REVIEW: Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-reckoning (NSW) — Keyword ‘Re-‘
Raves
Rants
Though the original was well received by gamers and critics alike, it failed to sell enough to break even, resulting in the shutdown of 38 Studios. Since then, THQ Nordic had acquired the rights and what came of it is Re-reckoning, a second chance for a promising game. The question is, how well does it […]
Though the original was well received by gamers and critics alike, it failed to sell enough to break even, resulting in the shutdown of 38 Studios. Since then, THQ Nordic had acquired the rights and what came of it is Re-reckoning, a second chance for a promising game. The question is, how well does it hold up 9 years later?
STORY & GAMEPLAY
Amalur is set in a world built by the mind ofR.A. Salvatore. Meant for a planned MMO that never came to be, the game is rife with Lore coupled with a strong narrative the likes you’d expect from a New York Times Best-selling Author. You play as one of four possible races, a causality of a great brought back to life by the Well of Souls. In the world of Amalur, each living thing has a predetermined Fate. However, the Well of Souls experiment designed by the gnomes sought to extract the soul of a deceased body and recreate its mortal form. As a result, your very existence defies Fate.
Being the Fateless One, you’re technically free to make your own choices, though it doesn’t really work all that well in practice. You’re status plays into both the Narrative and Gameplay but disappointingly matters more to the latter. As far as story and quests go, you don’t really get much of a choice outside of the occasional binary decisions you’re tasked to make which really only affects Factions and hardly makes any meaningful changes in the plot. It makes for some interesting outcomes in side-quests though.
Thankfully, it fairly well in regards to its RPG elements. Amalur is an Action RPG, combat is in real-time and you’re free to mold your character to however you want in relation to the three main archetypes: Might, Finesse, and Sorcery. Hybrid builds are encouraged and the choices you make sometimes affect the Fate cards you can acquire. Fate cards are equipable that grants bonuses based on your archetype. The skill tree and attributes aren’t too broad and don’t really do anything new, but mixing and matching equipment and abilities to suit even the most far-out playstyles is what makes combat in Amalur so satisfying. There are loads of quests to sink your teeth into and Re-reckoning includes all previously released DLC which adds quite a bit of Story content and expansions to the overall gameplay.
VISUALS & PERFORMANCE
Re-reckoning is really more like a re-release than a full remaster. The improvements outside of better resolutions and some better textures are negligible or non-existent. As good as the game’s content holds up, it doesn’t quite achieve the same from a visual standpoint. This is especially true for the Nintendo Switch, where the game looks pretty much the exact same game from 9 years ago. Interestingly, this is the platform we recommend to be played the most, as the game itself isn’t that old (It was released on the PS3, 360 Era). The idea of being able to play It from anywhere in the house or on the go is too good to miss, especially for those who have never played the original.