Skyrim-like RPG Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon Officially Launches: Performance Analysis and First Impressions
After a period in early access, Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon has officially launched, promising a dark and immersive open-world RPG experience reminiscent of Skyrim and Oblivion. But can it live up to the hype? Early user reviews are overwhelmingly positive, but let's delve deeper into what this Arthurian reimagining offers, and how it performs on PC.
A Dark Reimagining of Arthurian Legend
Set 600 years after the fall of King Arthur, Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon plunges players into a realm of unending strife and plague. The game features three distinct zones, each with its own unique challenges and secrets. According to the backstory, King Arthur ousted a chaotic primordial force many centuries before during his conquest of Avalon. Now, it's back with a vengeance.
The developers at Awaken Realms promise a 50-70 hour gameplay experience, filled with over 200 sidequests and various activities, from decorating your home to farming and a "sketchbook journaling" mechanic. One notable feature is the Wyrdness, a force that makes enemies tougher at night, adding a layer of strategic challenge to exploration.
Gameplay and Customization
Players have the freedom to create their own unique playstyle, combining stats, perks, and equipment to become a crazy alchemist-berserker, a mystical blacksmith-mage, or a stealthy archer. The game boasts a "mature, morally grey story" that involves a plague, torturous experimentation, and monsters.
PC Performance and Graphics
Initial performance analysis reveals that Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon runs smoothly at 1080p on a wide range of GPUs. However, demanding scenarios arise at 1440p and 4K resolutions. Gamers with NVIDIA cards can leverage DLSS for improved performance, while AMD and Intel users might find themselves at a disadvantage due to the lack of FSR or XeSS support.
While the game can look visually impressive at times, there are inconsistencies. The absence of Ray Tracing for Global Illumination contributes to visual imperfections, and pop-in issues can be noticeable. Despite running on the Unity Engine, the performance and graphics, according to initial tests, may not fully justify the GPU requirements, leaving room for optimization.
Early Verdict
Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon offers a promising RPG experience that could rival Bethesda's titles. However, shader compilation stutters currently plague the game and MAJOR Shader COMPILATION STUTTERS plague the begining of the game, but Awaken Realms has pledged to address these issues promptly through post-launch updates. With its engaging gameplay, dark theme, and deep customization options, Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon is worth keeping an eye on, and is one of the best games.
Have you ventured into the dark world of Avalon? What are your thoughts on the gameplay, performance, and overall experience? Share your opinions in the comments below!
