Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon is a new indie open-world RPG where you explore Avalon and shape its future in this dark reimagination. Read our review to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.
Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon Review Overview
What is Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon?
Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon is a dark fantasy open-world RPG based on the Arthurian legends. The game features a three-act narrative and three different explorable areas with different enemies, locales, quests, and more. It also features an open-world design and questlines where your choices matter, similar to games like Cyberpunk 2077, Skyrim, Oblivion, and Fallout. Set in the fictional world of Avalon on the brink of ruin after the death of King Arthur, humans are trying to find ways to survive through the everlasting Autumn while the Red Death and Wyrdness ravage the land.
Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon features:
⚫︎ Arthurian Dark Fantasy Setting
⚫︎ Open-World First-Person RPG
⚫︎ Three Acts with Three Different Locales
⚫︎ Character Creation and Progression
⚫︎ Exploration and Questing
⚫︎ Hidden Secrets and Interactions
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Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 Compelling and Interesting Narrative Massive Open World Tons of Secrets to Discover |
Lack of Depth in Combat and Progression A Little Too Similar Technical Issues |
Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon Overall - 72/100
Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon is a great AA game in the already saturated open-world RPG genre. With tons of quests, a compelling narrative, a simplistic gameplay loop, and many secrets to find, it is worthy of being compared to Skyrim and its contemporaries. It does have its fair share of flaws, ranging from performance, jankiness, and the like. Nonetheless, it’s a release that’s worth your time, especially if you’re looking for something else to play in the same genre.
Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon Story - 9/10
The intro sequence alone is already compelling enough to set up a great narrative. Additionally, the worldbuilding is also a big positive, as the dialogue, in-game text, and story sequences all lend themselves to the lore. Many hidden secrets require a keen eye for detail, which also leads to many different questlines and even endings, which just supports how much effort the devs have put into the worldbuilding and quest cohesion.
Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon Gameplay - 6/10
Gameplay-wise, it’s familiar. Anyone who’s played a first-person perspective open-world game would feel right at home. However, combat and progression lack depth. While you’re open to building your character however you want, the skill trees and attributes feel limiting since not all stats and weapons synergize with each other. Combat, on the other hand, feels clunky and awkward and is very similar to Oblivion and Skyrim’s mana and stamina-centric fighting.
Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon Visuals - 6/10
In terms of visuals, it doesn’t look the best. Everything looks and moves stiff, which makes for a stiff combat experience. However, it does capture the essence and the atmosphere that it’s trying to push—dark, gothic, and grimy fantasy. To add to this, there are also pre-rendered cutscenes that are well-made and add to the game’s presentation as well.
Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon Audio - 6/10
The game’s audio design is also decent, where the one thing that shines is, surprisingly, the voice acting. It complemented the game’s presentation, as the different characters were memorable due to the voices. Everything else, though, wasn’t as noteworthy.
Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon Value for Money - 9/10
For $44.99, the game has tons of value. It boasts an average of 40-50 hours of gameplay to finish the main story and has a multitude of side quests and other hidden content for players to explore. Similar to other open-world RPGs, it’s a long-term investment, and at that price point, that’s considered an absolute steal.
Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon Review: A Worthy Alternative
There’s been an abundance of open-world RPGs in the past decade, and for this year, the genre continues to thrive. Or at least, to stay relevant due to the number of releases and remasters of old and beloved classics in the genre. It’s a staple; it has many things a gamer would want in a video game, as it has a lot of content to explore and do, an overarching story that uses its huge environment, and sometimes, engaging gameplay.
In a genre as saturated as this, how does an indie game developer stand out when releasing a new game? Take Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon, for instance. Released in early access two years ago, it has constantly been updated since then with massive improvements to gameplay, story, and more. Not only that, but it’s also based on the legend of King Arthur, in which we don’t really have a lot of games based on that legend. So the question remains—how does Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon stand out and how does it compare to its contemporaries?
Compelling Story and Worldbuilding
The story takes place a few years after King Arthur’s death, where he leaves Camelot in a prosperous state, only to have it ravaged by many disasters afterward. In the current time, Avalon is stricken by a mysterious, deadly disease that turns the living into mindless undead called the Red Plague, while another chaotic primordial force called the Wyrdness alters reality at night. Without spoiling anything, the intro and tutorial already set up the game’s world beautifully and built the foundation for what to expect in the game’s narrative. Not to mention that it's a really good take on a cultish dark fantasy of Camelot.
