Final Fantasy XVI vs Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon
One buys spectacle with a fixed 38-hour campaign, the other trades polish for a hungry 28-hour open world that still gets patched.
Updated 7d ago
Frozen, not fixed — the PC port's last patch was March 2025 and it is still $49.99. Skip the Complete Edition, and play the free demo before you spend anything.
A grimdark Skyrim-killer with crunchier combat and packed-with-stuff exploration — buys in if you can stomach the solo-dev pacing.
By the numbers
Prices checked Sep 28; they move faster than we refresh, so confirm on the store page.
Recent-review figures are Steam's own last-30-days window, read Sep 28.
| Measure | Final Fantasy XVI | Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon |
|---|---|---|
| Value Too close to call | ||
| Price now | $49.99 Microsoft Store | $44.99 GOG |
| All-time low | $17.49 | $17.99 |
| Cost / hour | $1.31/hr $49.99 · 38 h main story | $1.61/hr $44.99 · 28 h main story |
| Off its low | +186% low was Sep 2025 | +150% low was Feb 2024 |
| Main story | 38 h | 28 h |
| Health | ||
| Steam reviews | 78% 34k reviews | 88% 36k reviews |
| Recent reviews | 75% 393 votes · vs 78% lifetime | — |
| Peak players | 1,923 Aug 2026 · ↓ 33% MoM | 1,781 Sep 2026 · ↓ 61% MoM |
| Launch peak | — | 7% of May 2025 launch peak · as of Sep 2026 |
| All-time peak | 27,313 Sep 2024 · now at 7% | 25,568 May 2025 |
| Support | ||
| Last patch | 20 months ago | 10 days ago |
| Patch cadence | 0 in last 90 days | 2 in last 90 days |
| Steam Deck | Gold | Platinum |
Shared scale — same months across the bottom, same player-count axis up the side, so the two lines are directly comparable. A shorter line means a younger game.
What players say
Patterns from long-haul reviewers, taken from each game's verdict. Not live sentiment — each side is dated below.
Final Fantasy XVI
The Eikon set pieces and the combat underneath them. Even players who cooled on the story keep the fights in the positive column.
Performance that never improved, and the side quests. Both complaints date from the PC launch and no build has arrived to change either.
from our July 2026 verdict
Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon
Exploration is the hook that keeps 100-hour fans coming back — every hidden nook holds something worth the detour, and combat's weighty crunch holds up across playthroughs.
Mid-game quests start to drag, and interior spaces lacking maps make navigation a persistent friction even for veterans.
from our August 2026 verdict
Key differences
Which one is for you?
Pick Final Fantasy XVI if
- You want a 38-hour story you will actually finish rather than a 100-hour RPG.
- You play for Eikon-scale set pieces and do not care about party building.
- You can accept locked 30fps cutscenes and no FOV slider as permanent.
Pick Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon if
- You want Skyrim's exploration loop with weightier melee and no quest markers.
- You like Arthurian lore bent into dark folk horror and can stomach rough edges.
- You will trade AAA polish for a still-patched indie that rewards curiosity.
Bottom line
Pick Final Fantasy XVI if you want a fixed, finishable 38-hour spectacle and can live with zero patches; pick Tainted Grail if you want a cheaper, still-patched exploration RPG and can forgive solo-dev pacing.
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