Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning

Re-Reckoning is a reminder of what made the original great in 2012, but mostly a testament to how far we've come since.

Re-Reckoning isn't a great remaster, but there's no denying that Kingdoms of Amalur is still a lot of fun to play. Its action-based combat has stood the test of time, and exploring its often whimsical world is enjoyable. If you can look past the clunky presentation and fairly frequent bugs, you'll find an ample high fantasy adventure.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning is a rather barebones revamp of a cult classic action RPG that's really beginning to show its age in many respects. The core combat here is still strong stuff, crunchy hack and slash action with plenty of flexibility and variety in how you go about decking out your character, but it's also surrounded by a world and story that are very much of their time. Fans of the original game will no doubt enjoy what is a mostly fine Switch port, but there so many other, more modern RPG experiences available at this point on Nintendo's console that everyone else should perhaps approach with a measure of caution.

A solid introduction to a world that may no longer bed dead, but suffers from overstuffed quest design and mashy combat.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning finally gives a second chance to one of the best role-playing games released in the previous console generation, making the gameplay even better with select balance tweaks that increase the challenge level and make it easier to engage with side content. Despite some issues and a dated gameplay design, the game's battle system, great writing and extremely deep lore make Re-Reckoning a game that most role-playing game fans will enjoy. Especially if they like juggling enemies to death.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning is the best way to experience the journey of the Fateless One. Paradoxically, this version also feels like a relic of the past and does suffer from it.

Kingdoms of Amalur is still underappreciated game. Remaster doesn't help to spread the word. Game looks better and plays better, but it retains many of original flaws. Re-Reckoning was a chance to redo underwhelming aspects of the game, but became vastly the same game with a bit of new flash.

It began as a mistake

Kingdoms of Amalur Re-Reckoning is, in my opinion, not worth playing. It doesn’t do anything egregiously bad, it just doesn’t do much above passable either. In a world with a seemingly infinite supply of games, there are better ways to spend your time than trundling through a mire of mediocrity.

For better or for worse, this is what we had hoped the came could have been nine years ago only to re-emerge in modern times in order to give us the experience we wanted while exploring the lands of Dalentarth.