THQ Nordic has released the first gameplay footage of Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning. The RPG remaster supports three different paths to heroism, and this trailer focuses on Finesse.
Choosing Finesse will unlock the game’s more precise weapons - daggers, bows and Fae-Blades - as well as more devious options like traps, bombs and poison. It’s the life of the hunter and rogue, familiar to anyone who’s kept track with RPGs since the invention of D&D.
In fact, there’s a cozy familiarity to Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning as a whole. It recalls an era of RPGs defined by Dragon Age: Origins - brightly coloured yet gory worlds in which you could be sure of getting a critical hit by sneaking up behind an enemy.
The original game was published by EA and pulled together some expensive talent - namely Drizzt Do’Urden creator R.A. Salvatore, comics celebrity Todd McFarlane, and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion lead designer Ken Rolston. Kingdoms of Amalur reviewed (opens in new tab) fairly well - we said “the combat is stronger than Skyrim’s by a long shot, and the world feels more alive than games like Fable”. But you won’t find it on any Best RPG (opens in new tab) lists, so it’s an unusual choice for a remaster.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning will be out on September 8th for the Xbox One, PS4 and PC. Perhaps more intriguing is the brand-new Fatesworn expansion (opens in new tab) set for release next year.
The game’s original developer, Big Huge Games (opens in new tab), laid off its entire staff in 2012. It’s been revived by co-founder Brian Reynolds since, but doesn’t appear to be involved in the Re-Reckoning.
Looking ahead to more releases on the way? Here's our roundup of upcoming games 2020 (opens in new tab).
