Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon
Parry undead knights, brew alchemist-berserker builds, and carve a branch through Arthur's fallen Britain.
A grimdark Skyrim-killer with crunchier combat and packed-with-stuff exploration — buys in if you can stomach the solo-dev pacing.
For you if
- You want Skyrim's open-world loop but with weightier melee and no quest-marker handholding
- You love Arthurian lore reimagined with a dark, folk-horror twist
- You'll tolerate some rough edges for an RPG that rewards curiosity over checklisting
Not for you if
- You need a polished, AAA-grade presentation — this is a board-game-company passion project
- You're allergic to first-person melee combat with stamina management
- You expect a massive, seamless open world — this one is smaller and act-based
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.
Latest patch
Patched 2 weeks agoMedia
What critics say
- 6/10IGN
has some grand ideas, and it nails a lot of what it tries, but uneven difficulty and bugs prevent it from finding greatness
- 75/100PC Gamer
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
- 5/10Shacknews
ambitious and undeniable, but a world that feels inauthentic and forced constant wandering makes it hard to enjoy exploring
Before You Play
Refreshed monthlyWhat's the best build for new Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon players?
The Stealth Archer is the most forgiving first-playthrough build — maximize Perception and Dexterity, equip the Assassin's Set with Wolf's Fang daggers for up to 3.5x sneak damage, and use the Swordsman's Ring (+25% damage) plus Perilous Orb and Colm's Finger Necklace for critical hit boosts. Pure Mage scales hardest from the early game thanks to elemental damage and summons. Two-Handed Warrior is the simplest if you want straightforward melee. Avoid spreading skill points across too many trees — Tainted Grail rewards specialization.
Source: Game Rant Best Builds
What difficulty should new Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon players choose?
Five difficulties: Story, Explorer, Adventurer (default), Veteran, and Survival Mode (with permadeath). Adventurer is the developer-intended baseline. Drop to Explorer if you don't want to think about gear management; Story Mode makes you essentially invincible for narrative-only runs. Skip Survival Mode on your first playthrough — permadeath plus damage scaling is brutal, and you'll lose hours to a single mistake. You can change difficulty mid-game from any setting except Survival.
Source: Game Rant Difficulty Guide
Which side quests are missable in Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon?
A few notable ones. Alisa's questline at the Horn of the South tavern requires polite first-meeting dialogue — if you talk rudely on first contact, she won't offer her quest at all and the associated achievement is permanently locked. The "World Is Silent" quest requires picking up a specific letter; if you only read it and leave the Island Asylum, the quest stays in your log forever as unfinishable. General rule: read every note and look for dialogue alternatives in early areas — the game doesn't always flag missables.
Source: Steam Achievements Guide
Do I need to play earlier Tainted Grail games before The Fall of Avalon?
No. The Fall of Avalon is a first-person open-world RPG; the original Tainted Grail (2021) was a turn-based party RPG by the same studio (Awaken Realms). They share a setting (post-Arthurian Avalon, Wyrdness corruption, Cuanacht and Wyld factions) but have different gameplay, different protagonists, and different stories. Lore familiarity adds context but newcomers won't be lost. The Fall of Avalon is a clean entry point to the world.
Source: Wikipedia
Is there post-game content in Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon?
Yes — New Game Plus unlocks after the main story credits, with a choice to either continue your current save or immediately start a new cycle. NG+ resets the world but lets you keep most progression except the King's Power, learned recipes, quests, keys, and readable items. Each NG+ tier (it's stackable) adds -50 armor and tougher enemies, while letting you accumulate more Altar buffs and gear. The base campaign runs 60-80 hours; NG+ effectively doubles that for completionists.
Source: Tainted Grail Wiki NG+
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