of the 2018 Kickstarter campaign for the tabletop version.

As a first-person open-world role-playing game, Tainted Grail bears resemblances to well-known series such as The Elder Scrolls and Kingdom Come: Deliverance, and it proudly embraces these references—it even starts with an escape scene reminiscent of Oblivion.

In this game, as I wield different abilities, they naturally level up, catering to whatever playstyle I’m currently embracing. For instance, I found myself leaning towards a battlemage-like character, armed with a magic spell in one hand and a sword in the other. Every time I hurled a spell or swung my sword, my magical prowess and physical strength increased accordingly. This skill progression system has always been a highlight for me in The Elder Scrolls series, and it’s implemented quite effectively here as well.

In this game, you’ll find a variety of old-school skill progression paths, numbering over 20. These provide significant enhancements to your abilities. Initially, I found it daunting deciding on a playstyle due to the abundance of choices, but there are ample skill points available for me to explore and experiment with different styles.

A wyrd wide world

The world is equally exciting to discover, and the realm of Avalon is intricately segmented into three distinct hub areas, each with its unique narrative and setting. The scenery is visually appealing and brimming with sites to investigate, such as caves and deserted hamlets. I stumbled upon something beneficial—a novel armor piece, a fresh crafting method—almost anywhere I glanced. There’s minimal empty space in the game’s expansive maps.

Throughout your adventure, you’ll frequently venture into the “Wyrdrealm,” an extraordinary dimension teeming with spirits and terrifying monsters from another world. This realm is brimming with unique charm, featuring colossal statues of eldritch beings and a skyline of decaying towers. Every trip there was unpredictable, and I eagerly anticipated the next task that led me to the Wyrdrealm.

In my opinion, Tainted Grail truly excels in its character development. Each Non-Player Character (NPC) has something valuable to offer, and many of them present side quests that enrich the main narrative. What’s more, these characters can be quite humorous – you’ll find yourself helping a nobleman feign his death to escape an unhappy marriage, discovering the hideout of an undead chef in pursuit of the perfect meal, aiding a woman who accidentally transformed her husband into a pig, and many other amusing situations. This wit is even present in the game’s gear – there’s a haunted chest piece that screams when you take damage, and a magical spell that transforms enemies into cheese!

The bigger narrative is equally enjoyable, as Awaken Realms and Questline have offered an intriguing perspective on King Arthur’s legend, moving it towards a more shadowy fantasy realm. There are numerous inventive adaptations of common themes, such as the characters played by Arthur’s most trusted companions, including Galahad and Merlin.

The scale of Tainted Grail is vast and impressive, making it astonishing that it’s as technically polished as it is. Typically, games of such size are riddled with bugs and glitches, but during my 40-plus hours of play, I encountered only a handful. The most noticeable issue was some missing dialogue lines. It seems the game’s extended two-year tenure in Steam Early Access might have contributed significantly to this technical achievement.

Sword in the groan

As a gamer, I’ve found myself deeply drawn into the world of Tainted Grail. However, its grand ambition sometimes outpaces its practicality in numerous tiny aspects – minor glitches here and there that don’t seem significant on their own, but collectively, they chip away at the immersion and create a sense of frustration and repetitiveness.

As a devoted gamer immersed in this captivating virtual world, allow me to share my concerns regarding the intricate tapestry of the game’s universe. While I appreciate the exceptional work done by the voice actors, it appears that some crucial pieces of lore might have been overlooked during briefings.

For instance, the name of the second region, Cuanacht, is pronounced in at least four distinct ways, and this inconsistency is mirrored in other significant place names such as Dal Riata and Osbryht. This lack of uniformity creates a fragmented feel to the world that detracts from its overall cohesion.

While it’s possible that this variance was intended to reflect cultural differences, I haven’t come across any in-game explanations for these differing pronunciations.

Introducing more diversity in the enemy characters could have added an extra layer of interest. Killing the same type of bandits with the same appearance becomes monotonous after a while, and using color-swapped enemies gives the world of Avalon a sense of narrowness that doesn’t reflect its true size. However, the positive aspect is that the boss battles offer fresh and distinct experiences, such as a squid pirate reminiscent of Davy Jones or a deer spirit capable of self-replication. It’s unfortunate that the common enemies lack this level of variety between encounters.

I have some concerns about certain aspects of the game design. The restriction to merely four weapon loadouts felt limiting, and repeatedly returning to the weapons menu each time I wanted to try something new became tiresome. Overall, the first-person combat feels fluid, with sword swings providing a satisfying sense of impact and spells creating brilliant displays of sparks and ice. Nevertheless, there were instances where difficulty suddenly increased, which took me by surprise. Often, I’d find it easy to defeat most enemies in a dungeon with just a few spell casts, but then encounter a boss that seemed virtually invulnerable. This happened infrequently, but when it did, it was disheartening.

Adventuring through the Earth’s subterranean realms comes with its fair share of riches, but navigating these hidden complexes can be perplexing. The paths wind and curve, intersecting at times like a tangled web of tunnels. More than once, I found myself bewildered in these maze-like labyrinths, and the absence of a mini-map was sorely felt. Bafflingly, it’s impossible to view the entire world map within these subterranean chambers as well.

Tainted Grail has many appealing aspects, and its pros significantly surpass its cons. For the game genre often ruled by giants like Bethesda and Obsidian, it’s refreshing to witness a novice developer making an impact. In this case, Questline is truly exceeding expectations.

Read More

2025-06-04 06:04