Tainted Grail: Conquest Review Summary

Engaging and fun gameplay: The game offers engaging and fun gameplay with intriguing combat, deep mechanics, and high replay value. Players find the combat challenging and rewarding, and the overall gameplay experience is enjoyable and rich.

Diverse and fun classes: The game offers a variety of fun and well-constructed classes with strong differentiation. Players appreciate the diversity in classes and the unique gameplay each class provides.

High-quality voice acting: The game features excellent voice acting that enhances the storytelling and atmosphere. Players appreciate the well-voiced characters and the high-quality voice acting that contributes to the overall immersion.

Interesting card-based roguelike mechanics: The game is praised for its unique take on the roguelike genre with card-based mechanics. Players enjoy the deck-building aspects and the roguelike elements that make the game addictive and fun.

Immersive atmosphere: The game features an excellent and immersive atmosphere that draws players in. The dark and moody setting, combined with the atmosphere, creates a compelling experience.

Repetitive gameplay: Many players find the gameplay loop monotonous and tedious, with battles and mechanics becoming repetitive quickly.

Class balance issues: Players report significant imbalances between character classes, with some classes being inherently stronger or weaker than others.

Excessive grinding: The game requires a lot of grinding, which can feel tedious and slow, affecting both in-game progression and meta-progression.

High difficulty and combat issues: The game's combat is noted for being overly difficult, with enemies dealing too much damage and having excessive health.

Uninspired and unengaging content: Players find the combat, story, and overall gameplay uninteresting and lacking in depth or tactics.

Variety of character classes: The game offers a wide range of character classes, each with unique mechanics and playstyles. This variety allows players to experiment with different strategies and builds.

Card-based combat mechanics: The game features a robust card-based combat system, incorporating deck-building and turn-based mechanics. Players engage in strategic battles using a variety of cards, with a focus on building and customizing decks.

Character progression and customization: Players can customize and progress their characters over time, with long-term development and various customization options. This includes unlocking new cards and improvements.

Dark and immersive setting: The game is set in a dark, moody medieval world inspired by Arthurian legends and Gothic fantasy. The atmosphere is surreal and engaging, enhancing the overall immersion.

Tactical turn-based combat: Combat in the game is tactical and turn-based, often taking place on grid-based maps. Players must strategize and plan their moves carefully to succeed.

Optimization problems: Several players have noted that the game is not well-optimized, leading to various performance issues across different platforms.

Poor graphics and performance: Many players have reported issues with the game's graphics quality and overall performance. Complaints range from the need for graphical updates to general poor performance.

Steam Deck performance issues: Players using the Steam Deck have experienced various performance issues, including frame rate problems, input lag, and nonresponsiveness.

Crashes and stability issues: The game has been reported to crash or freeze on different systems, including Linux and Windows builds. Some players have experienced blue screens and crashes to desktop.

Game lag and freezing: The game has been reported to lag and freeze, especially during high animation sequences. This significantly affects the gameplay experience.

Recommended for deckbuilder fans: The game is highly recommended for fans of deck-building games, especially those who enjoy roguelike and turn-based strategy elements. It is often compared to Slay the Spire and is praised for its unique take on the genre.

Recommend buying on sale: Several reviews suggest buying the game on sale or at a discount. It is seen as a good purchase when the price is reduced, making it more accessible to a wider audience.

Highly recommended for genre fans: The game is highly recommended for fans of the genre due to its depth, complexity, and overall quality. It is considered a solid choice for those who enjoy dark fantasy and strategic gameplay.

Worth the price: Many players find the game worth its full price, though some suggest waiting for a sale. It is considered a good value for money, especially for fans of the genre.

Hidden gem: The game is recommended as a hidden gem, indicating that it may not be widely known but is highly regarded by those who have played it. It is praised for its unique qualities and enjoyable gameplay.

Community fair range: $5.00 - $19.99.

Game completion: 63.0h.

Story completion: 65.0h.

The game initially feels repetitive and tedious, especially with the starting classes, but becomes more enjoyable and addictive as players progress and unlock more content and classes.

Reported time to anchor: 2h.

Friction: Repetitive early gameplay; Tedious combat; Boring starting classes; Slow initial progression.

Unlock drivers: Unlocking new classes; Accessing new abilities; Meta-progression.

Chill Story-Driven Explorer: Casual, enjoys the story and atmosphere, engages with meta-progression. Motivation: Enjoyment of the dark fantasy setting and relaxing gameplay. Stance: sale.

Grind-Wary Veteran: Strategic, completionist, but cautious of time investment. Motivation: Seeking a challenging experience but wary of excessive grind. Stance: deep sale.

Variety-Seeking Strategist: Experimental, enjoys trying out different classes and strategies. Motivation: Enjoyment of diverse and unique playstyles and strategic depth. Stance: buy.

Steam Deck: The game has several issues on the Steam Deck, including faster battery drain, control scheme problems, and stability issues with the Linux build. Users have reported that running the Windows build through Proton improves stability, but overall optimization and control responsiveness could be enhanced for a better experience.

Linux and Proton: The game has a native Linux build, but users report that it is less stable and more prone to crashes compared to running the Windows build through Proton. Performance is generally good on Linux, but a powerful processor is required to avoid micro-freezes during combat.

Promotional content in reviews: Some reviews contain promotional links to external content such as YouTube videos and Steam curator pages. This can be seen as an attempt to drive traffic to other platforms.

Disclosure of game receipt: A reviewer disclosed that they received the game from the developer, Awaken, but assured that the review was their own opinion and not influenced by any contract or payment.

Mention of SteamDeck: A review mentioned SteamDeck, possibly indicating compatibility or interest in the platform. However, the context is unclear.