KickStarter Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon - first-person open world RPG adaptation of Kickstarted board game

[Sibelius]

Still in Act 1, finished most of the side content and I am enjoying myself, with some reservations. Still reminding me very much of Risen.

Combat - the combat, at least melee, is pretty shit. I am on Veteran difficulty and have been playing melee exclusively, using the claymore, now at +4, and I'm just one or two hit killing most enemies. For those few and far between elites and bosses, it's just really a case of dodge back, kite around them and attack. There is normally some kind of environmental crutch in the boss areas where you can just run around and wait for your food regen. The dodge feels like you are teleporting rather than actually dodging, the sound effect is quite annoying as well, a dramatic whoosh. I put this combat below any Souls or Soulslike game I have played, though that is probably due to the perspective to be fair. In terms of direct 1st person competition it is marginally better than 1st person Skyrim with the inclusion of parry and dodge mechanics, but miles behind KCD. The game seemed way more difficult at the very start, not sure if they have done something with the patches or if I just got used to the combat.

World and exploration - This is the real draw for me, visually the game is striking and the world design and art direction are very good. The dungeons and POIs are placed sensibly, some of the dungeons are quite complex with multiple branching paths, the Smugglers Cave near the shipwreck for example.

Spoiler

I just went there without a quest and killed they guy with the big burrower pet, ran away from the pet that seems way above my level. I then had a look at my journal later and he seems to be one of the main characters, shit!

Loot and crafting - Everything you loot off of bodies is logical and reflects what the dead are wearing and wielding. Food is everywhere and is a very powerful healing tool, trivialises the game really. I think I might set some self-imposed rules for myself around using it. Weapon upgrades are standard Dark Souls +1, +2.... fare with different upgrade materials for different quality weapons. Interesting that you can lighten armour pieces, but it seems like a bit of a game breaking mechanic tbh.

Questing - the quest design works well with wider exploration, but the quests themselves have been quite basic so far. Only two interesting choices I had to take some time to think about

Spoiler

the woman that is stuck married to a zombie, I told her to stay with him, traditional values are appropriate in medieval settings

and

Spoiler

the Best friends Forever quest where one of the guards is haunted by a friend after he let a bandit slit his throat. I said he'd suffered enough, as he had been wracked with guilt for years and it was his mate Tagdan (Michael Ironside lookalike at the bar) that had told the bandits to do it.

Story/Writing - Main story hasn't progressed much yet so early days, but overall the quality of writing is competent, nothing special. Pleased that there are a number of factions and seems like there will be some conflict and side taking involved.

Spoiler

There was an option to talk the Glaswegian tribe leader lady out of gifting The Fortress the bandit ear necklace, but I didn't have the non-combat skills to succeed in the skill check. Would be interesting if succeeding in that check has a big impact on the two groups future relations, but I'm not sure if the C&C is that sophisticated.

Character Progression - +5%, enough said

 

[Ivan]

Would you say there is still a ton of polishing left to do? There's a whole ocean of shit to play and I know it's wise to wait for newly released games to undergo patches/DLC before diving in.

 

[notpl]

I found a troupe of homos in some ruins

Ha I told you people couple of pages ago that they put faggotry in Act 2 yet no one believed me! Also why is it blacksmiths again, are devs trying to say something?

I think it's funnier that you mind-controlled a (heterosexual, mentions two relationships with women and none with men in his backstory) blacksmith into falling in love with you - very explicitly, with multiple NPCs telling you what you were doing - and then complained about the blacksmith being "gay"

 

[damager]

Well at least the homos are outcasts that have to camp out in the wild. Or am I interpreting them squatting in the ruin wrong?

 

[Ivan]

Also, this game looks a bit shit. Think my 1080GTX will run it ok? Gonna check out the min specs

 

[damager]

Would you say there is still a ton of polishing left to do? There's a whole ocean of shit to play and I know it's wise to wait for newly released games to undergo patches/DLC before diving in.

Besides peoples legit critism of normies only playing the fotm, I think it can be fun to play an RPG that's just fresh out with your bros from the dex, given that you are interested in it anyway.

