I'm going to paint you a picture of a formative gaming experience that shaped my life forever. It's September 2007, and the Xbox 360 is fresh, new, and exciting. The dawn of HD gaming is upon us, and games are getting bigger, bolder, and brighter. I'm 15 years old, and I see a game that looks completely unfamiliar to me. The cover is nothing to write home about — a pale brown, paper-like texture wraps the front of this box, and an unknown glyph stares me right in the face. While it may be the fourth entry in the franchise, it was the first time I ever experienced this particular world, and it changed my life forever.

If you couldn't tell, I was talking about The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. A game that captivated me and took me on an adventure that I could have never expected. I put hundreds of hours into that game, exploring the vast, beautiful world of Cyrodiil, and I never completed the story. I was too engrossed in losing myself, exploring, and writing a story for my character. The Cyrodiil map, included in the game, was tacked to my wall. I studied that like a cartographer. It's been a very, very long time since a game had me feeling pure wonder like this. But then, Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon entered the picture.

Dark Fantasy Plus the Tale of King Arthur Equals a Very Happy Shaun

I had been interested in Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon from the moment I saw it. A grim-dark fantasy adventure, with the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table interwoven into it? Sign me right up. As someone who has been searching for that same high that I felt when I played Oblivion for the first time and was, frankly, unimpressed with the various shades of gray that Skyrim had to offer, I was fully on board. The world of Tainted Grail is hauntingly beautiful. At times, it's grotesque and hauntingly dark. Piles of sinew and ponds of blood fill the land. But it's also not afraid to use color. Some realms in Tainted Grail shine bright, bold, and beautifully, with fungus and flora abound.

No matter if you're in the darkest part of the world or are just wandering through the lands. Tainted Grail is a visual feast. The visual language of Oblivion is what sold me on the game in the first place. At the time that I played it, I was completely blown away by it. It's the extensive use of bloom, paired with the incredibly vibrant color palette of the world that surrounds the player, that completely engrossed me. Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon evoked that same type of feeling from me the moment I stepped into its world... Maybe minus the excessive bloom. Rather than just wanting to work my way through the story, I wanted to explore. I wanted to see what it had to offer me. And explore, I have.

Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon Has Me Feeling Like I’m 15 All Over Again

Games are meant to evoke emotion within you. Some games do a better job at this than others. Sometimes, we want to feel something new, something unknown to us. Other times, we want something to wrap us in the warm bask of nostalgia. Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon has me feeling like a kid again. The ceaseless wonder that I'm feeling as I roam throughout the lands. Exploring every nook and cranny of the map, hoping to find another cave to plunder. Smashing my way through enemies that are far more powerful than I am and spamming potions and cheese to survive to see another day. I feel like I'm home, more so than any other RPG I've played since 2007.

My character, Bar'jingus, is a frightening beast. An expert in One-Handed weaponry and Heavy Armor, I'm crafting a tale for him. I feel like he's a natural carryover for Elias, my character from my 2007 playthrough of Oblivion. Unlike my 15 year-old self, I'm actually progressing the story here, but I'm taking my time just as I did back then. I'm venturing through every square inch of this deliberately dense and packed land. Fighting against anyone and anything that gets in my way on my adventure. It's a beautiful feeling that warms my heart and soul.

Combat Has Weight and Consequences, So Prepare Yourself Properly

As much as I'm willing to heap praise upon the world of Oblivion, there is one thing that has always bothered me about Bethesda combat. It feels weightless and flighty, with minimal repercussion or feedback when hacking and slashing at enemies. Tainted Grail, on the other hand? It feels meaty. Every hit feels malicious and full of intent, with killing blows delivering a mighty whack upon your foes. It'll feel familiar, if not more refined, than what other first-person RPG titles offer. Mix in dodges, dashes, parries, and magic? You've got yourself one hell of a combat system here. You're going to die. A lot. But each of these encounters will teach you more about your limits, what you can and can't accomplish in a fight, and will humble you.

Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon allows for deep, intricate character customization. With each level, you'll receive one point to put into a Souls-esque pool of perks. But you'll also receive a skill point, which can be put into a wealth of different specs to min-max to your heart's desire. Want to build your character to be a speedy Rogue with a One-Handed attack that can humble the best of them? Do it. What if you want to invest all of your points in Magic, so you can blast enemies away with the most powerful of spells? You can make that happen, too. Rather than being just a generic set of slots to toss things into, you can upgrade your character exactly how you'd like them to be. It's a beautiful thing, if I do say so myself.

Just Like Gander Mountain, You’ll Hunt, Fish, Camp (And Mine, and Cut Wood, and More)

I went into Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon as blind as I possibly could. Outside of seeing some brief snippets of gameplay on social media, I went in knowing nothing about the game. Well, outside of the general story and its inspirations. What I didn't expect was survival-lite elements added to a first-person RPG. You won't need to manage a hunger or thirst meter, but if you want to survive? You're going to need to hunt. Gather. Craft. You can make different meals that slowly restore your health, craft potions with a myriad of different supplies, and even rest under the stars at a bonfire. It feels more involved than I would have imagined, making this feel like a proper experience, rather than a button press to make yourself miraculously better.

It's also a great way to encourage exploration for players who otherwise may disregard it. One of my friends loved playing Elden Ring, but his playthrough basically consisted of going through the main bosses and wrapping it up after that. Games like Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon live or die on their exploration, in my eyes. And here? It's well worth taking the time to explore. You'll need actual tools to mine, fish, or dig up spots hidden in the world, as you can't depend on magic or a contextual button press to miraculously claim the bounties of nature. Think of it as a more accessible version of Kingdom Come: Deliverance.

The Bounties of Nature Are Yours for the Taking

No matter where you go, you're bound to find something that may be useful to you. It doesn't matter if you slaughter a bandit camp and steal all of their food items, or if you just go sightseeing to find more sage. The bounty of nature is yours for the taking, and Tainted Grail wants you to take that time to explore. You'll find countless side-quests that send you to every corner of the map. Discovering these things naturally, and finding the solution to even the silliest of quests, is just a blast. The main story itself? Incredibly well written, and well worth exploring. But the side quests, paired with the exploration, steal the show here in my eyes. Pair that with one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard in a game like this, and you have a cult-classic waiting for you to visit it.

If You’ve Been Craving a Beautiful First-Person RPG Experience, Do Yourself a Favor and Try This

It's been a long time since I've felt this way about a role-playing game. It's been an even longer time since a game has engrossed me within its worldbuilding and lore like Tainted Grail has. There's something magical here, and I need more people to experience the wonder of this game. While Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon may not have the budget of it's big budget contemporaries, it surpasses even the biggest of titles in its genre. All while being developed by a team of less than 50 people.

Yes, I know that Tainted Grail may not be a tiny indie game, like those that I've spoken about in the past. Don't fret — I'll be talking about smaller games again in the future, as they're some of my favorites to dive deep into. But I needed to bring further attention to the glory of Tainted Grail. As someone who has felt like first-person RPGs peaked in 2007, it's good to know that someone, somewhere, had the idea of greenlighting what may be my new favorite role-playing game of all time.