Starfield vs Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon
Bethesda's spaced-out sandbox versus a grim, branching Avalon — one rewards builders, the other readers.
Updated 6d ago
Free Lanes finally fixed the space travel — you can cruise between planets now — but the procedural planets and the weak main story are untouched.
A grimdark Skyrim-killer with crunchier combat and packed-with-stuff exploration — buys in if you can stomach the solo-dev pacing.
By the numbers
Prices checked Aug 7; they move faster than we refresh, so confirm on the store page.
Recent-review figures are Steam's own last-30-days window, read Aug 7.
| Measure | Starfield | Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon |
|---|---|---|
| Value Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon wins on value | ||
| Price now | $34.39 −31% · GreenManGaming | $31.49 −30% · GOG |
| All-time low | $34.39 | $17.99 |
| Cost / hour | $1.44/hr $34.39 · 24 h main story | $1.13/hr $31.49 · 28 h main story |
| Off its low | At its low low was Jul 2026 | +75% low was Feb 2024 |
| Main story | 24 h | 28 h |
| Health Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon wins on player health | ||
| Steam reviews | 57% 175k reviews | 88% 35k reviews |
| Recent reviews | 63% 396 votes · vs 57% lifetime · improving | 85% 1k votes · vs 88% lifetime |
| Peak players | 7,294 Jul 2026 · ↓ 8% MoM | 6,694 Jul 2026 · ↑ 60% MoM |
| Launch peak | 2% of Sep 2023 launch peak · as of Jul 2026 | 26% of May 2025 launch peak · as of Jul 2026 |
| All-time peak | 330,597 Sep 2023 | 25,568 May 2025 |
| Support | ||
| Last patch | 8 weeks ago | 3 weeks ago |
| Patch cadence | 2 in last 90 days | 4 in last 90 days |
| Steam Deck | Gold | Platinum |
Shared scale — same months across the bottom, same player-count axis up the side, so the two lines are directly comparable. A shorter line means a younger game.
What players say
Patterns from long-haul reviewers, taken from each game's verdict. Not live sentiment — each side is dated below.
Starfield
Long-haul pilots credit the ship builder and the mod scene with carrying exploration well past what the vanilla planets offer.
Reviewers with four-figure hour counts say the handcrafted content thins out fast and repeated points of interest turn planet-scanning into filler.
from our July 2026 verdict
Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon
Exploration is the hook that keeps 100-hour fans coming back — every hidden nook holds something worth the detour, and combat's weighty crunch holds up across playthroughs.
Mid-game quests start to drag, and interior spaces lacking maps make navigation a persistent friction even for veterans.
from our August 2026 verdict
Key differences
Which one is for you?
Pick Starfield if
- You'll spend hours tinkering with ship parts and never tire of it
- You're on PC and modding is part of the fun
- You love Bethesda's pick-up-quest, over-encumbered loop
Pick Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon if
- Morrowind, Gothic, or Outward are your comfort games
- You crave dark Arthurian fantasy with gritty textures
- You want choices that genuinely change who lives and dies
Bottom line
Choose Starfield for its ship-building sandbox and Bethesda comfort; choose Tainted Grail if you value dense writing and branching choices over AA combat polish.