 

[Sibelius]

Would you say there is still a ton of polishing left to do? There's a whole ocean of shit to play and I know it's wise to wait for newly released games to undergo patches/DLC before diving in.

Purely from a melee perspective, my concern is that it is the fundamentals like dodge and the general feel and ebb and flow of combat encounters that need reworked, so not so much polishing that is gong to be done soon.

Thinking about the feel of dodge a bit more, you don't have legs or a player body, so there's maybe no way to animate the dodge conventionally. Would prefer something like a short low jump rather than what we have.

Everything else is acceptable to good with some excellence in the art and world design.

 

[Iluvcheezcake]

Now slowly exploring Cuanacht in Act 2 ans its pretty decent. I like the contrast from Act 1. Playing as a stealth caster and made a fun build based around the Prophet set (glass cannon, lots of stat buffs with hp <13%)
Killed that 4arm dude who was stalking me but the rewards were underwhelming to say the least.
Still enjoying it, i guess i will finish act 2 and then switch to Cyber Knights and give Tainted Grail a few months to get polished and more content.
If they overhaul the talents and abilities this has the potential to be a kickass game.

 

[Orange Clock]

Does anybody know is there a way to save a child from abortion in Red Priest’s quest? I refused to bring herbs, but mother said she’s going to do it anyway; then I agreed to help, hoping that there’d be a way to persuade her not to do it later, but there appears to be none, although a dialogue with a father(Red Priest) indicates that it’s a possibility. Maybe I should’ve completed the Temple quest before or something.
Anyway, fuck poles. At least Californians kill you with cringe, while looking at your face outright. Potatoes hide it second and third acts: gay smiths, lesbo-picts, ladybosses, women Perceval. What next, King Arthur turns out to be a cuck?
Oh, wait…

 

[Sibelius]

What next, King Arthur turns out to be a cuck?
Oh, wait…

Yeah that would be an accurate adaptation of the mythology. Lancelot must have had a lot of lance.

 

[Orange Clock]

What next, King Arthur turns out to be a cuck?
Oh, wait…

Yeah that would be an accurate adaptation of the mythology. Lancelot must have had a lot of lance.

T’was nothin’ but a French selfinsert chivalrous might-fantasia

 

[jaekl]

3rd map experience:

Walk up to an NPC standing in the middle of the road who traps me in a dialogue with no (Leave) option and then disappears from the game when the dialogue is over so I can't take my revenge.

Kill a bear that looks the same as all the other bears but it takes 3 power attacks to kill it now instead of one

Talk to another NPC with no (Leave) option who also disappears afterwards

Walk up a path and kill groups of goblins standing around in the road.

Enter a cave with 4 skeleton enemies inside who take 3 to 4 power attacks to kill instead of one now. There is nothing else in the cave.

Enter a cave to do a quest which is a single linear tunnel and also the quest NPC inside is broken, so it cannot be completed

 

[cpmartins]

Does anybody know is there a way to save a child from abortion in Red Priest’s quest? I refused to bring herbs, but mother said she’s going to do it anyway; then I agreed to help, hoping that there’d be a way to persuade her not to do it later, but there appears to be none, although a dialogue with a father(Red Priest) indicates that it’s a possibility. Maybe I should’ve completed the Temple quest before or something.
Anyway, fuck poles. At least Californians kill you with cringe, while looking at your face outright. Potatoes hide it second and third acts: gay smiths, lesbo-picts, ladybosses, women Perceval. What next, King Arthur turns out to be a cuck?
Oh, wait…

I think there is. After she gives you the quest go to the priests quarters in the lower part of the city and talk with both the priest in question and the man who confronted her. They're in the same room, second floor I think.

 

[d1r]

3rd map experience:

Walk up to an NPC standing in the middle of the road who traps me in a dialogue with no (Leave) option and then disappears from the game when the dialogue is over so I can't take my revenge.

Kill a bear that looks the same as all the other bears but it takes 3 power attacks to kill it now instead of one

Talk to another NPC with no (Leave) option who also disappears afterwards

Walk up a path and kill groups of goblins standing around in the road.

