Describing this as the indie Skyrim sounds reductionist and almost disrespectful. The problem is, that’s kind of exactly what The Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon is, so describe it as indie Skyrim I shall, and with great enthusiasm! So, to trim down a long review and save you some time, if you’ve been craving another Skyrim adventure but perhaps with a slightly darker tone (and about the same level of bugs) then look no further, adventurer, for your quest ends here. For the rest of you who are perhaps worried about taking an arrow to the knee, read on and see if Tainted Grail and its dark version of Arthurian lore is for you.
Available On: Xbox, PlayStation, PC
Reviewed On: PC
Developed By: Awaken Realms
Published By: Awaken RealmsReview code provided by the publisher.
In classic Elder Scrolls fashion, you begin the game locked up in an underground jail and with seemingly no memory of how you go there, raising some serious questions to the legitimacy of the charges. No worries, though, because it takes about 2 minutes for a mysterious figure to come along and help bust you of the prison which turns out to be run by a bunch of crazy priests who are searching for the cure to a plague. Jeez, we really can’t escape Covid, can we.
Anyway, it turns out that like Harry Potter carting a horcrux around in his head, you’ve got some of King Arthur’s soul embedded in your noggin – although unlike the young Master Potter, you have the ability to become an actually competent wizard in this game.
Of course, things are a tad complicated. The rescuer isn’t actually keen on having King Arthur back, vaguely hinting that it isn’t the first time that the legendary king has returned. Killing you doesn’t get rid of it, though, so for now you’ll go along with the King’s plans to collect the remnants of his soul so he can come back to the land of the living and fix the kingdom he worked so hard to create, because Avalon (Britain, really) has gone down the shitter. Are we sure this isn’t just a documentary?
Tonally, Tainted Grail likes to hop between a dark, murky fantasy world where most of the decisions and characters exist within a moral grey area, and Monty Python and the Holy Grail. In fact, the game even references the classic movie quite a few times. While the main questline deals in bleakness, ancient gods, giants and long-dead Kings who may nor may not be the right choice for fixing Kamelot and its relationship with the various clans, many of the side-quests venture into the weird, wonderful and wacky, such as an undead chef who really likes sour herring and cheese. Even writing that felt fundamentally wrong.
The first act is very strong. It quickly establishes the crumbling Kamelot (yes, it’s spelt with a K – somebody has been playing too much Mortal Kombat), the divide amongst the people of Kamelot and the rocky relationship with the local clans. Without a doubt, the world, its lore and its writing are the strongest components of Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon, although the excellent art-style is right up there too. Although not technically impressive – one look at the facial animations tells you that – this is still a frequently very pretty game to look at, and features some badass visual moments.
While choices and consequences are not a massive part of the game – indeed, most dialogue options and decisions lead you to the same place – you do get side with certain elements if you want to. And in-between all the grimdark fantasy stuff, there’s plenty of funny, weird quests to find as well.
The music also needs to get a mention, because the Polish developers are channelling some serious Witcher 3 vibes here. Slavic folk instruments are put to excellent use, creating an interesting contrast between the game’s Polish origins and its Arthurian setting.
The game does seem to get rougher the further in you go, though. The second map featured a few more glitches and bugged quests, and the third and final zone just felt…well, a little unfinished. The quests drag on, the main story bogs down, and there are more bugs to contend with. It’s like when you start a new hobby or project and you’re super-enthusiastic and throw everything into it, but by a few days later the initial novelty has worn off and you’re just trying to get it finished. I highly doubt that’s the case with the developers, but that’s what it feels like when you’re experiencing it in real-time.
Again, we find some Elder Scrolls – particularly Skyrim – similarities in how you level up. Just doing things will bump up stats like sneaking, athletics and magic, and will provide XP toward levelling up. Once you open up the skill tree you’ll find plenty of branches to explore across multiple tabs, and you’re free to mix and match them. You can run around with a sword in one hand and magic in the other, or maybe you want to be a stealthy archer who can summon creatures? Like most RPGs, the upgrades often boil down to percentage increases, but there’s room for some good builds and a few of the abilities are more memorable than just buffing health by a couple of percent.
