Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning

DAMMIT. I was so ready to be smug about it, but... Ellen was right. This stupid game is awesome. RIP my free time. Extended Review: Three weeks after I posted my original review, I'm still playing this game and enjoying it. Which is... unusual for me. I usually lose interest after 100 hours or so. I couldn't even finish Baldur's Gate III because I got bored at the point where you reach the city. But, somehow, this one has kept my attention. I think the thing that keeps me coming back is that the combat is genuinely enjoyable. There are so many ways to customise your combat style to suit your play style, and Reckoning Mode is just SO FREAKING SATISFYING. I love it. Strangely enough, though, my favourite thing about it is something very small: You can actually loot the piles of gold you find scattered around. It's a tiny frustration, but it always bothers me when you walk into a treasure room in a game and you see all those stacks of treasure, but you can't loot them. In KoA, you can! Gold coins and nuggies and chalices and all kinds of silly shiny things. It's totally pointless because you'll end up RICH AF in no time, but it really scratches the itch for me. Love it. The graphics are pretty retro, but in that cartoony way that means they age well. Think Fable, Guild Wars, or even World of Warcraft (though heavily toned down). It took a bit of getting used to in our modern era of hyperrealistic games, but you know what? I prefer this over Oblivion/Skyrim, with hyperrealistic backgrounds and NPCs that look like godawful mountains of meat carved into a vaguely humanoid shape. To the person who asked about bugs below: I have completed the Arena quests and encountered no bugs there. I've only encountered two bugs of note: The most frustrating one is that there is a chance that if you use the quickload function while you have a curse on you, the game will crash. But, that only really bothered me when I was trying to save-scum my way past the dispelling minigame, so that's just karma on me. The other bug I encountered is a very small one in the Legend of Dead Kel DLC. An NPC is scripted to die in a trap, but... he didn't die. He got impaled on the trap and just stood there, chatting away like normal. Funny rather than frustrating. Highly recommend getting the Legend of Dead Kel DLC as well - it's GREAT. Actually enjoying it more than the main game right now. Hah.

I thought the combat was pretty decent, but the game just feels so bland overall. The story didn't manage to hook me at all, and the world is big but feels empty and soulless. I never felt immersed in the game, and that was ultimately the reason why I stopped playing.

Я пройшов основну гру, зараз граю DLC Fatesworn (маю 48 лвл) гра в цілому сподобалася (оригінал не грав), барвисті локації, музичний супровід, цікаві квести (не всі), на мою думку присутній сюжет, досить пристойний. А тепер "ложка дьогтю": - відсутня українська локалізація; - квести що повторюються - це просто жах, відмовитися та закінчити не можливо (здавши квест він автоматично починається знову), присутні в квестовому листі, дратують що ну, до того ж сумка постійно забивається квестовими речами, які створюють плутанину в сумці; - повторювані локації (особливо печери); - не потрібний лут (випадає з кожного моба та схованок тонни непотрібного луту, здебільшого білого кольору, який окрім як продати за копійки більш ні на що не придатний) - додали б в налаштування обмеження луту, краще мало але якісний; - зламане масштабування лвл персонажу до локації; - навички у грі ні на що не впливають, сенсу качати на максимум немає (наприклад прихованість - тебе бачать усі хоч прокачана на 10, така ж історія і з розвіюванням магії та зламом); - і останнє - де лут вище 18 лвл??? Як я вже писав на початку я 48 лвл, весь лут що на мені 11-18 лвл і це при тому, що гру я пройшов. Бігаю у сеті на 12 лвл. Де лут вище 18 лвл? Для чого було підвищувати в грі максимальний лвл героя до 50 лвл? Я не розумію. Але, попри всі недоліки, гру рекомендую. Дехто вважає оригінал кращим за ремастер. Можливо. Але все ж таки варто спробувати.

How many hundreds of hours do you have to put into a game before a DLC bug makes it all a waste and prevents you from finishing the game? Too many.