Enter a cave with 4 skeleton enemies inside who take 3 to 4 power attacks to kill instead of one now. There is nothing else in the cave.

Enter a cave to do a quest which is a single linear tunnel and also the quest NPC inside is broken, so it cannot be completed

B-But is there more smut in Act 3?

 

[Konjad]

Finished the game today. Overall, it's not great but I had fun. Combat could be better, writing is alright, and exploration is decent. The atmosphere is also very typical of Polish games - grim and mysterious. I'm happy I gave it a chance. It's not goty in any aspect but it's satisfying enough. I haven't experienced any significant bugs either but I must say I did probably only half of side quests and had minor issues in some of them, I'm not completionist on my first runs. Act 1 and 2 are good, third is focused on combat and I rushed through it.

My complaints are subpar combat that is just acceptable, shitty Unity engine, equipment clutter and the fact that you basically find the best equipment in the first act, and worst of all: the game gives you choices but regardless what you choose NPCs often react like you made certain choices and break the flow of the story. This needs to be fixed and I guess it will in future patches but we'll see.

Overall, if you don't have backlog of good RPGs then this game is worth it but probably best is to wait for a major patch or two. However, it's perfectly playable now if you are RPG junkie like me.

It's significantly better than whatever modern Bethesda, Obsidian and Bioware (aka BOB) can make nowadays.

 

[Angelo85]

Bros they are turning the frogs Berserkers gay

 

[Iluvcheezcake]

Playing Act 2, its suprisingly decent. Stuffed with quests and cool enemies, no major bugs so far. Going slowly, stealth caster. Found a few nice skill synergies (under general tree you can unlock +30% dmg to staggered enemies, that combined with mage tree 20% crit dmg drains stamina for example). Also unlocked the secret talent tree.
Got over 30 points in perception so crits are through the roof xD

Noticed that damage boosts from endurance tree do not work for spells since they do not boost spellpower. Dunno if intended or a bug/oversight.

 

[Iluvcheezcake]

Right, played most of act 2 and its good. Did not encounter many bugs, only 1 minor quest did not update.
They will need to rework items and skills tho, in current form it gets old fast

 

[Panzerbjorne]

I’d much rather play this than oblivion but I’m still finding it a bit boring. Hasn’t really hooked me. There’s a plague, wyrdness, King Arthur, the game hasn’t really given me any motivation to care about any of them. I do like the exploration and overall grim vibe. But I’ve gone back to playing Solasta cuz the combat is fun. Combat in this game is decent for first person but nothing amazing. Performance has been OK but it’s frozen on me a few times. I’ll probably wait for some more patches.

 

[Infinitron]

75/100 https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/tainted-grail-the-fall-of-avalon-review/

Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon review​

A unique spin on Arthurian legend with bold world design.​

The setup is this: you're an escaped prisoner who gets wrangled into defending the war-torn isle of Avalon from an impending otherworldly force called the "wyrdness." And also the soul of the centuries-dead King Arthur has hitched a ride on your subconscious. After centuries of imprisonment, he wants to take back his kingdom, and you just happen to be the most ideal vessel for this task.

There's a sense of confidence in Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon. You can see it in the world design, feel it in the colorful cast of characters. 'Skyrim but you're also haunted by the ghost of King Arthur' is a concept that demands ambition.

But developer Questline is an untested studio, and fumbling the ball was always going to be a strong possibility. After dozens of hours, I’m happy to report that we have a genuinely fascinating open-world first-person RPG experience on our hands.

It's not without blemishes, though. Yes, Tainted Grail is sure of itself, but for every moment worth celebrating there's also a frustrating enemy encounter or a confusing UI feature to endure. The resulting game can be summed up in one word: inconsistent.

Setting the Round Table​

Tainted Grail is a dark fantasy take on Arthurian legend set in the same world as the popular board game; in fact, it came to be thanks to the wild success of the 2018 Kickstarter campaign for the tabletop game.

