About the game
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is a 2012 action role-playing game developed by Big Huge Games and published by 38 Studios and Electronic Arts for Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. You play the Fateless One, a person brought back from the dead by the Well of Souls and freed from the destiny that binds everyone else in Amalur. The game is set in the Faelands, where you explore, complete quests and fight in the field and in dungeons.
Combat is in real time with two equipped weapons, from swords and daggers to bows, hammers and chakrams, plus a shield, dodging and active skills. Filling the Fate meter lets you trigger Reckoning mode, which slows time for everyone but you. Characters are built through three Ability trees (Might, Finesse and Sorcery) and Destiny cards, which work as a class system. Nine outside-combat skills such as Lockpicking, Blacksmithing and Persuasion also level up, and a Fateweaver will reset your build for a fee.
The game grew out of a prototype made by Big Huge Games around 2007. 38 Studios, founded by baseball player Curt Schilling, took the studio over and set the prototype in Amalur, a world he created with writer R. A. Salvatore for an unreleased online game. Artist Todd McFarlane and designer Ken Rolston also worked on it, and Grant Kirkhope wrote most of the music. The score was played by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.
It came out on February 7, 2012 in North America, February 9 in Australia and February 10 in Europe, with a Japanese release by Spike Chunsoft on September 20. A demo in January 2012 was criticised for bugs, and Schilling apologised, saying it had been built from outdated code. Special editions were made in small numbers, and the Legend of Dead Kel and Teeth of Naros expansions followed in March and April.
Critics praised the combat and visuals, but found the story and the lack of depth in its systems weaker. Reviews on all platforms were favourable. It sold about 1.3 million copies by July 2012, ahead of Electronic Arts' projections, but 38 Studios needed more than two million to turn a profit. The studio closed later in 2012, which cancelled a sequel and the planned console patches.
A remaster called Re-Reckoning, from Kaiko and THQ Nordic, was released for PlayStation 4, Windows and Xbox One on September 8, 2020, with a Nintendo Switch port in March 2021. It includes all earlier DLC and added a new expansion, Fatesworn.
The text above is adapted from Wikipedia and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
What critics said
Metacritic 80 out of 100 (Xbox 360). Individual reviews: Edge 6/10, Electronic Gaming Monthly 8.5/10, Eurogamer 8/10, Game Informer 8/10, GameSpot 7.5/10, GameTrailers 8.2/10, IGN 9/10, Official Xbox Magazine (US) 8/10.
Extra content
Two paid expansions, a free quest line for early console copies and several pre-order items. Planned console patches were cancelled when 38 Studios closed.
- The Legend of Dead Kel: A new island, Gallows End, with new dungeons, enemies, unique weapons and Twist of Fate cards, and the Gravehal quest line.
- The Teeth of Naros: A new area with the Kollossae and a new Primal damage type, plus new enemies.
- House of Valor: A quest series for the House of Valor faction, given free through an online pass with early console copies.
- Pre-order items: Special weapons and an item for finding potion ingredients.
Good to know
- The January 2012 demo unlocked themed items in Mass Effect 3, and the Mass Effect 3 demo unlocked items in Reckoning.
- The Signature Edition was oversold by 12 units, so an Exclusive Edition with an alternative print numbered out of 12 was made for those buyers.
- Early runs of the console versions came with a free online pass for the House of Valor quest series. 38 Studios said it was always meant to be the first DLC.
- The Japanese release by Spike Chunsoft included all the DLC.
- Because of the studio closure, the planned console patches never shipped. A PC patch was released quickly for the worst bugs.
- The Legend of Dead Kel and The Teeth of Naros achievements make up 300 of the 1,300 gamerscore.
Made by
Director Mark Nelson, Executive Design Director Ken Rolston, Lead Designer Ian Frazier, Producer Sean Bean, Lead Narrative Designer Erik J. Caponi, World Creator R. A. Salvatore, Executive Art Director Todd McFarlane, Art Director Tim Coman, Composer Grant Kirkhope, Composer Mark Cromer.
