Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon
" Immersive action RPG with rich story and exploration but plagued by bugs and performance issues "
Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon Review
Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon is a dark fantasy RPG that evokes strong comparisons to Elder Scrolls titles like Skyrim and Oblivion, blending open-world exploration with Arthurian and Slavic mythological elements. Players praise its immersive world, meaningful choices, and deep lore, with a combat system that, while janky at times, offers satisfying weight and variety. The game shines in exploration and atmosphere, supported by strong voice acting and a compelling narrative that rewards player decisions.
However, the game is marred by technical issues, including bugs, performance problems, and uneven polish beyond the first act. Some players report quest bugs, missing voiceovers, and unoptimized combat AI. The later acts feel less populated and less refined, with some story and gameplay elements unfinished or inconsistent. Despite these flaws, the game’s ambition and creativity from a smaller studio earn it respect and a dedicated fanbase, with hopes for future patches to address outstanding issues.
Highlights
Players highly praise the game's immersive open world and rewarding exploration, reminiscent of classic RPGs. The art style and atmospheric graphics are lauded for their unique dark fantasy aesthetic.
The combat system, though imperfect, is considered an improvement over Skyrim’s, with satisfying weight and strategic elements. The story and dialogue receive strong commendations for depth, meaningful choices, and excellent voice acting. The game’s crafting and RPG mechanics offer variety and player freedom, enhancing replayability.
Criticisms
Common criticisms focus on the technical issues such as bugs, crashes, and performance drops even on high-end PCs. The later acts of the game feel unfinished, sparsely populated, and less engaging compared to the polished first act.
Players note quest bugs, missing voiceovers, and inconsistent AI behavior. The combat AI and animations can be janky, and some mechanics like armor weight and summons lack polish. The story pacing and tone shift inconsistently, with some modern humor breaking immersion in a dark fantasy setting.
Pros
- • Immersive open world encourages rewarding exploration and discovery.
- • Unique dark fantasy art style with atmospheric graphics and lighting.
- • Meaningful player choices impact quests and world state.
- • Strong, well-written story with excellent voice acting.
- • Combat system offers satisfying weight and strategic depth.
- • Diverse RPG mechanics allow varied character builds and respecs.
- • Quality of life features like shared crafting stash enhance gameplay.
Cons
- • Performance issues and stuttering even on high-end PCs.
- • Numerous bugs including quest progression blockers and crashes.
- • Later acts feel unfinished, empty, and less polished.
- • Missing voiceovers and inconsistent audio mixing.
- • Combat AI and animations can be janky and exploitable.
- • Armor weight mechanics can be confusing and punitive.
- • Summoning class is underpowered and buggy.
Rating Criteria
Step into a dark reimagination of Arthurian legends in this first person, open world RPG. Explore a world stuck in everlasting autumn, witness falling legends and make meaningful choices woven into a complex, branching storyline.