Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon Review in Progress

The first thing I encountered in Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon, other than clothing or weapons, was something suggestive. Now, I can imagine the thoughts running through your mind – “Will, oh come on, it had to be smut, right? We’ve all heard about you.” Let me clarify, at that moment, I didn’t realize it was smut. However, I quickly figured it out. I stumbled upon this in what appeared to be a guard’s rest area following my escape from my cell. A captivating image of a woman and the phrase “love apples” left me momentarily unconscious. But allow me to take a step back and share with you my initial impressions of this engaging yet familiar open-world RPG up until that point.

Tainted Isle: The Twilight of Avalon

In this fresh take on the Arthurian legend, your homeland succumbs to the Red Plague, a devastating disease. To save his people, King Arthur journeys to Avalon, subjugates the island, and with Merlin’s guidance, purges the land of the Wyrdness – an ancient, shape-shifting force that alters both the landscape and its inhabitants. This occurred 600 years ago. Now, the old tales have faded, the Wyrdness has resurfaced in Avalon, and the Red Plague reemerges. You assume the role of a nameless captive held by the Red Priesthood, who are in desperate pursuit of a cure. This intriguing premise provides enough context while keeping the enigmas surrounding the Fall of Avalon intact.

Following a concise introductory sequence to set the scene, you’re ushered into a character customization interface. While it works well overall, crafting an aesthetically pleasing character can be challenging due to the soft and somewhat Play-Doh-like appearance of the characters’ skin textures. The rest of the process is smooth, with elements such as hair being particularly noteworthy for their quality. However, since Fall of Avalon primarily employs a first-person perspective (unless you choose the less refined third-person mode, which the developers acknowledge isn’t polished and was primarily designed for accessibility purposes).

After crafting your doughy character, you find yourself locked up in a cell. If you’re someone who has only dabbled in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, you might be getting strong Oblivion-like feelings from this. While Fall of Avalon does share similarities with The Elder Scrolls, it definitely has its unique concepts. One aspect I found intriguing was the method of allocating your character’s starting stats based on how you answer an interrogation by a guard. To excel in ranged combat with my faithful bow and arrow, I told him I was a hunter before being apprehended, and then I utilized my catch to make clothing. This increased related stats for me. I hadn’t even left prison yet, and I was already carving out my own path. Who would have thought rehabilitation could be so effective?

As far as first-person melee combat goes, this feels pretty good.

In simpler terms, You’ll find a way to escape from your cell (let’s call it a break for being good), and as you explore the prison, a hint on how to parry will be given to you. It’s an unsettling sign, but the first-person melee combat in Fall of Avalon feels quite satisfying. Each hit carries weight, and when you block an attack, you might stumble slightly. The type of weapon you choose also matters. I started with a club initially, but once I got my first knife, I could notice a distinct difference in the sound and impact when I struck someone. It was less forceful, but the slicing sound was quite pleasant.

So far, I’ve yet to successfully counterattack, and the situation seems quite challenging, but thankfully, I haven’t needed to do so thus far. Blocking and stepping back when necessary have been effective strategies for me, and while this combat may not revolutionize first-person RPG battles, it certainly keeps my interest engaged.

To be honest, the past five hours of my gaming time with Fall of Avalon have been a mix of exploration, accidentally grabbing various items (some not so family-friendly), chatting up characters, and more. This game seems to follow the pick-up-everything, talk-to-everyone philosophy, where the world feels like it’s yours to explore. If you’ve played The Elder Scrolls series, this should feel quite familiar. Indeed, I find myself compelled to grab that bucket, and the one next to it – you never know when you might need them!

I’m just starting out with Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon, a rather substantial RPG game, and I have quite a bit more to explore and experience before I can provide my full review. As a lover of Arthurian legends, I find it appealing so far, even if nothing stands out as exceptionally unique yet. However, the elements present are intriguing enough to keep me engaged. For now, I’m on the lookout for those pesky killer rabbits – I wouldn’t be surprised if one turns up around here!

2025-05-23 00:42

As far as first-person melee combat goes, this feels pretty good.

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