I went into Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon blind. After loading the game for the first time and waking up in a cell as a prisoner, I had to double-check what game I was playing. My first couple of hours felt like déjà vu. The basic combat mechanics and first-person perspective will feel at home for those who enjoy games in the Elder Scrolls series, such as Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim. But as I played more, Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon has elements that make it feel very different from the abovementioned titles. While its bones are built of classic first-person Elder Scrolls RPGs, my initial impressions are that the underlying gameplay systems feel more fleshed out and that the narrative has the potential to be a very different experience.

The Character creation is decent; you have a good selection of different features. However, most players will not get a character appearance that makes them completely happy. You can't adjust every minute detail in the face and body. The base character models are OK overall and are a decent upgrade from older games.

But the various face shapes feel somewhat limited, and I couldn’t get one that was happy with. Fortunately, I quickly equipped my armor before jumping into my first fight, and I haven't seen my character's face since. The various armor, clothing, weapons, and magical items look good. I have come across a few pieces here and there that don't appeal to my taste, but I can't tell if it's because those particular items are not sitting quite right on the character model or if it's just the art design.

The developer Questline has done a good job with the opening and quickly getting you into the action. I was hesitant to play yet another storyline about the Arthurian legend, but the developer quickly grabbed my interest by altering the typical Arthurian story into something of their own. The voice acting is decent to good, which also helped to draw me in and keep my attention as I escaped the first area.  

For those interested in a quick overview of how the game begins, your character wakes up as a prisoner. With the help of a random stranger who unlocks your cell door, you pick your initial skill set and then escape. While escaping, you need to figure out what is going on with the eventual help of a spirit who may or may not be an ally. At first, I was worried that the story would feel too much like other Elder Scrolls games. This was not helped when I encountered the lockpicking system for the first time. However, once I started to learn more about Avalon and its various characters, I became more and more curious about how the early story elements would play out. 

It also helps that Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon has successfully implemented that classic draw to explore just one more area on the map. The visual set pieces look great from a distance, and I found myself picking a random direction after escaping the prison to investigate things like the giant crucified on a large upright stone. Each time I entered a new area to explore in the early game, there was always a new visual or area of interest pin on the map that would appear to lure me onward. Even the ability to dig up random chests and mine metal ore encouraged me to explore areas I might have missed. Outside of your human models, enemy design has also been great. I have enjoyed encountering new monsters, and figuring out their different abilities has been fun.

Combat mechanics are great. It took me a few minutes to get used to when I swapped between different weapons, but each one felt different. At first, I was worried about the combat not feeling very fluid and polished. On the flip side, having four sets of weapons to swap between is a really nice option. With the help of some decently made in-game tutorials, it didn't take me long to get up to speed. After clearing my first dungeon, I easily started swapping between a sword and a summoning spell to a sword and a fire spell while my minions distracted the enemy. Initially, I wasn't thrilled that my stamina drained after three swings with a short sword. After looking at the various attributes, I see how your character would build up over time if you decided to go the melee combat vs. what I was focusing on with wands and summons to smooth out your ability to use a melee weapon. For my chosen combat style, after the first few levels, I could quickly buff up my summons and have four out at a time while I was lobbing spells at the enemy.

Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon has a few different mechanical systems that I want to note from my early impressions. The developers designed the game to be played from a first-person perspective. But the most recent major patch has added a third-person option, which works quite well. While I realize that they included the third-person camera as an accessibility feature, I enjoy swapping between the two depending on how I am feeling on a given day. Sometimes, I feel more like Witcher 3 gameplay, so that I can see more of my surroundings during combat, versus old-school Elder Scrolls. I hope the developers continue to improve the character animations a bit more so that the feature can be a fully polished experience as the game matures. The menu system feels fluid and easy to navigate. The checkpoint and save system is excellent, even when I have forgotten to hit F5 before a big fight to save. Typically, the last checkpoint was not that long ago. It makes it easy to get back into the action. I also appreciate the fast travel waypoints throughout the game so far; if I want to return to a particular vendor or area, they make things convenient.

Between the combat, enemy design, story, and draw to explore one more area, Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon has been a great early game experience. I do have two concerns that I will explore more in the final review. Something about the gameplay is missing polish in specific aspects; I can't quite put my finger on it yet. I don't know if it's just some of the timings for combat or a combination of minor things. Also, while the character skills look quite varied, I don't know how much depth they actually have or how engaging specializing in a particular weapon or magic will be.

If you are looking for an open-world RPG in the vein of the Elder Scrolls Games, then Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon is a good pick to try. It definitely will scratch that itch for most players. But don't expect an entirely polished experience, and the story being told may not resonate with some players. I look forward to many more hours with the Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon and will dive into more combat mechanics and game systems in the final review.