Forget Skyrim, This 80 Metacritic Game is the Best Thing to Play While Waiting for TES 6 Despite Not Even Being Made By Bethesda

The wait for The Elder Scrolls 6 has become legendary among gamers. Along with Grand Theft Auto 6, it’s one of the most anticipated games ever, but GTA 6 has a key advantage: a confirmed release date. Currently, no one knows when Bethesda plans to launch The Elder Scrolls 6, and the wait seems to get longer with each passing year. The game was originally announced in 2018 with a brief, uninformative trailer, and Bethesda hasn’t shared any substantial updates since.

Since Skyrim became a fan favorite, many excellent fantasy role-playing games have been released. While some of the best open-world RPGs of the last ten years weren’t made by Bethesda, and it’s natural to revisit Skyrim while waiting for The Elder Scrolls 6, Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon, released in 2023, is actually a better game to play in the meantime.

Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon Takes Skyrim’s First-Person Fantasy RPG Formula and Makes it Its Own

There have been many good first-person RPGs released lately. Last year, games like Avowed explored classic fantasy, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 focused on historical realism. Both are great for fans of Skyrim, but Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon uniquely blends dark fantasy with open-world adventure, creating a feel similar to The Elder Scrolls while still being its own game. With its engaging gameplay and emphasis on discovery, Tainted Grail is a fantastic tribute to the genre. If you’re considering replaying Skyrim, this game is a worthy alternative.

Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon Brings a Dark Twist to Arthurian Legend

In Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon, you play a role in defining the legend of King Arthur, set 600 years after his rule. While the overall story is established, you have a lot of freedom in how things unfold. You can also deeply customize your character with a wide range of skills and weapons, allowing for character builds that are even more diverse than those in Skyrim.

Skyrim’s Combat Feels Limp, While Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon Packs a Meaningful Punch

While Skyrim is still widely played, its age is starting to show, especially in its combat, which never felt very strong even when it first came out. Attacks often felt weak and lacked impact, as if you weren’t actually hitting anything. Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon does a much better job in this area. Not only are melee weapons satisfying to use, but spells also feel powerful. Compared to Skyrim, Tainted Grail has clearly improved on the fundamentals of combat, making each hit feel weighty and immersive.

Skyrim’s Map May Be Bigger, But Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon’s Close-Knit Map Works in Its Favor

The world of Skyrim is famously massive, and its varied landscapes make it feel incredibly expansive. However, smaller maps can be just as compelling. Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon, though limited to just three main areas, compensates for its size with rich details, a captivating story, and immersive features like fishing, crafting, and journaling. This game prioritizes a strong, focused narrative over endless exploration, resulting in a world that feels as engaging and memorable as Skyrim.

The Three Areas of Avalon

  • Cuanacht Village
  • Horns of the South
  • Forlorn Swords

Skyrim’s Nine Major Cities

  • Winterhold
  • Windhelim
  • Whiterun
  • Solitude
  • Riften
  • Morthal
  • Markarth
  • Falkreath
  • Dawnstar

While Skyrim boasts a vast and detailed world to explore, Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon offers a smaller, more focused experience. Some players might see this as a drawback, but for those who prioritize a strong story over endless exploration, Tainted Grail is a compelling RPG.

Despite having a smaller game world than Skyrim, Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon offers a substantial 50 to 70 hours of gameplay.

In Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon, Choices Have a Greater Impact on the Story

While Skyrim offers a vast world to explore, its story and the choices you make don’t have a significant impact on the overall experience. Many players prioritize exploration in Skyrim over a compelling narrative, but Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon delivers on both fronts. Skyrim presents choices, but few truly change the course of the game—the most notable being choosing a side in the conflict between the Imperial Legion and the Stormcloaks. Tainted Grail makes meaningful choices central to the gameplay. Although it doesn’t reach the depth of story-driven RPGs like Baldur’s Gate 3, it still offers a noticeably richer narrative experience than Skyrim.

As a huge fan of fantasy RPGs like Skyrim, I’ve been eagerly awaiting news on The Elder Scrolls 6, but it feels like we’re still a long way off. That’s why I’m so excited about Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon. It’s a beautifully dark and immersive game, and while it’s not made by Bethesda, it really captures that same spirit of exploration and adventure, but honestly, I think it’s a more refined and captivating RPG experience overall.

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2026-01-09 21:38