Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon 0.9 Review

Platform: Steam

Genres: Medieval, Medieval RPG, RPG, Open World

Summary: Trapped in endless autumn, an ancient plague called the Red Death has returned to ravage the Eternal Isle of Avalon and the people of Kamelot. You play as a survivor trying to find a cure and restore Kamelot to its former glory.

Start date: 20/04/2025

Hours at Time of Review (Including Demo): 28 Hours

Classes: Arzela the Huntress, Maeliss the Druid

Review:

Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon asks, "What if The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was set in the time of Arthurian legend?" No, it doesn't have cat-people or lizard-people but what it does have is a variety of fun roleplaying opportunities, magics, weapons and enemies.

For instance, when your character wakes up in a damp cell and talks to the guard you can choose your class through dialogue. With Arzela, my first character, I chose the Hunter. Choosing the Hunter option gives proficiency with bows, stealth and lockpicking while the sub-option lets you decide whether you want a bonus to crafting or cooking.

I was a bit disappointed in how limited the supply of arrows was in the Island Asylum until the halfway point. It left Arzela having to use an Amputation Knife as her main weapon, instead of the Very Short Bow she picked up early on. However, it did give the roleplaying opportunity of trying and failing to find the Asylum's armoury to retrieve her belongings. The lockpicking mechanic, on the other hand, even for hard-levelled locks, was easy, and I never ran out of them. It also looks cooler to use a dagger and a lockpick than just the regular tools that you use in Skyrim.

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With Maeliss, my second character, I went with the Druid/Mage. Choosing the Druid option gives you a one-handed weapon, light armour and magic proficiency; the sub-option lets you start as a healer with a life steal spell or a destroyer with a fire spell. One thing that differentiates Tainted Grail from Skyrim is the ability to charge your spells. That means if you're using the life-steal it functions as a stream and, essentially, prevents you from taking damage unless multiple enemies are attacking you. This can lead to hilarious results if you obtain the Scorching Blaze spell in Horns of the South, the first full area of the game. Even a light tap of the SBS is enough to send enemies flying 10 feet into the air, and even higher if it's fully charged.

Can you switch between play styles without an Origin Potion aka Respeccing? You can but without the starting bonuses it is hard. I was having trouble with a Bandit Leader as Arzela, whom I had defeated easily with Maeliss, so I thought to try the same method using the life-steal spell. It did not work as the life-steal barely took off a tenth of the leader's health bar.

The amount of enemies in the first two areas has a good amount of variety. There are your normal humans, from Deranged Peasants to Bandits and Undead; Bears to Wolves to Redcaps, Grindylows and more Wyrd enemies unique to Tainted Grail.

There will be 55+ unique spells in the full release. I have to say the most unique I've seen so far is a spell that turns your enemies into cheese, which is made from your own blood, I assume via Wyrdness.

Recommendation: If you like medieval RPGs and Arthurian mythology with unique enemies, spells and weapons, I wholly recommend Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon.