Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning

 PlayStation 4
User Score
6.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 148 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 80 out of 148
  2. Mixed: 36 out of 148
  3. Negative: 32 out of 148
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  1. Gohax
    Oct 5, 2020
    7
    kingdoms of amalur re-reckoning is a really good remaster but also a really disappointing one here's
    why
    cons: the fact that they didn't even bother to enhance and improve the graphics and the only thing they did is to add a color filter just shows how lazy they were i really wanted at least some graphics enhancement here and there game is still buggy as it was eight years ago    kingdoms of amalur re-reckoning is a really good remaster but also a really disappointing one here's
    why

    cons:

    the fact that they didn't even bother to enhance and improve the graphics and the only thing they did is to add a color filter just shows how lazy they were i really wanted at least some graphics enhancement here and there

    game is still buggy as it was eight years ago and there are a good amount of performance issues

    the game it self is really clunky really weird 2012 voice overs and sounds again as i said it really feels like they didn't bother to do anything to better the game

    pros:
    the game does open this jar of nostalgia and it did put a smile on my face as i am a fan of the original game

    the gameplay is really fun and everything about this game from switching classes to combining them to crafting and everything else is just pure fun

    in conclusion i don't have a lot to say about the game because we are talking about a eight year old game so everything has been already said about it the game is really outdated for new comers so im guessing that they made this remaster for the OG fans although they didn't update the graphics or even better remake it it really is a fun throw back to more simpler times so my final score to this game is a 7 out of 10    … Expand
  2. CoreGamer1408
    Nov 4, 2021
    6
    Played the OG version back in the day and while it looked colorful it was kind of a 100 hour grind. Fired up this remastered version of the game (DNF) which came free with PSN+ subscription recently. I remember this game was supposed to be the spiritual successor to say Morrowind lol and no. Gameplay was/is simple and basic even if it was flashy visually. Pretty to look, but a fairly emptyPlayed the OG version back in the day and while it looked colorful it was kind of a 100 hour grind. Fired up this remastered version of the game (DNF) which came free with PSN+ subscription recently. I remember this game was supposed to be the spiritual successor to say Morrowind lol and no. Gameplay was/is simple and basic even if it was flashy visually. Pretty to look, but a fairly empty feeling game. It comes across like a MMO that has no player base anymore. As in easy gameplay, simple MMO questing, flashy cool visuals. | will say this one good thing about it though. The only game that did QTE right for sure. Those finishers are visually awesome to behold. Ok back to Skyrim for the umpteen time then, laters.… Expand
  3. StevelVl
    Oct 23, 2020
    5
    Not enough difference to warrant this a legit remaster. Load times are still brutal, this game just has too much stuff to do , it’s overkill
  4. Goo4you
    Oct 14, 2020
    7
    I played Skyrim right before I played Kingdoms of Amalur, and because of that, Amalur was cast in its shadow. Fast forward to 2020, and there's no hint of that shadow here, but the problems are.

    I'll get the most common gripes being thrown out first. Tying the X button to multiple functions is silly. Picking up items, running, talking to NPC's all connected to the X button is not smart    I played Skyrim right before I played Kingdoms of Amalur, and because of that, Amalur was cast in its shadow. Fast forward to 2020, and there's no hint of that shadow here, but the problems are.

    I'll get the most common gripes being thrown out first. Tying the X button to multiple functions is silly. Picking up items, running, talking to NPC's all connected to the X button is not smart developing back then; it could have been fixed. Run could be set to R3, for example.

    I am playing Amalur on a 4k HDR LG from this year, and even with all the graphical support coming from that TV (and ps4 pro), the game is muddy looking at times. The inclusion of better textures should have been a given with a remaster. Whatever they did, though, it wasn't enough.

    The loading screens are ridiculous. I know there are going to be loading screens; everything is a loading screen. I am getting ANTHEM flashbacks. I hope THQ Nordic comes back around in a future patch to streamline these a bit.

    Personal gripes:
    Voice acting and dialogue are tedious and grating at times. I forgot how much each NPC has to say about either current events, factions, races, locations. The menu breaking down every single thing that every NPC has to say gets real old, real quick. Apparently, every inhabitant of Amalur gets their rocks off being gossips! Not every NPC needed to have something to say. Half the time is just the same root thing being told by everyone else, but because the option exists to ask them about it, the compulsion to ask for the player rises.

    Combat, while fluid and has been, also has no weight or impact. The sound effects of connecting with attacks are muted or nonexistent, even fate mode. It would have been nice to hear those attacks connect with this remaster.

    Quest log and quest tracking, which worked in 2012, is woefully inadequate in 2020. Get ready to criss-cross the map and fast travel (and the LOADING!) all the time. An exact tracker/distance from the goal would have been appreciated in this remaster. Also, one visual tracked mission on the map, please.

