Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon, A Humble Review

Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon originally came out on Steam in early access two years ago, and I must admit that it slipped under my radar since then. It also slipped through our editorial office, as we didn't initially consider it as an option for review this month, which is, let's face it, quite dry. Moreover, immediately after Oblivion Remastered, who needs another unknown RPG, especially one that seems similar to Elder Scrolls, alongside the infusion of nostalgia that the more famous title brings?

I thought the same, but Tainted Grail managed to detach me from Oblivion and drew me into its rich, dark world with open arms. Let's be clear – I'm not claiming this is a better game than Oblivion. However, if the world of Elder Scrolls has become too familiar and you want to step into something unusual and foreign, Tainted Grail could swallow you whole.

If you are looking for a less complicated game, check out our Spirit of the North 2 review!

The Story of Tainted Grail

At first glance, Tainted Grail is easily mistaken for another Elder Scrolls clone. The visual style, interface and even the way you move through the world evoke memories of Skyrim and Oblivion. This would be a superficial assessment. Although I personally love Elder Scrolls, its world has become familiar terrain for me – comfortable, perhaps even a bit predictable. Tainted Grail, on the other hand, leads you into something much darker and more uncertain.

The first way it achieves this is by combining elements of Arthurian legend with Nordic mythology motifs, and it does so with more conviction than you might expect. The introductory scene conveys that this is not another high-fantasy fairy tale but a dark world that wouldn't be out of place in a FromSoftware game.

In this version of the story, Arthur and his knights escape from their destroyed homeland and conquer Avalon. On foreign soil, they build a new Camelot, but the kingdom is flawed from the start. Everything rests on Arthur – his will, power, and presence. Arthur, therefore, initiates a cycle of reincarnation with Merlin's help, allowing him to resurrect every time he dies and pull Avalon back from the brink of disaster.

This is where the player comes in. The main character, like in many RPGs, has no voice or personality – except for the one you decide to give him through dialogue. His task is to collect fragments of Arthur's soul, scattered throughout the dying world, to enable a new cycle of reincarnation and give Avalon another chance to survive. On paper, it's simple. In practice, it's the opposite.

The Missions

Apart from the fact that each fragment is tied to a powerful artifact guarded by locals as if their lives depended on it, things are further complicated by political tensions and a general sense of impending doom. Main missions often end up being a series of tough, morally ambiguous decisions without clear answers and without any guarantee that you'll like the outcome.

In this sense, Tainted Grail is most reminiscent of The Witcher. It often forces you to make decisions with consequences you can't immediately grasp. Some ultimately lock you out of entire storylines, while others open up paths you didn't even know existed. The game doesn't punish you, but it doesn't thank you either – it just lets you live with what you've chosen, at least until the next playthrough, which is worth it due to the significantly different consequences.

In Tainted Grail, you don't make the right decisions – just the ones you have to live with.

There are also plenty of side quests, not all of which are equally morally gray or burdened with tough decisions, but they're often interesting and almost always expand your knowledge of the world. And that's always a plus, especially when the world is as well-realized as this one.

The World of Tainted Grail

The world is divided into three large regions separated by loading screens. Progression through them is linear because you can't move forward until you find the fragment of Arthur's soul in the previous region. Although it sounds limiting, each region offers over 20 hours of content and is just big enough to get bored – right when it's time to move on.

As I said, the regions are well-realized, not in terms of technical opulence, but through a highly creative, dark, and atmospheric visual style. Striking vistas pop up at every step, and the world is densely scattered with points of interest. Even when they're not tied to main or side quests, Tainted Grail manages to evoke that primal RPG thirst for exploration. You'll often stumble upon interesting locations, characters, or scenes that divert your focus and draw you into something entirely new and unexpected.

And it's not always the case that the interesting location is its reward. Tainted Grail is a full-fledged RPG, and poking your nose into every corner of Avalon usually pays off – either through new equipment or character progression. If you're like me, you'll be surprised by the amount of truly imaginative pieces of armor and weapons of all kinds. It's certainly commendable that the armor you find at the beginning of the game can look just as impressive as the ones at the end.