Personally, I went down the almost pure magic route, opting for a build revolving around summoning minions to aid me in combat while wielding a staff in one hand and hurling lighting bolts with the other. By chucking some points into the right skill trees, my staff was boosting spell power as long as it was equipped. My minions reserved a chunk of my mana bar for themselves, but also boosted my regeneration, so provided I didn’t spam spells like Harry Potter abusing the shit out of Expelliarmus then I was fine. Magic really does feel like where the game’s combat is at its best – spell selection isn’t huge, but they feel satisfying to use, and by using the preset loadouts you can easily swap between spells quickly. One build in particuilar emphasises this idea by augmenting spell power if you mix and match mana costs.
Where’s the fun in sticking with just one playstyle, though, right? So using a respec potion I changed things up and became a battle-mage, wielding flames in one hand and a sword in the other like I was freaking Gandalf fighting the Balrog. Eventually, I swapped out for a pure melee build as well.
Let’s talk about the melee combat, because if you’re going to spend hours smacking things in the face, it had better feel good. Thankfully, Tainted Grail doesn’t disappoint here: every sword swing and hammer blow lands with a satisfying crunch, and taking a hit yourself feels like getting walloped by a sack of bricks. There’s a real sense of weight to every exchange, which does wonders for immersion and helps hide the fact that this is just the standard first-person system of one-button attacks and a stamina meter.
That said, the parry system is not for the faint of heart. The window for a successful parry is about as generous as a dragon with a toothache, so unless you’ve got lightning reflexes, you’ll probably rely more on blocking and dodging. Both are perfectly serviceable, but there’s a certain thrill to nailing that perfect parry—right before you inevitably get flattened by something much bigger and meaner than you. And believe me, that will happen, because Tainted Grail doesn’t bother scaling enemies to your level. Sometimes you’ll stroll into a new region feeling like a hero, only to get demolished by a random wandering monstrosity who clearly didn’t get the memo about fair fights. Worse, each new map seems to hit the reset button on enemy toughness, turning even basic foes into shameless damage sponges until you’ve done enough side-questing and grinding to catch up. It’s a bit of a momentum killer, but once you’re back on your feet, the meaty combat and high stakes do make every hard-fought victory feel genuinely earned.
Overall, this system feels better than Skyrim, and probably on par with the recent Oblivion Remastered, which upgraded its combat system a little over the 2006 original. In fact, I’d say it’s also along the same lines as Avowed from earlier this year, especially in how you can mix up magic and melee, if that’s your magically-infused jam.
Speaking of getting in a jam, I really wish this was one area Tainted Grail hadn’t tried to emulate Bethesda. There’s a lot of bugs and glitches to contend with, and while it wasn’t unplayable, I ran into a few side-quests I couldn’t complete. I also had issues with enemies getting stuck in terrain, running around in circles or just freezing in place. This came to a head in the final mission, where I encountered multiple giants getting trapped in weird places. I also experienced quite a few crashes, audio bugs and much, much more.
The good news is that the developers are working hard on polishing the game, so even now it’s in a better state than it was at launch.
In Conclusion…
Tainted Grail’s greatest strengths are also its most significant weaknesses. By channeling the spirit of modern Elder Scrolls games, it delivers a captivating sense of adventure and a darkly enchanting world filled with morally complex stories and quirky humour. However, this heavy reliance on familiar formulas means it often feels stuck in the shadow of its inspirations. In 2025, the game’s modest improvements over classics like Oblivion and Skyrim can make it seem more like a nostalgic throwback than a bold step forward. However, that might be exactly what you’re looking for.
If you’re willing to embrace its old-school charm and overlook some dated design choices, Tainted Grail offers a rewarding RPG experience in a fascinating setting. Come for the dark fantasy, stick around for the dash of Monty Python weirdness and all the fun adventures you wind up experiencing when you step off the beaten path.