Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon vs The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
Branching narrative depth vs. nostalgic open-world freedom — both let you shape your story, but one trusts you to read, the other to explore.
Updated 12d ago
A grimdark Skyrim-killer with crunchier combat and packed-with-stuff exploration — buys in if you can stomach the solo-dev pacing.
Shivering Isles and the Daedric questlines hold up 20 years on — but a stutter-riddled UE5 port and a year of dev silence make this one to wait for on sale.
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 | Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon | The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered |
|---|---|---|
| Value Too close to call | ||
| Price now | $31.49 −30% · GOG | $30.09 −40% · GreenManGaming |
| All-time low | $17.99 | $28.36 |
| Cost / hour | $1.13/hr $31.49 · 28 h main story | $1.73/hr $30.09 · 17 h main story |
| Off its low | +75% low was Feb 2024 | +6% low was Nov 2025 |
| Main story | 28 h | 17 h |
| Health Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon wins on player health | ||
| Steam reviews | 88% 35k reviews | 76% 70k reviews |
| Recent reviews | 85% 1k votes · vs 88% lifetime | 50% 488 votes · vs 76% lifetime · souring |
| Peak players | 6,694 Jul 2026 · ↑ 60% MoM | 2,633 Jul 2026 · ↑ 5% MoM |
| Launch peak | 26% of May 2025 launch peak · as of Jul 2026 | — |
| All-time peak | 25,568 May 2025 | 140,837 May 2025 · now at 2% |
| Support | ||
| Last patch | 3 weeks ago | 13 months ago |
| Patch cadence | 4 in last 90 days | 0 in last 90 days |
| Steam Deck | Platinum | 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.
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
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
The quest design and world charm hold up over 100 hours — the Shivering Isles and Daedric questlines are what veterans replay.
The stutter and crash-riddled UE5 port is the wall long-time players hit, made worse by a year of silence from the devs.
from our August 2026 verdict
Key differences
Which one is for you?
Pick Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon if
- You prefer Morrowind/Gothic-style exploration with minimal hand-holding.
- You value branching dialogue and reactive world-state over polished combat.
- You can tolerate AA-tier production values in a AAA-ambition design.
Pick The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered if
- You have nostalgia for Oblivion's 2006 world and want it modernized visually.
- You enjoy side-quest writing like the Dark Brotherhood and Shivering Isles.
- You are fine with 2006 systems — leveled enemies and no new content.
Bottom line
If hand-crafted narrative reactivity matters more than polished open-world freedom, choose Tainted Grail. If you want to revisit a nostalgia-soaked Cyrodiil with modern graphics, pick Oblivion Remastered.
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