(Image credit: Awaken Realms)
Being a first-person open-world RPG, Tainted Grail invites comparisons to genre mainstays like The Elder Scrolls and Kingdom Come: Deliverance, and it unabashedly leans into those influences—it even opens with an Oblivion-style prison break.
You'll level up skills as you use them, rewarding whatever playstyle you happen to be rolling with at the time; I tended to favor a battlemage-style build with a magic spell in one hand and a sword in the other. Each cast grew my magic power, each swing made me stronger with one-handed weapons. I've always been a big fan of this system in the Elder Scrolls games, and it's used to good effect here.
There are traditional skill trees, too. More than 20 of them, in fact, offering more substantial upgrades to your abilities. I felt overwhelmed in the early game when deciding what playstyle to try out, but skill points are plentiful enough that I felt free to experiment.

(Image credit: Awaken Realms)

A wyrd wide world​

The world is also a lot of fun to explore. The realm of Avalon is divided into three different hub regions, each with their own storyline and biome. The environments are very pretty and loaded with points of interest to explore, like caves and abandoned villages. I found something useful—a new piece of armor, a new crafting recipe—almost everywhere I looked. There's very little filler space in the game's large maps.
During your journey, you'll make several forays into the "Wyrdrealm," an alternate dimension populated by spirits and otherworldly monsters. The design of this realm is filled with character, from huge statues of eldritch creatures to a skyline of crumbling towers. Trips here were always full of surprises and I often looked forward to the next mission that took me to the Wyrdrealm.
For me, though, Tainted Grail shines brightest with its characters. Every NPC has something worthwhile to contribute, and most of them offer side quests that add new wrinkles to the larger story. They can also be surprisingly funny: you'll help a nobleman fake his death to get out of a loveless marriage, uncover the lair of an undead chef chasing the next great meal, assist a woman who accidentally turned her husband into a pig, and more. That sense of humor extends to gear too, with a haunted chest piece that screams in agony as you take damage and a magic spell that can turn enemies into cheese.

(Image credit: Awaken Realms)
The larger story is a lot of fun too. Awaken Realms and Questline have presented a unique take on the tale of King Arthur, steering it into dark fantasy territory. There are a lot of clever twists on familiar tropes, like the roles played by Arthur's closest confidants, including Galahad and Merlin.
Tainted Grail is ambitious and grand in scope, so it's surprising that it's as technically sound as it is. Games of this scale tend to come with a bunch of bugs and glitches, but I experienced very little during my 40-plus hours; the most glaring hiccup I encountered was a few dropped lines of dialogue. It's likely that the game's two years in early access on Steam played a large role in this technical feat.

(Image credit: Awaken Realms)

Sword in the groan​

There's a lot to like about Tainted Grail, but Questline's ambition runs ahead of its execution in myriad small ways: little quirks here and there that don't amount to much individually, but, taken together, lessen the immersion and lead to some frustration and monotony.
My biggest complaint here is with some of the worldbuilding. I don't want to disparage the work of any voice actors, but it feels like many of them weren't briefed on some important bits of lore. For example, Cuanacht, the name of the second region of the game, is pronounced at least four different ways. This is true for a handful of other proper nouns, too, like "Dal Riata," and "Osbryht," and it makes the world feel less cohesive. (This could have been a way to differentiate between cultures, but I didn't notice any in-game reasons for the different pronunciations.)

(Image credit: Awaken Realms)
Some more variety in enemy design would have been welcome as well. You can only kill so many bandits with the same face before it becomes rote, and the liberal use of palette-swapped monsters makes the world of Avalon feel smaller than it is. The upside is that boss encounters feel novel and unique, such as a Davy Jones-type squid pirate, or a deer spirit that can clone itself. With boss designs like that, it's a shame the intervening chaff feels so repetitive.
There are some design decisions that I'm not too keen on. Being limited to only four weapon loadouts was a bit disappointing, and having to menu my way back to the weapons screen got tedious every time I wanted to experiment with something new. By and large, though, the first-person combat feels smooth—sword swings have weighty impact and spells explode in showers of sparks and ice. However, there are a couple difficulty spikes that caught me off guard. There were times when I'd breeze through most of a dungeon's monsters, taking them out with just a couple spell casts, only to come up against a boss that may as well have been a brick wall for all the damage I did. This didn't happen often but it was discouraging when it did.