The Gameplay

Although you view the game from a first-person perspective, the developer implemented a third-person view in the final stages of development precisely because players wanted to see their character and all the impressive equipment in action. Although the move is praiseworthy, the third-person view is explicitly listed as an accessibility option, not as a full-fledged way of playing. It's a shame because, with a bit of refinement, it could have been more than that.

Now, let's get back to the equipment. Each piece comes with meaningful and easily understandable attributes linked to a highly comprehensive advancement tree. This allows you to specialize in different disciplines. Want to be a spellblade who wields a sword in one hand and destructive magic in the other? No problem. 

A necromancer who manipulates magic to summon minions in each hand? Sure. A berserker with axes that suck the life out of opponents? Yes, that's there too. And if you want to combine all of the above, the game allows you to quickly swap between different weapon load-outs mid-combat – with just one click.

The Combat in Tainted Grail

Combat, similar to Oblivion or Skyrim, is mechanically relatively simple. It's based on stamina, and each weapon knows only a weaker and more potent attack. Attacks can be blocked, dodged, and parried, but the time window for the latter is so unreliable and imprecise that I mostly opted for dodging instead. Various magic spells are executed better, as each has a primary and alternative effect or can be charged for a more devastating result.

Although it sometimes feels wooden, melee combat turns out to be the most enjoyable and polished aspect of the game. Ranged combat, especially with bows and arrows, remains frustratingly unreliable, and attacks often miss even when you see they've hit.

Overall, this isn't an insurmountable problem if you combine styles, but those who want to play exclusively as a mage or fantasy Robin Hood might be left shortchanged. With all that said, the combat system isn't diverse enough, considering the game's length. In the last third, it becomes tedious, mainly because you've already found most of the interesting equipment that kept things relatively fresh.

Let's not make it seem like all you do in Avalon is sword-fight and cast spells – there are quieter activities, too. Alchemy, crafting, your own home, and even fishing. None of it is profound, but everything together comes in handy as a breather between more critical quests. The only thing that might trip you up is the brief tutorials that explain numerous systems, either partially or not at all. But this is one of those games where such brevity sometimes works in its favor – because when you figure out how something works on your own, the sense of accomplishment is far greater than if the game had spoon-fed you everything.

The Look and Feel

Unfortunately, during the game, some other things become apparent – bugs and technical glitches that aren't always easy to ignore. Tainted Grail technically still feels like it's not entirely out of early access. The aforementioned unreliability of ranged attacks is just the tip of the iceberg. Enemies can get stuck in the environment, key NPCs sometimes stop reacting, and the framerate regularly drops in densely populated areas or during scripted events.

Perhaps the best indicator of the game's state is the existence of an "unstuck" button that teleports the player if they get stuck in the environment, which, honestly, happens quite often. As part of the game that spent the shortest time in early access, the third act mixes in the problem of game crashes, leaving a bitter taste in an otherwise decent package.

They say that after criticism, one should always conclude with something praiseworthy, and here, it's undoubtedly the music. The Danish performer Danheim was familiar to me beforehand, and I always wondered why his dark Nordic ethno-electronica isn't used more often in games. In Tainted Grail, it finally found its perfect home, significantly contributing to the game's atmosphere, whether you're watching cutscenes, wandering through fog-shrouded forests, or slaughtering bandits, and all of that was enhanced by playing this game with our XP-Panther Blush headset.

In Conclusion

Finishing a review like this is always the most challenging part. Not because I don't have anything to say but because I've already said more or less everything I had to say in three cards of text. So, instead of trying to summarize it all into a clever sentence now, I'll comment on the price. In a time when games are getting more expensive, Tainted Grail costs 44 euros (as we are writing this review) and, despite numerous technical issues, offers dozens of hours of truly quality content, an atmosphere that grabs you, and a world you want to return to. 

That's why I hope it won't slip under your radar because this is one of those rare RPGs that doesn't pretend to change the genre but could still stick with you long after you finish it.

Rating: 8.5/10. 

The game received this grade due to its engaging storyline, atmospheric world-building, and deep character customization; however, it was docked points for its technical issues and somewhat simplistic combat mechanics.

Recommended age: 16+. 

The game is recommended for teenagers aged 16 and above due to its mature themes, complex storyline, and occasional violence.