Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon Review – A Satisfying RPG (PS5)

Step into a dark reimagining of Arthurian legend with Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon, a first-person open-world RPG that blends deep lore, grim fantasy, and dynamic combat into one of the most immersive role-playing experiences of recent years. Developed by Questline and published by Awaken Realms, this hauntingly atmospheric game invites players to explore the decaying land of Avalon, a realm plagued by chaos, disease, and fading myths. This Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon review will 

Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon is available on Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S for $44.99.

1. What Is Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon’s Story?

Set in a crumbling world where myths are fading and reality is warping, Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon spins a grim reimagining of Arthurian legend. Centuries before the game’s events, humanity fled a deadly plague known as the Red Death and followed King Arthur to the mysterious island of Avalon, once home to the ancient, four-armed giants known as the Fore-Dwellers.

Now, 600 years later, the Menhirs are failing. The Wyrdness seeps back into the land, warping reality and plunging Avalon into uncertainty once more. As a prisoner turned unlikely hero, your journey begins in a land on the edge of collapse, caught between dying myths, fading magic, and morally complex factions vying for control.

Truthfully, as someone with minimal knowledge about the Arthurian legend, I was worried that the game would repeatedly overwhelm me with bits of lore and blast through unfamiliar terms. Fortunately, the game gradually introduces the major story points without overwhelming the players.

The story of Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon is relatively easy to understand for players familiar with the Arthurian legend and those not.

King Arthur’s backstory in Tainted Grail.

2. Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon’s Gameplay | Solid In Most Parts

Moving on to the next part of this review, I will touch upon Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon‘s gameplay aspects. Suppose I can summarize the game in simple words. In that case, the game pays homage to older RPG titles. It provides a gameplay experience that many Skyrim veterans will enjoy and appreciate, while also offering players who don’t typically play RPGs an entry point that welcomes them, regardless of their level of expertise.

2.1 Character Creation

In Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon, you create your playable character before doing anything else. Fortunately, the game offers players a sizable range of options for both male and female characters.

While I feel satisfied with the customization options here, I think that some small things are missing that would have helped elevate the character creation process and make it as inclusive as possible. For example, when selecting your muscle mass, you can only choose between a muscular build or a standard body type, without the option to adjust sliders to match your preferences.

All in all, while Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon doesn’t offer anything new in terms of character customization, what the game does have is more than enough to dabble around and create your ‘perfect’ character to kickstart the journey in this reimagined Arthurian legend.

Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon’s character creation offers many options for the players.

2.2 Tainted Grail’s Gameplay Experience Is Superb with Caveats

The game immediately presents us with a plethora of options to customize our character’s stats after the initial customization screen and story cutscene. These choices include whether we want to have a military background or show signs of interest in magic. These options prepare us for the journey in Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon, as some choices will permanently shape the world’s landscape.

Moving on to the combat side of things, the game feels enjoyable to play. There’s no delay in attack frames, and every weapon we use does feel weighty and powerful. However, the timing for parrying and blocking feels off against certain enemy types, especially against four-legged enemies.

The initial choices in Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon will shape your character.

2.3 Freedom of Exploration

Another gameplay aspect that I respect and enjoy in Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon is the ability to explore the wilderness of the game’s regions without suffering any consequences or notable punishments.

Besides that, Tainted Grail doesn’t hold its players’ hands, trying to tie them down to following any sequences of actions or quests, except for the first area, Island Asylum. You can choose to forget the main quests and head out for the nearby graveyards, abandoned market squares, or even visit NPCs in numerous locations. What makes me chuckle a bit and increases my respect for the developers is that, as you traverse the rich landscape, you can find miscellaneous items and quests that further enrich your exploration experience.

For example, in the Horns of the South region, there’s a hunter NPC you can talk to who will give you the quest to defeat the nearby necromancer who is resurrecting the dead and disrupting the local area’s peace. As you visit the graveyard and kill the necromancer, looting his corpse and den, you will encounter his henchman, who provides a brief background on the reasons behind the necromancy and offers you an additional bonus side quest to complete.

These small interactions with elements of the game’s world make traversing through the maps and regions of Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon a worthwhile journey, an experience I haven’t felt in ARPG for a while.

Quests in Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon can provide an unexpectedly positive experience.

3. Graphics and Audio Design | Unique Artistic Details and Ambience

While some might say that Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon doesn’t have the sharpest graphical aspects, I believe that Questline has more than adequately compensated for graphical prowess with unique artistic details. There’s much to love in this game, graphically speaking. The weapons’ textures and looks are gorgeous; the enemies are diverse, each with a unique look (unless they belong in the same archetype); and the structures, especially within the Menhirs, are wonderful to look at.

However, although my experience is relatively smooth and positive, some bugs and drawbacks still hampered me from thoroughly enjoying the game from its technical standpoint. Notably, there are instances of stuttering when entering some dialogues. 

Here are key details regarding the graphics and audio design of Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon:

• While playing the PS5 version, the game occasionally stutters during dialogue, when entering new regions or areas, and during loading background assets.
• The combat audio feedback is adequate, allowing players to feel the weight of their attacks. However, the animation timings for parrying and blocking feel lacking and not robust, forcing me to use the dodge system for a better combat experience.
• The soundtracks feel bland and uninspiring except during important cutscenes and key in-game events, such as when you first meet King Arthur.

This Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon review is possible thanks to PR Outreach for providing us with a PS5 key.

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