(Image credit: Awaken Realms)
Exploring the world's dungeons and caves offers worthwhile rewards, but the design of these places is often disorienting. Pathways twist and turn, crossing over themselves in maze-like tunnels. I got lost more than a few times in these labyrinths, and the lack of a minimap was very much noticed. Confusingly, you can't seem to be able to access the full world map inside dungeons either.
There's a lot to like about Tainted Grail, and the good outweighs the bad by a fair margin. In a genre largely dominated by Bethesda and Obsidian, it's good to see a new developer making its mark, and Questline is punching above its weight.

The Verdict
75

Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon puts an interesting spin on Arthurian legend and presents a competent world that plays like a love letter to the open-world first-person RPG genre.

 

[Fedora Master]

75/100 https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/tainted-grail-the-fall-of-avalon-review/

Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon review​

A unique spin on Arthurian legend with bold world design.​

The setup is this: you're an escaped prisoner who gets wrangled into defending the war-torn isle of Avalon from an impending otherworldly force called the "wyrdness." And also the soul of the centuries-dead King Arthur has hitched a ride on your subconscious. After centuries of imprisonment, he wants to take back his kingdom, and you just happen to be the most ideal vessel for this task.

There's a sense of confidence in Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon. You can see it in the world design, feel it in the colorful cast of characters. 'Skyrim but you're also haunted by the ghost of King Arthur' is a concept that demands ambition.

But developer Questline is an untested studio, and fumbling the ball was always going to be a strong possibility. After dozens of hours, I’m happy to report that we have a genuinely fascinating open-world first-person RPG experience on our hands.

It's not without blemishes, though. Yes, Tainted Grail is sure of itself, but for every moment worth celebrating there's also a frustrating enemy encounter or a confusing UI feature to endure. The resulting game can be summed up in one word: inconsistent.

Setting the Round Table​

Tainted Grail is a dark fantasy take on Arthurian legend set in the same world as the popular board game; in fact, it came to be thanks to the wild success of the 2018 Kickstarter campaign for the tabletop game.

(Image credit: Awaken Realms)
Being a first-person open-world RPG, Tainted Grail invites comparisons to genre mainstays like The Elder Scrolls and Kingdom Come: Deliverance, and it unabashedly leans into those influences—it even opens with an Oblivion-style prison break.
You'll level up skills as you use them, rewarding whatever playstyle you happen to be rolling with at the time; I tended to favor a battlemage-style build with a magic spell in one hand and a sword in the other. Each cast grew my magic power, each swing made me stronger with one-handed weapons. I've always been a big fan of this system in the Elder Scrolls games, and it's used to good effect here.
There are traditional skill trees, too. More than 20 of them, in fact, offering more substantial upgrades to your abilities. I felt overwhelmed in the early game when deciding what playstyle to try out, but skill points are plentiful enough that I felt free to experiment.

(Image credit: Awaken Realms)

A wyrd wide world​

The world is also a lot of fun to explore. The realm of Avalon is divided into three different hub regions, each with their own storyline and biome. The environments are very pretty and loaded with points of interest to explore, like caves and abandoned villages. I found something useful—a new piece of armor, a new crafting recipe—almost everywhere I looked. There's very little filler space in the game's large maps.
During your journey, you'll make several forays into the "Wyrdrealm," an alternate dimension populated by spirits and otherworldly monsters. The design of this realm is filled with character, from huge statues of eldritch creatures to a skyline of crumbling towers. Trips here were always full of surprises and I often looked forward to the next mission that took me to the Wyrdrealm.
For me, though, Tainted Grail shines brightest with its characters. Every NPC has something worthwhile to contribute, and most of them offer side quests that add new wrinkles to the larger story. They can also be surprisingly funny: you'll help a nobleman fake his death to get out of a loveless marriage, uncover the lair of an undead chef chasing the next great meal, assist a woman who accidentally turned her husband into a pig, and more. That sense of humor extends to gear too, with a haunted chest piece that screams in agony as you take damage and a magic spell that can turn enemies into cheese.

