Kingdoms of Amalur is a game with a bit of a cult following that actually made a resurgence recently with the release of a remaster. Back in its day, though, you were more likely to get to know the game not because of reviews and such, but because of the controversy surrounding it -- specifically, the bankruptcy of its developer, 38 Studios. How they allegedly defrauded the state of Rhode Island out of millions to make a WoW-killer MMO that only ever saw a teaser trailer, and how Amalur was the only game they managed to put out.
If anything, Kingdoms of Amalur makes an incredible first impression. Far from the grittiness that plagued the generation it came out in, the game uses a lot of vibrant colors, which does a lot to further the fantasy setting and make every place feel wonderful and unreal. Environments are also highly detailed, whether they are indoors or outdoors.
It also plays in a fascinating way with the concept of Fate: every creature in this world has its destiny already decided from the start, and nothing they do will ever change it. Some people can actually look into the threads of Fate of others and can tell them when and how they'll die, and even that knowledge cannot save anyone.
This comes into play as a war begins right as the game starts. In this world, the races of humans, elves and Fae live in relative harmony with each other. Relative, because the immortal Fae dislike the mortal races, and vice versa, but isolation makes it so conflict is avoided. That is, until the Fae living to the east are corrupted by a usurper king, Gadflow, and become the Tuatha Deohn, or just Tuatha, for short.
Gadflow proceeds to lead these immortal warriors into a war to exterminate the mortal races and corrupt the remaining Fae. Humans and elves are screwed, because besides the fact that the Tuatha are immortal, the threads of Fate have been looked at: Gadflow is going to win this war, and no mortal creature is destined to live past his onslaught. That is, until you come in.
As the game starts, you are dead.
Well, not quite. You did die, but you awaken at Allestar Tower, to find that you have been resurrected by a magical apparatus called the Well of Souls. You're the first of the Well's successes, and also the last, since the Tuatha attack shortly after you awaken. After escaping the tower, you begin to realize that, because you were brought back to life, you are not bound to Fate -- everything it had in store it you only reached the moment of your death. You also don't exist in anyone else's Fate, so the moment you enter others' lives, their destinies can change.
This is the thing that stuck with me the most from the game, as it's a fascinating way to set up a chosen one type of narrative. It's not that your characeter is especially talented or has been named in some prophecy: much to the contrary, the reason they're special is exactly because they're nobody at all: a person that should not exist, and who now intrudes in their stories to change the ending. It's so good.
That said, it's just about the last time the game's story and setting feels remarkable, since most of what's left is painfully generic fantasy RPG lore. This game has a lot of lore and backstory around minimal details, which is quite amazing from a production standpoint, but I will admit, I skipped over a lot of it for finding it too bland.
This is a game from people who (purportedly) used to make MMOs. If you want to play a single-player MMO, Amalur is your game, in a good and in a bad way. The world is so vast, the character customization, deep, the lore, expansive, and the quests, so mundane. Every modern theme park MMO has its share of fetch quests, and they're certainly not missing here: useless quests that offer little benefit other than the dopamine hit from ticking a box.
Okay, that's a bit unfair to say: like the average MMO, some quest lines have more structure and wind up being very fun, like when you hunt an ancient witch who's possessing other mages, or free a Fae from a human prison, or craft items for a sleazy merchant who wants to scam people and who scolds you for making items of actual value.
Yes, I did say crafting, and in fact, there is more than one of such systems embedded into the game. You can brew potions, forge equipment, and craft gems to customize that equipment. The result of each will depend on the components used, their quality, and your skill level in that craft. There are nine skills in the game, and while you'll probably leave the crafting related ones for later, choosing what to upgrade next can take a few moments of your time.
This is but one of the facets of the character customization Amalur offers. Aside from customizing the character's race and appearance in the beginning of the game, you get to pick from several skills, and, most importantly, you get to mix and match their combat capabilities from the three skill trees. Amalur doesn't have a set-in-stone class system: it instead offers you three trees that you can spend points on at any time: Might, Finesse and Sorcery.
Yes, those trees do translate to Warrior, Rogue and Mage, which are the basic classes in every RPG ever, but Amalur's system has two advantages: One, you can make hybrid classes, with the game even honoring that choice by giving different perks depending on how your points are distributed; and two, the skill points can be reset for a relatively small fee at NPCs called Fateweavers, effectively enabling you to change your class whenever you want to.
It's hard not to be tempted to do so, too: the combat in Amalur is extremely satisfying. The same care that went into creating those detailed environments went into making fluid and great-looking combat animations. The fighting does a wonderful job at balancing a fast pace while still keeping the weight and the impact for each attack. Every weapon feels great to use, and the skills, especially the magic, feel really powerful.
Ultimately, however, the way so much of this game is just generic RPG elements -- run-of-the-mill quest design, theme-park like world, bland lore -- prevents it from forming an identity of its own. It's easy to remember the great combat and some of the plot, it's easy to enjoy the character customization, but everything else just meshes together.
