Re: Tainted Grail : Fall of Avalon

On 5/25/2025 6:30 AM, Rin Stowleigh wrote:

 The gameplay has me hooked.
 While I have had some fun in the past with some of the Elder Scrolls
games, first couple of Witcher games, etc., fantasy RPGs are really
not my preferred genre.  However, when a title is this good, none of
that really matters.

Well, I played the demo, which is just escaping the prison (oblivion anyone? although a bit more involved)
It does seem pretty good, I liked it, but yeah it feels very much like a better Oblivion-Skyrim, perhaps a bit too much.  Also felt like a hint of G I'd probably snap it up at half off, I'm a little wary at the $45 as I'm kind of bored of this type of game anymore.
Also Nightrein released today, and costs less, I'm not impressed with the little bit of play I've seen and the complaints it's not for random groups. I'm still highly tempted by it and wouldn't mind shoveling some more money at Fromsoft, considering I've got over 6k hours in their games.

I would say this is the best game of this type I've played since
Skyrim.  It is possibly better than Skyrim in a lot of ways, despite
being 3rd person (my preference is for 1st).

Hmm, it's 1st person in the demo.  It says you can play it in 3rd person but it's made for 1st person and you should play it that way, so I did.

What I like:
 - Satisfying combat that encourages a tactical approach / interesting
enemies
- Immersive world that creates just the right amount of tension (you
never know what dangers you're going to stumble upon next)
- RPG elements like skills, crafting, inventory etc. are well done so
that they don't feel like a chore
- F5 to quick save (comes in handy because there will be many combat
situations you'll want to rewind and rethink your approach)
- Story doesn't get in the way with tiring cutscenes or any of that
bullshit that's included in so many games as a way to mask lame
gameplay.  Also no signs of woke/DEI bullshit that I've noticed.

I can't disagree with any of this, though I didn't play the demo that long.  Generally dialog is very good too (exception of Arthur who grated on me.)  I even liked reading most of the notes.  Almost as much horror feel as fantasy.

- Feels like a PC game and not a console port

VERY much so.  I tried playing it with a controller to begin with, man that was rough.  It works very well KBM however.

- Well optimized / high framerates with great visuals

Yes, much more my style too than most.  Although I was scratching my head at the Geiger inspired architecture in one place.  That seemed very out of place.

 What I don't like:
- Not all keybinds are mappable in the initial release

Yeah I noticed one key I wanted to change wasn't available to do so, although I forget what.
Only thing I can really say I didn't like I haven't mentioned is the fights seem fairly easy once I got used to the controls even at the hard difficulty.  Mostly just dodging away or toward worked to the point I didn't take any damage.
I couldn't figure out the parry though, but then I don't really get parries down in most games anyway, barely scraping by in bloodborne when I really needed them.

I never played the first Tainted Grail game, so I can't compare /
contrast, but I think Questline is onto a winning formula here.

Hmm, maybe I should check that one out first especially if it doesn't cost as much.
In any case, yes, I'd say if you're a Bethesda fan this would be great.
--
-Justisaur
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