[h1]Still Mediocre[/h1] The remaster brings improvements, but it can't overcome the game's core shortcomings. Combat lacks depth, the skill trees and attack combos feel simplistic compared with more recent RPGs. However, the new Very Hard difficulty and the revamped level system keep the experience from going stale as quickly as the original. [b]You can no longer accidentally overlevel and make every battle trivially boring[/b], so the game remains moderately challenging throughout. The ability to change the FOV and other camera settings also boosted how combat feels. Bug fixes and armour drop rate [b]tweaks removed many of the small annoyances[/b] that used to accumulate over an 80+ hour playthrough. Collecting a full armour set is still not seamless, but drops now tend to favour missing pieces for the sets you're wearing, or at least ones you could wear based on current stat allocation. If that fails, there's an NPC that sells unique gear in randomised boxes. It’s not as satisfying as organically finding the items you want, but it’s easy enough to save-scum the results, and the game does seem to try giving you complete sets. World-building was left untouched. While I appreciate the game being fully voice-acted and that the lore is competent, [b]the story feels bland, unrealised, wasted[/b]. Even Kirkhope’s soundtrack can't save it, because the level and character designs are bare-bones. The open-world consists of small pockets of open areas, connected by corridors. Sometimes, especially by the end of the main story, even the open areas are corridor-like. Different biomes have distinct colour and lighting schemes, yet the layout makes me think of an MMO prototype. And there are no mounts whatsoever, so [b]traversal to new locations means hours and hours of walking corridors[/b]. As for character design, it's very lazy. There are no children, and older NPCs are essentially the same models but with grey hair. Same voice actors too, with dialogue insisting they're old. [b]When everyone looks the same, it's hard to care about them, their villages, or their sidequests[/b]. [h2]The new DLC[/h2] [b]It simply doesn't match the atmosphere of the rest of the game[/b]. It overcorrects the original's blandness by introducing character models, voice actors, and architecture that clash with the base design. It's impressive how much better the engine can be utilised, but it does create an inconsistent world. Another overcorrection is enemy density, the DLC just crammed in as much as the engine can handle. [b]Battling became really repetitive[/b]. It adds only one new enemy type, introduces its own bugs, replaces Kirkhope’s OST with a generic score, and is stingy with fast travel points. The battle arenas are enjoyable, but you need to suffer with the DLC long enough to unlock them. Ultimately, it's best to wait for a hefty discount and [b]be prepared for serviceable combat in a lacklustre world[/b]. [spoiler]Thanks for the gift, Jet![/spoiler]

If you're looking for an RPG with that "old school" feel and big open maps, this is the game for you. While the combat is clunky at times, the vast amount of quests and story is worth every penny. I've sunk in 20 hours already and I've barely scratched the surface. Great for casual gamers and achievement hunters.

A love letter to Mid 2000's RPG's. Turn it on, kick back, and carve your way through Amalur. People who have played the previous game say it's not a "remaster" it isn't. But as someone who did not play the first one I'm glad it re released and I'm enjoying it so far. The game enables the power fantasy quite well, you can respec for a very small fee, everything is about how you interact in combat, there are some critical game decisions that are strictly for the RP that dont impact much else but for what this game is, that's fine. Could use a sequel, there's a genuinely inspired world here with some pretty decent lore and with some modern features could really distinguish itself among the other open world RPG slop we're getting these days. Perfect for the Steam Deck and Desktop alike.

I have been playing and re-playing for a very long time! Very beautiful and nostalgic game :)

I love this game. It is a simpler Skyrim or just RPG and pays off if you have the time. Great story and world building. I love the gameplay mech. Great game over all.

This is one of those "shut off your brain" kind of ARPGs. It's flashy and has good combat mechanics. You can save anytime and pick it back up anytime. Plays pretty well on the Steam Deck docked or otherwise. Ellen was definitely right about this game. Plus, can't go wrong with the collab work done by RA Salvatore and Todd McFarlane.