Your enjoyment of the game will depend on how easily can you look past those unremarkable elements. Personally, I found it quite easy. There were moments where it felt like I was handling busywork, but after finishing it, I felt like going back and trying the game again, with a different class. Maybe I'll do that with Re-Reckoning, some time soon? Not if I ever want to move forward with my backlog, though.
If anything, Kingdoms of Amalur makes an incredible first impression. Far from the grittiness that plagued the generation it came out in, the game uses a lot of vibrant colors, which does a lot to further the fantasy setting and make every place feel wonderful and unreal. Environments are also highly detailed, whether they are indoors or outdoors.
It also plays in a fascinating way with the concept of Fate: every creature in this world has its destiny already decided from the start, and nothing they do will ever change it. Some people can actually look into the threads of Fate of others and can tell them when and how they'll die, and even that knowledge cannot save anyone.
This comes into play as a war begins right as the game starts. In this world, the races of humans, elves and Fae live in relative harmony with each other. Relative, because the immortal Fae dislike the mortal races, and vice versa, but isolation makes it so conflict is avoided. That is, until the Fae living to the east are corrupted by a usurper king, Gadflow, and become the Tuatha Deohn, or just Tuatha, for short.
Gadflow proceeds to lead these immortal warriors into a war to exterminate the mortal races and corrupt the remaining Fae. Humans and elves are screwed, because besides the fact that the Tuatha are immortal, the threads of Fate have been looked at: Gadflow is going to win this war, and no mortal creature is destined to live past his onslaught. That is, until you come in.
As the game starts, you are dead.
Well, not quite. You did die, but you awaken at Allestar Tower, to find that you have been resurrected by a magical apparatus called the Well of Souls. You're the first of the Well's successes, and also the last, since the Tuatha attack shortly after you awaken. After escaping the tower, you begin to realize that, because you were brought back to life, you are not bound to Fate -- everything it had in store it you only reached the moment of your death. You also don't exist in anyone else's Fate, so the moment you enter others' lives, their destinies can change.
This is the thing that stuck with me the most from the game, as it's a fascinating way to set up a chosen one type of narrative. It's not that your characeter is especially talented or has been named in some prophecy: much to the contrary, the reason they're special is exactly because they're nobody at all: a person that should not exist, and who now intrudes in their stories to change the ending. It's so good.
That said, it's just about the last time the game's story and setting feels remarkable, since most of what's left is painfully generic fantasy RPG lore. This game has a lot of lore and backstory around minimal details, which is quite amazing from a production standpoint, but I will admit, I skipped over a lot of it for finding it too bland.
This is a game from people who (purportedly) used to make MMOs. If you want to play a single-player MMO, Amalur is your game, in a good and in a bad way. The world is so vast, the character customization, deep, the lore, expansive, and the quests, so mundane. Every modern theme park MMO has its share of fetch quests, and they're certainly not missing here: useless quests that offer little benefit other than the dopamine hit from ticking a box.
Okay, that's a bit unfair to say: like the average MMO, some quest lines have more structure and wind up being very fun, like when you hunt an ancient witch who's possessing other mages, or free a Fae from a human prison, or craft items for a sleazy merchant who wants to scam people and who scolds you for making items of actual value.
Yes, I did say crafting, and in fact, there is more than one of such systems embedded into the game. You can brew potions, forge equipment, and craft gems to customize that equipment. The result of each will depend on the components used, their quality, and your skill level in that craft. There are nine skills in the game, and while you'll probably leave the crafting related ones for later, choosing what to upgrade next can take a few moments of your time.
This is but one of the facets of the character customization Amalur offers. Aside from customizing the character's race and appearance in the beginning of the game, you get to pick from several skills, and, most importantly, you get to mix and match their combat capabilities from the three skill trees. Amalur doesn't have a set-in-stone class system: it instead offers you three trees that you can spend points on at any time: Might, Finesse and Sorcery.
Yes, those trees do translate to Warrior, Rogue and Mage, which are the basic classes in every RPG ever, but Amalur's system has two advantages: One, you can make hybrid classes, with the game even honoring that choice by giving different perks depending on how your points are distributed; and two, the skill points can be reset for a relatively small fee at NPCs called Fateweavers, effectively enabling you to change your class whenever you want to.
It's hard not to be tempted to do so, too: the combat in Amalur is extremely satisfying. The same care that went into creating those detailed environments went into making fluid and great-looking combat animations. The fighting does a wonderful job at balancing a fast pace while still keeping the weight and the impact for each attack. Every weapon feels great to use, and the skills, especially the magic, feel really powerful.
Ultimately, however, the way so much of this game is just generic RPG elements -- run-of-the-mill quest design, theme-park like world, bland lore -- prevents it from forming an identity of its own. It's easy to remember the great combat and some of the plot, it's easy to enjoy the character customization, but everything else just meshes together.
Your enjoyment of the game will depend on how easily can you look past those unremarkable elements. Personally, I found it quite easy. There were moments where it felt like I was handling busywork, but after finishing it, I felt like going back and trying the game again, with a different class. Maybe I'll do that with Re-Reckoning, some time soon? Not if I ever want to move forward with my backlog, though.
Misterii
8 months ago