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The best games you missed in 2021: Tainted Grail: ConquestDie, and die, and die again
Die, and die, and die again
Diablo has, for good reasons, become a shorthand for describing the flavour of gothic, grimdark fantasy setting in games, where pus-filled demonic hordes and rotting, undead corpses scour a hellish cathedral looking for unwitting adventurers. For all its wretched decay, however, the series still feels like an indulgence to be savoured. Its clickiness and abhorrent sights make the games endlessly gratifying, and masterful butchery of fiends eases most players into a comfortable rhythm. And part of that appeal lies in the macabre yet captivating fantasy it so deftly peddles — all that blood, gore and guts really make for a grisly setting that’s nearly impossible to look away from.
Tainted Grail: Conquestconveys the same sense of blight and doom in its dark fantasy universe — one that’s a reimagining of Arthurian legends — but also ups the ante with a huge wallop of Slay The Spire’s roguelike, deck-building elements.
Tainted Grail Conquest - LAUNCH TRAILERWatch on YouTube
Tainted Grail Conquest - LAUNCH TRAILER
Once you’re done with one encounter, you’ll move on and look for the next enemy horde to strike down in this death-laden land. An astute reflection of the hopeless depravity of this world, you’ll just have to keep trudging on, hoarding what scant resources you are rewarded upon every victory, until you inevitably perish. But that won’t be the end of it. As with most roguelikes, in Tainted Grail you’ll unlock additional abilities and even runes you can use for subsequent rounds, the latter of which you can augment your armour and weapons, so as to imbue your attacks with additional effects.
And yet, all that merely skims the surface of the sheer depth of Tainted Grail: Conquest, and so often you struggle against seemingly impossible odds. But its charm lies in living with the gnawing dread that every battle might be your last, and rising above the constant peril that’s threatening to engulf you. In the end, it speaks one truth in dungeon crawling: that the specter of consistent death can only invigorate you.