    Storage and prices are awful for the early game and pointless at the late game. Stop gating content like this. Also, "fenced" items are a stupid mechanic that should have been removed. I mean, how in the world could any merchant know those peasant boots I stole in Gerhart are stolen in Sheildring Keep? Couple that with early game issues with space, and you're left with this silly balancing act with your bags.

    I love the fate system. I hate and always have how easily you can respec throughout the game. Money costs are pointless after a time. There should have been a different (and harder) way to change your fate. With that said:

    Magic is worthless of an option as it was in the first game. I tried early on and found the ranged to combat style to be boring. At least with the physical builds, you can have a mixed experience, but they're never dull. The game is obviously designed and optimized for physical combat, so why both even trying to use magic?* Until the end game when you've max out everything, playing magic makes you beyond overpowered. It's still boring.

    This is a minor point, and I hope should an Amalur 2 become a thing, but the narrative thru-line should be much, much clearer next time. I get the need to establish a whole new world, and it's people and beliefs, but you lose the plot almost as quickly as you start it. There is no urgency in Amalur, no sense of what you are beyond being unique, and no real timescale of what is coming or how quickly you must act.

    The quest system at large is probably responsible being much like an MMO, but the central story doesn't feel more significant or more urgent than, say perhaps, collecting some guy's bones and returning them to his family.

    I get the above is negative points, but others have already said the positives. I could easily see giving this an 8 if THQ Nordic cleans up the graphics a bit more and cuts the loading times down. It's worth owning and worth playing, and I hope the next batch of DLC supports a future for this series. I would play more of this.    … Expand
  5. Matthii
    Sep 16, 2020
    6
    It's ok, the story could use a lot more depth and there are too many fetch quest for a RPG, but there's also lots of other things to do that don't make this so tedious as first made seem.
  6. Scardia
    Sep 13, 2020
    5
    Graphics updates are overhyped. Don't expect much in the way of actual updates to the game. Still the same great game, but in the same state as 8 years ago. Needs a lot of work to become a relevant IP again.
  7. Alrojovivo
    Sep 11, 2020
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Realmente disfruté de este juego en PS3 y ahora estoy re-disfrutando de esto en PS4 PERO no veo nada nuevo aquí. Los gráficos son los mismos. Lo más probable es que no vea el punto de esta cosa de remasterización aparte de hacer dinero muy fácil.… Expand
  8. Teela
    Sep 11, 2020
    6
    I really enjoyed this game on PS3 and now i'm re-enjoying this on PS4 BUT i dont see anything new here. The graphics are same. Chances are so minimal that i don't quite see the point of this remastering thing other than making very easy money.
  9. Kai82
    Nov 27, 2020
    7
    It was a really good action RPG game back then with an interesting story behind the production. However while it aged not terribly more recent games have set the bar higher. Lets start with the story of the production. It was developed by 38 Studios founded by major league star Curt Schilling. It was their only project before bankruptcy (There are many stories circulating around that) andIt was a really good action RPG game back then with an interesting story behind the production. However while it aged not terribly more recent games have set the bar higher. Lets start with the story of the production. It was developed by 38 Studios founded by major league star Curt Schilling. It was their only project before bankruptcy (There are many stories circulating around that) and it was ambitious. They had R. A. Salvatore as writer (famous for the Drizzt novels), Todd McFarlane for the artwork (I think he is famous enough so no introduction) and Grant Kirkhope for the score (So many good scores in his career). It was amazing back then. While slightly missing to be a masterpiece it had an amazing battle system, a good story (Some expected a bit more from R. A. Salvatore so there are mixed opinions) and a unique character development system. The world of Amalur has interesting concepts. Fate is absolute and cant be avoided no matter what. There are even some with the ability of seers that can spot glances of the future (That does also make no difference). There are mortal and immortal races. Immortal means not that they cant die. Their essence is reborn and I will use the game term respawn for better comparison. Then Gadflow became leader of the immortal Tuatha Deohn and did the unthinkable and broke the cycle of fate for him / his supporters while declaring war to the rest of the world claiming that a new god is coming into existence. 10 years have past and the tide of war is slowly turning against the rest of the world. In a hidden complex there are made experiments to gain the ability to revive the dead as there is no chance in winning the war otherwise. Your hero is the only positive result and has a remarkable ability. He is no longer chained by fate and even more can cut the yarn of fates (He is called the Fateless). This is the start of the adventure. The story is really good and has a few good twist. Side quest are a bit mixed. I think 50-70% are good. The gameplay is however great. You can freely combine any kind of two weapons for your play-style. Some are faster than others and you can test many combinations. I prefer twin blades and bows (Very fast melee and fast range attacks). Bonus for magic Chakrams (Xenas weapon). The battle system overall is excellent and entertaining through most of the game. There is a fate meter that fills for fighting actions. If full you can activate a powerful mode where time slows and you can crush enemies with experience bonus if you have fast fingers (= repeatly triggering a random button). For character development: You have the standard warrior, thief and mage approach. However you can freely mix them. At level up you can use ability points to these roles. Then you can chose a fate. Depending on points spend you get additional bonuses. These are different for pure roles and mixed roles. Additionally you get some permanent fates by finishing series of quests for factions or trough progressing along the main story. There are also abilities for you to learn like lockpicking, persuasion, forging etc. You get 1 point per level and there is one skill-book and trainers in the world. I know this is today nothing special but was really innovative back then. The graphics and artworks were great for its time and aged relatively well. The soundtrack holds still up and there are many memorable tracks. The lore of the world is intersting and there are lore stones that give you small bonuses when you find all of a kind. Also all DLC was added and it was an enjoyable addition. There are however some negatives. The game crushed many times in the first few hours (Strangely later on I had no crashes anymore) and I cant enter the Cynric Quarry without crashing the game too. My main complaint is that the gameplay will get too repetitive far before you finish the game if you are like me and do many sidequests. I will not decrease my rating that far for newer games improving the formula (It cant compete with the Witcher 3 or other newer games). Overall this is an excellent game but it got a bit old. Still worthwhile but not as amazing as back then. Remark: I played it back then and must point out that nostalgia could influence my rating.… Expand
  10. TK4EVA47
    Oct 15, 2022
    6
    I played Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning in 2020 and thought it was an above average game that I liked.
  11. kempo24
    Mar 17, 2021
    7
    This is one of my all time favorite games on the ps3 but on ps4 it looks prettier and that's it. it's in a technical aspect an inferior port , is not even a remastered is a demastered, it has problems the ps3 version don't have. Still is an enjoyable experience for arpg enthusiasts!
  12. Pardoow
    Nov 7, 2021
    5
    Decent at best, painfully average at worst, it's pretty repetitive and gets old very fast. I got it for free but it still felt like a waste. The combat was kind of fun, but the environments are extremely boring and for an open world rpg, that's a big deal
  13. Sokop
    Dec 30, 2020
    6
    It's such a shame that THQ Nordic cared so little for this game's "remaster". The original game is one of my favorite RPGs of all time. Fantastic story and amazing gameplay. This remaster is just a lazy greedy mess. The game runs horribly. It's loaded with horrific framerates, texture pop-ins and game-breaking bugs that can stop you in your tracks after dozens of hours of gameplay forcingIt's such a shame that THQ Nordic cared so little for this game's "remaster". The original game is one of my favorite RPGs of all time. Fantastic story and amazing gameplay. This remaster is just a lazy greedy mess. The game runs horribly. It's loaded with horrific framerates, texture pop-ins and game-breaking bugs that can stop you in your tracks after dozens of hours of gameplay forcing you to start over. Not to mention constant crashes. Play the original if you want to experience it. Do not buy this "remaster". Shame on you THQ Nordic.

