Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

About Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning dropped on February 7, 2012 as an open-world action RPG that leans hard into hack and slash combat. Developed by the now-defunct studio 38 Studios and published by Electronic Arts, it landed on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC. The world itself is a high fantasy setting created by R. A. Salvatore, known for his Dark Sun novels. Todd McFarlane handled the art direction, giving the game a distinctively dark and muscular visual style that sets it apart from standard medieval fare. You play as a reincarnated hero with no memory of your past life. Your main goal involves figuring out why you died and how to stop a cosmic catastrophe before it wipes out everyone in Amalur. It feels like a massive action movie where you are the star character.

Gameplay

The combat loop here is fast and brutal. You switch between light and heavy attacks, dodge rolls, and special abilities on the fly without waiting for cooldowns to drain completely. The game gives you three distinct skill trees: Fatescribe, Warlord, and Fateshaper. Each tree changes how your character fights by unlocking new spells or weapon techniques. Most sessions involve clearing out camps of goblins or bandits while managing health potions. You can equip multiple weapons and switch them instantly mid-combo to exploit enemy weaknesses. Exploration happens in large open zones where you follow quests or find hidden shrines. The controls feel responsive, allowing for fluid movement even during intense fights against bosses. You spend most of your time grinding enemies to level up and unlocking new perks that make your character stronger.

What Players Think

The PlayPile data shows a mixed but generally positive reception with an IGDB score of 77.6 based on 199 ratings. Players seem to enjoy the combat mechanics more than the story, which leads to varied completion rates. The average playtime sits around 35 hours for a main story run, while completionists often push past 80 hours. Community moods are split between excitement over the visceral action and frustration with the repetitive side quests. Review snippets frequently mention the fun factor of the combat system despite the dated graphics. Some users note that the game runs smoothly on modern PCs even though it came out over a decade ago. The achievement data suggests that players who stick with the game to unlock all trophies spend significantly more time than those who just finish the campaign.

PlayPile's Take

This title is worth your time if you want straightforward action without complex RPG mechanics getting in the way. The price on secondary markets makes it a cheap entry point for fans of fantasy hack and slash games. You will find plenty of achievements to chase if you like finishing every quest in the game. However, the story lacks depth compared to other titles from this era. Do not expect a deep narrative experience here. Play it for the combat system and the unique art style. It is a solid choice for a weekend playthrough but not a long-term obsession.

Storyline

Forge your own destiny. You have been reborn, your future is unwritten. Now the fate of Amalur lies in your hands.