If you're in the mood for a sprawling dark fantasy open world RPG, this may fit the bill.

If you are in the mood to play Skyrim or the recent Oblivion remaster, but you don’t want to play a Microsoft-backed game for, oh, any number of reasons, the word on the grapevine is that open world RPG Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon is pretty decent. We don’t have a review as yet, but Khee Hoon Chan called Questline’s previous Tainted Grail: Conquest one of the best games you missed in 2021, and The Fall Of Avalon is currently humming along with an Overwhelmingly Positive Steam user consensus as it prepares to leave early access today. The Steam page also harbours a demo, plus the below, moderately thunderous trailer’s worth of first-person spellcraft, shattered cosmic castles and fishing mechanics.

The Fall Of Avalon is set in another dark reimagining of Arthurian myth, one less abundant in beauty influencers than Tides Of Annihilation. It takes place about 600 years after King Arthur’s fall, in a realm of “unending strife” and plague that is divided into three zones.

The game is said to span 50-70 hours, with over 200 sidequests and an assortment of miscellaneous activities such as decorating your house, farming and “sketchbook journaling”. I sincerely hope that last one is a fully fleshed-out illustration subgame, or at least some kind of fantasy photography mechanic. We need more virtual idylls like Eastshade.

  • supersquirrel
    331·
    4 天前

    but you don’t want to play a *Microsoft-undermined game,

    Tech corporations (especially US ones) that big don’t back anything, they enclose markets, buy the innovative companies and undermine the industry until they can force a meager profit out of the industry even though they are selling crap.

    Exhibit A: Gamepass

    I will not be a part of the Spotify-cation of the video games industry, for that is one of the things that killed my love for producing music.

      • supersquirrel
        331·
        4 天前

        Why do you think it is that way right now?

        What part of the progression to the end stage of Spotify do you think we are at?

        Maybe the stage where they give you a bunch of stuff in an unsustainable firehose because it is meant to destabilize the industry and decisively put Microsoft between gamers and video game developers so they can charge both more rent once there aren’t any popular alternatives left?

        I know that someone like you with your attitude will just say “whatever bro, it is what it is” and frankly I don’t want to live that way because nobody can live that way forever.

        To be clear, Gamepass itself is a totally fine concept, but if you choose to remain ignorant of the context Gamepass is being used in that is your problem and honestly people are going to remember you didn’t care, especially video game developers.

        • skull887@lemmings.world
          110·
          4 天前

          I find massive value in the service so I subscribe to it. When I don’t I won’t. It’s not the deep “bro”. Maybe Microsoft does have some underlying motive to reshape the gaming industry but I’m not going to think about it that hard. Also things change and it’s ok. Apple started the digital music movement BTW and I’m not an artist so that is theirs and the labels deal to negotiate. Spotify is great value too FYI.

          • supersquirrel
            201·
            4 天前

            It’s not the deep “bro”. Maybe Microsoft does have some underlying motive to reshape the gaming industry but I’m not going to think about it that hard.

            I know you don’t want to, that was obvious from our initial interaction which is precisely why I am taking the time to try to get you to think about it harder or at least point out to others the folly in your shallowness.

              • luciole (he/him)@beehaw.org
                31·
                3 天前

                You sure are spending plenty of attention on defending that you don’t have attention to spend on this. We all vote with our wallets. There’s no opting out.

              • supersquirrel
                113·
                4 天前

                That is perfectly ok, you don’t have to tackle the world by yourself, thank you for providing me the public opportunity to show why you are so critically incorrect in your approach to things you love so the rest of us can evolve together :)

                Just because we are leaving you in the dust doesn’t mean we won’t care for you, but my oh my you are taking out a big future debt on your soul by going through your life with an attitude like this.

                  • supersquirrel
                    10·
                    3 天前

                    Why wouldn’t I?

                    I have nothing against the idea of people using gaming streaming services. I think it is awesome actually, I just can’t join into the positivity yet until we solve this existential underlying problem.

      • Eggyhead@lemmings.world
        26·
        4 天前

        Just wait for the enshitication. Once they have a stranglehold on the gaming industry, that’s when the prices go up and the benefits go down.

          • Don_alForno@feddit.org
            1·
            2 天前

            They said that about steam and look at us now.

            It’s people flocking to it until it’s the only place to release games that is gonna force you.

            • skull887@lemmings.worldEnglish
              1·
              2 天前

              People use something out of value and/or convenience. It taking over is just the effect of that. It’s capitalism not some underlying motive from the corporation. Of course a business wants their product to succeed.

          • Eggyhead@lemmings.world
            15·
            3 天前

            It doesn’t make a difference. They’ll enshitify that service to hell whether you subscribe or you don’t.