    Update - After numerous patches I have changed my score accordingly. The game still is basically a cheap port but it now functions much better than it did at launch.    … Expand
  14. alexandrumna
    Mar 14, 2021
    7
    I didn't play this when it originally released, so I picked it up now. First of all, it didn't seem like a remaster at all. Graphics are really outdated and I think it looks just like the original game. This aside, I found it to be a pretty fun game to play. It really brought back that "old" RPG style, something like Dragon Age Origins imo. Gameplay was really fun because of how you couldI didn't play this when it originally released, so I picked it up now. First of all, it didn't seem like a remaster at all. Graphics are really outdated and I think it looks just like the original game. This aside, I found it to be a pretty fun game to play. It really brought back that "old" RPG style, something like Dragon Age Origins imo. Gameplay was really fun because of how you could personalize combat style at each point in the game, so it doesn't bore you with the same mechanics. The story was also pretty solid and I was pretty invested in it. Another bad thing for me is that it drags out quite a while with too many side-quests and don't get me wrong, I like doing side quests, but too many can feel like a drag. Didn't like those never-ending tasks, being a completionist it sat there on my mind that I can't finish them and one last thing, too many and too long loading screens. Some quests make you go in and out of a location multiple times and each time the loading time is painfully long. But it is not a new-gen game and I believe if I were to play it when it originally released, I would've had even more fun than I already have. I believe if a sequel were to be released, it could be an amazing game. In conclusion, it's a nice game, but if you've played the first one, even if I didn't play it, I can't find a reason to play it now again, maybe if you're in quarantine and want something to pass the time faster.… Expand
  15. nexus151196
    Jan 18, 2022
    7
    Приятная игра из детства. Пробежался по сюжету, насладившись прекрасной музыкой и красивым миром. Боевая система всё так же принесла много удовольствия.
  16. Jmac3142
    Sep 20, 2020
    6
    Huge fan of the original but this game has major issues on ps4. Frequently crashes and takes forever to load
  17. RatchetClank111
    Nov 23, 2021
    5
    I'm not really writing the review on how it was remastered for the ps4/ps5, but just about the game and my initial impressions.

