If you are trying to find a game that is similar to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, then you should try Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon. Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon is a first person, open world RPG developed by Questline and published by Awaken Realms. The game is set in the same universe as Tainted Grail: Conquest; a roguelike deck building RPG which plays around the theme of dark fantasy and resurrection, and has a table-top version released in 2019. For the most parts; and without spoiling anything, Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon shares a lot of themes as its predecessor but is entirely different because of its open world design.
My Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon First Impressions (Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon Review)
I played Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon last May 29th and I’ve had a couple of hours clocked in the game. So, here is my first impressions on the Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon.
Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon starts off with basic character creation. There is little to customize here as you only fix up your appearance, nothing in the character creation screen affects the actual gameplay and progression in the game. In essence, everything in the character creation screen is mere aesthetics.
Honestly, I did not mind its limited customization features as I knew the game is in first person; I wouldn’t see my character’s appearance that much anyway.
Afterward, your character wakes up in a jail cell and is met by a jail guard. This guard is male, and dons a red colored armor; a mix of leather, cloth, and a little bit of metal. An interrogation will occur where your answers determine your backstory, preferred stat, and archetype. Personally, I enjoyed it as it allows you to immerse yourself directly by being the “storyteller” to the guard. However, I would understand the ilk of other players on this since some would most probably enjoy having formed their own story completely. Still, it cannot be denied that choosing an archetype through this means is still unique and interesting.
The interrogation with the guard doesn’t go smoothly as he tries to strike fear on you by saying that other inmates have had it bad and even points at a piece of skull beside you. A little bit of humor is also sprinkled in the conversation, a pattern you will notice when talking with the various NPCs in the game.
At the end of the interrogation, the guard is shot in the neck and immediately dies. A mysterious man; who immediately undoes his mystery by introducing himself as Caradoc, unlocks your jail cell and urges you to meet him outside.
Now, you have to make your way out of the dungeon.
This section of the game is where most of the gameplay is introduced; from combat and exploration to alchemy and stealth.
The level design of this section heavily reminds me of Corvo’s escape from execution at the start of Dishonored. Moving past this comparison, everything feels like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim with the ability to explore and interact with everything in the environment (immersive-simulation mechanics).
The first level is fairly straightforward, but highly interactive. You can pick up objects, read notes, and encounter enemies. Compared to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, their combat is pretty similar except for the need of stamina management in Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon. The existence of stamina limits the actions you can do in a short amount of time; having to methodically dodge, attack, and move around when needed, especially against groups of enemies.
You also get to equip two weapons (or shields) on both your hands. So dual wielding melee weapons, magic spells, or mixing up a magic spell with a weapon or shield is possible. The variety of equipment so far is a bit lackluster but I think that should be fine. Again, I haven’t fully explored the game world and played through everything it has to offer just yet so I may be missing some highly interesting or unique stuff.
In general, Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon’s gameplay really is almost 1:1 with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’s albeit a bit slower due to the stamina resource. The enemy AI is also just as janky and stupid as the The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’s so it’s easy to mess around with them in stealth.
Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon’s story is pretty dark and its pacing is fine. You get to experience the open world after you escape the jail; which is the entire Prologue. You and your new group will then find yourself in a new island where you can explore to your heart’s content.
The game’s open world is fairly big and sparsely populated by monsters. Exploration and navigation can be easy if you know how to play around stealth, distance, and enemy aggression. Enemy locations are also a bit predictable, usually roaming in visible and identifiable locations or simply roaming along or close the roads.
There are a lot of interesting areas but since it is still in Early Access, Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon’s open world may seem a bit empty. The map is also very interesting looking and points of interest will get marked when you discover or interact with them.
Fast traveling is also an option, but only limited to specific points. Fast traveling can only be used when interacting with these specific points and you can only go to another fast travel point; which is fine. These Fast travel points seem to be placed fairly far from each other, so it can be annoying or fun depending on how you look at it; some people love fast traveling freely while others don’t.
You can also only rest in beds or by setting up camp. A night-and-day cycle also occurs in game, making exploration more dangerous in the dark as certain enemies get more active; monsters are called the Wyrd. If you sleep in an unsafe location at night, your rest may be interrupted by a pop-up notification and some Wyrd creatures may attack you.
This is a bit annoying but I can accept and respect their choice of including this system. However, the night attacks may annoy some players but you just can’t win them all.
On a very quick note, Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon’s graphics are also nothing to be awed about, but some of the set design in the Prologue looks beautiful. The artwork during loading screen is also pretty, so that is nice. However, the game needs more optimization with its graphics.
Even with texture filtering, the edges of objects can look very sharp and pixelated. Enemy designs are also a hit-and-miss, some look scary but may seem missing in some details.
So far, Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon’s story is only up to two chapters (not including the Prologue). I have only played until the first chapter (Shadow of the Horns) and it is already a pretty lengthy game.
You will have the chance to get various Side Quests and talk with interesting NPCs, each with their own quirks and some with great humor.
It seems the developers and story writers enjoy putting in humor and I personally like how they did it. Joke quests and dialogue are easily understood and this is great since some players may find awkward placement of humor to be a sign of bad writing.
Conclusion
Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon recently received its latest game update; Patch 0.7, Cuanacht Rebellion. This added a new area and chapter to the game, featuring new enemies and NPCs to meet. I haven’t gotten that far yet so this first impression may seem a bit incomplete. Still, my experience with The Fall of Avalon so far has been great. I am having a blast running around, talking to NPCs, exploring, and fighting enemies. It can get tedious, and you can feel the jank now and then, but I have high hopes that the people over at Questline and Awaken Realms will continue to polish the game and add more content.
If you are seeking for more The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim content, you can scratch that itch by playing Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon. The only caveat is that it is still in Early Access so you may not get the full experience that you want and need just yet. Even with all that said, I believe it is worth supporting the developers as they seem to know what they are doing and the game, so far, is extremely fun.
More Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon Screenshots
Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon FAQs
How long is the Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon?
There should be around 30 hours of content in total now. Previously it was 10 to 15 hours, but Patch 0.7 Cuanacht Rebellion has added another 10 to 15 hours worth of content. Of course, this can change depending on your playstyle so take this answer with a grain of salt.
Is the Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon finished?
No. Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon is still in Early Access.
Is Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon co-op?
No. The developers and its publishers have yet to announce co-op features and we suspect this is an unlikely thing to happen.
How long is the Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon campaign?
There is around 30 hours of content right now but speaking on only the main story campaign, it should be around 10 to 15 hours. However, we doubt it is this easy to run through the game as it may require a little bit of grinding to get strong enough to defeat foes you will meet in the story.
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