(Image credit: Awaken Realms)
The larger story is a lot of fun too. Awaken Realms and Questline have presented a unique take on the tale of King Arthur, steering it into dark fantasy territory. There are a lot of clever twists on familiar tropes, like the roles played by Arthur's closest confidants, including Galahad and Merlin.
Tainted Grail is ambitious and grand in scope, so it's surprising that it's as technically sound as it is. Games of this scale tend to come with a bunch of bugs and glitches, but I experienced very little during my 40-plus hours; the most glaring hiccup I encountered was a few dropped lines of dialogue. It's likely that the game's two years in early access on Steam played a large role in this technical feat.

(Image credit: Awaken Realms)

Sword in the groan​

There's a lot to like about Tainted Grail, but Questline's ambition runs ahead of its execution in myriad small ways: little quirks here and there that don't amount to much individually, but, taken together, lessen the immersion and lead to some frustration and monotony.
My biggest complaint here is with some of the worldbuilding. I don't want to disparage the work of any voice actors, but it feels like many of them weren't briefed on some important bits of lore. For example, Cuanacht, the name of the second region of the game, is pronounced at least four different ways. This is true for a handful of other proper nouns, too, like "Dal Riata," and "Osbryht," and it makes the world feel less cohesive. (This could have been a way to differentiate between cultures, but I didn't notice any in-game reasons for the different pronunciations.)

(Image credit: Awaken Realms)
Some more variety in enemy design would have been welcome as well. You can only kill so many bandits with the same face before it becomes rote, and the liberal use of palette-swapped monsters makes the world of Avalon feel smaller than it is. The upside is that boss encounters feel novel and unique, such as a Davy Jones-type squid pirate, or a deer spirit that can clone itself. With boss designs like that, it's a shame the intervening chaff feels so repetitive.
There are some design decisions that I'm not too keen on. Being limited to only four weapon loadouts was a bit disappointing, and having to menu my way back to the weapons screen got tedious every time I wanted to experiment with something new. By and large, though, the first-person combat feels smooth—sword swings have weighty impact and spells explode in showers of sparks and ice. However, there are a couple difficulty spikes that caught me off guard. There were times when I'd breeze through most of a dungeon's monsters, taking them out with just a couple spell casts, only to come up against a boss that may as well have been a brick wall for all the damage I did. This didn't happen often but it was discouraging when it did.

(Image credit: Awaken Realms)
Exploring the world's dungeons and caves offers worthwhile rewards, but the design of these places is often disorienting. Pathways twist and turn, crossing over themselves in maze-like tunnels. I got lost more than a few times in these labyrinths, and the lack of a minimap was very much noticed. Confusingly, you can't seem to be able to access the full world map inside dungeons either.
There's a lot to like about Tainted Grail, and the good outweighs the bad by a fair margin. In a genre largely dominated by Bethesda and Obsidian, it's good to see a new developer making its mark, and Questline is punching above its weight.

The Verdict
75

Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon puts an interesting spin on Arthurian legend and presents a competent world that plays like a love letter to the open-world first-person RPG genre.

We do not care about mainstream game journalism

 

[Angelo85]

New Patch just dropped. Aside from the notes about fixes, they also included some interesting infos/promises:

- up until today a total of 450.000 copies have been sold across Consoles and PC
- Mod Support will come within the next month (if all goes according to plan)
- Addition of "huge batch" of extra content for Act 3 via patch 1.1 is planned

 

[Hobo Elf]

Everyone talking about how the game will be fixed in future patches like it was still in Early Access. Grim.

 

[GloomFrost]

Everyone talking about how the game will be fixed in future patches like it was still in Early Access. Grim.

Yep. All those "fixes" and "Act 3 additional content" should have been in 1.0 release version. Modern gaming industry just plain and simple sucks.

 

[Iluvcheezcake]

Everyone talking about how the game will be fixed in future patches like it was still in Early Access. Grim.

Yep. All those "fixes" and "Act 3 additional content" should have been in 1.0 release version. Modern gaming industry just plain and simple sucks.

All true.

But damn, the game is fun.