    I felt somewhat misled at first, because with this being on ps plus I was expecting I guess a game that was like closer to what you expect from an RPG/MMO for today, but when I started to play the game I realized this is definitely from around the ps3 era.    I'm not really writing the review on how it was remastered for the ps4/ps5, but just about the game and my initial impressions.

    I felt somewhat misled at first, because with this being on ps plus I was expecting I guess a game that was like closer to what you expect from an RPG/MMO for today, but when I started to play the game I realized this is definitely from around the ps3 era. Obviously this game is dated, but even with imagining when the game was originally released, it has some flaws that really prevent the game from being better. And you can instantly tell within the first few hours.

    First issue is that you have no connection to your character. Your character doesn't say anything, doesn't show emotion, and just looks disinterested when talking to other characters. Your choices don't really change anything and feels forced when you have to make a decision on how to proceed with a quest.

    The NPCs, their voice acting is really bland and don't get your attention at all. I've played the game for a few hours and not one character has wanted me to go through all of their dialogue options. A further issue is that ALMOST every character has WAY TOO MUCH dialogue. It's too much to comprehend and understand what is really going on in this setting and makes you just skip everything other than what's the quest so I can get the quest and decide if I want to complete it. NPCs talk about all these different places and characters and groups that it's just very hard to understand what they are even talking about or referring to because you don't know anything about the game or where you are at.

    Quests, This game just throws WAY too many quests at you right from the start after you complete the tutorial. It's a shame too because if it kept the fast pace of the tutorial, that part is actually really fun and you sense the urgency to continue. After that, there's just no urgency or drive to complete the main quests. It just puts you at the first village where's there just a bunch of random quests to do, If you go south then you run into another village with even more quests...and a lot of them just seem boring and don't feel rewarding to complete.

    The main issue is that when you just play the game for a few hours, you really get the sense that this is all that the game has to offer and just feels like a drawn out RPG, and from my understanding was supposed to be an MMO at some point, which would explain why the game feels so empty. and with this being a remaster sort of, you then realize how dated the game is.

    Overall, not a terrible game, but the game just feels like a chore to play and doesn't really give any sense of emotion. Most likely I'll just play this once in awhile for the combat and just to explore and complete a quest, then move on and do something else.

    Final score: 5/10,    … Expand
  18. bolzouki
    Mar 9, 2022
    6
    A solid RPG, I did not play the original on PS3, but I suppose the clearer textures and unlocked frame rate made a good improvement of the experience.
    There are still some details that deserved upgrades like inventory management, load times and like many "remasterd game" a boat load of bugs that sometimes can messed up your game (maybe even force you to restart a new playthrough under    A solid RPG, I did not play the original on PS3, but I suppose the clearer textures and unlocked frame rate made a good improvement of the experience.
    There are still some details that deserved upgrades like inventory management, load times and like many "remasterd game" a boat load of bugs that sometimes can messed up your game (maybe even force you to restart a new playthrough under certain conditions).
    Story could be interesting but takes way too long to take off, the game becomes somewhat of a grind after the opening chapters (way too shatty, too much back and forth for the sidequests...) and the final part felt like an afterthought, like the devs needed to finish this rapidly to push the game out the door.
    An interesting and entertaining game, but certainly not a "must play".    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

48
#48 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 40 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 40
  2. Mixed: 18 out of 40
  3. Negative: 2 out of 40
  1. CD-Action
    Nov 16, 2020
    80
    A great remaster of the best “single-player MMORPG” ever. The original seemed to have everything it needed to shine, but some external factors (poor marketing, the closure of 38 Studios) robbed it of success. I’m happy to inform that the remastering was done expertly and this charming, fun, unpretentious game resembling Fable is still worth both its price and all the hours needed to complete it. I’m really happy I got this chance to revisit Amalur, and I want to believe that Re-Reckoning foreshadows the revival of the franchise that died prematurely years ago. [11/2020, p.48]
  2. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Nov 15, 2020
    70
    Reasons for playing, then? Nostalgia. Appeasing all those ‘best RPGs you’ve never played’ listicles. And as a reminder of why character– new ideas and memorable places – is so important to a grand adventure. [Issue#181, p.86]
  3. GamingBolt
    Oct 31, 2020
    70
    If you’ve never played this game before, or if you want to dive back into it but don’t have access to an older copy, Re-Reckoning is easy to recommend- but only because the game itself is as good as it is. If you were hoping for an impressive visual upgrade, this isn’t it, and those who already have access to a copy of the original game should probably save their money.
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