The many questlines that you’ll be doing or following will have many different morally ambiguous choices that you’ll have to make. It’s no surprise that these decisions will have consequences, and they will also affect the future of Avalon while doing so. It’s nothing new, especially in the open-world RPG genre, but the theme and the questlines are all interesting, which kept me going from quest to quest for long hours.
Massive World, Tons of Content
The game completely took me by surprise because of the amount of content there is in the game. Split into three acts, and each act has a corresponding area: the Horns of the South, Cuanacht Village, and the Forlorn Swords. Each area is a massive world that has tons of questlines for players to discover and follow. Additionally, there are also secrets to find, which may or may not have hints in the different texts lying around in the game.
To add to this, the length of the game is also pretty good for a newer open-world RPG. It easily crosses the fifty-hour mark, and the side quests will only look to make it longer when trying to complete everything.
Combat and Progression Lack Depth
While it does have a compelling narrative and a huge open world, it’s not without its problems. Primarily, the combat and actual progression of the game lack depth. Those who’ve played Bethesda’s Skyrim or Oblivion will find that the combat is a little too similar to the aforementioned. Combat is already very stiff, and the mechanics are also too similar to the previously mentioned and aren’t that interesting in action.
In addition to this, progression feels awkward. The XP system is a mix between a Souls game and Skyrim’s skills system, where both affect your stats and your skills. So you’re increasing your overall attributes and the skills that you use, which then lead to a stronger character. If anything, it might’ve been better if it only used one progression system instead of mixing it.
Performance Issues
It’s no secret that the game has been in early access for a very long time. With that being said, the game also has technical issues that need to be addressed, especially in the third act. The devs have already proven to improve and fix existing systems, so this won’t be a long-lasting issue, but this is a problem that it currently faces. Lastly, anyone who also knows the Unity engine knows that it’s notorious for having slowdowns and other issues, which may require the player to restart the game periodically. It’s not a complete game-breaker, but it does become annoying when you have to do it again and again.
A Worthy Competitor
Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon is a good open-world RPG that has its fair share of flaws. It has a lot of content to explore and get through while having a compelling narrative that will keep you engaged till the end. It may not have the best combat or progression, but it’s serviceable enough to keep you interested as you try out the different available weapons, spells, and the like. It’s definitely a game that you should look out for, especially if you’re a big fan of open-world games, as you might be looking for something different to play after playing Oblivion and Skyrim for so long.
Is Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon Worth It?
Worthy New Dark Fantasy to Look Out For
Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon is an RPG to look out for. For $44.99, it’s a steal for how much content there is in the game. The devs have spent the time and effort to make it as good as it is now, which is evident in the quality and quantity of the first two acts. However, it may take a bit more time for the third act to be polished, as the first two acts were available in early access and were tested for a longer time. Nevertheless, it’s a game that we recommend if you’re looking for an alternative to play besides Skyrim, Avowed, and Oblivion, as this game is a clear competitor in the same genre.
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Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon FAQ
What are the System Requirements to play Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon?
The System Requirements are as follows:
| Specifications | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10 64-bit | Windows 11 64-bit |
| Processor | Intel Core i5 8th Gen or AMD Equivalent | Intel Core i7 13th Gen |
| Memory | 12GB RAM | 16GB RAM |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 or AMD Equivalent | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super |
| Storage | 30 GB | |
| Additional Specs | Direct X11 | |
What languages are supported in Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon?
Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon will have full audio support for English only. However, the game will contain subtitles available for the following languages:
⚫︎ English
⚫︎ French
⚫︎ Italian
⚫︎ Czech
⚫︎ Polish
⚫︎ German
⚫︎ Spanish
⚫︎ Japanese
⚫︎ Brazilian Portuguese
⚫︎ Russian
⚫︎ Traditional Chinese
⚫︎ Simplified Chinese
⚫︎ Korean
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Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon Product Information
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| Title | TAINTED GRAIL: FALL OF AVALON |
|---|---|
| Release Date | May 23, 2025 |
| Developer | Questline |
| Publisher | Awaken Realms |
| Supported Platforms | PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S |
| Genre | Adventure, RPG |
| Number of Players | 1 |
| ESRB Rating | M17+ |
| Official Website | Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon Official Website |
