Review of Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning – Fatesworn

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is an RPG that got a little too close to release due to a number of things, from relatively poorly chosen release dates to serious problems within the studio itself. In any case, if you want to read something more in depth about the unfortunate course of this ambitious game and the fate of the Big Huge Games studio, I recommend Jason Schreier’s book Press Reset, which you can also find in Xzone (unfortunately still without Czech translation).

In any case, she transferred the rights to the brand to THQ Nordic, who released a remaster of the original game last year, once again reminding the public. But this improved version basically didn’t offer anything new to the fans, so it’s worth buying. In addition, it still suffered from a relatively large number of bugs, some of which interfered with the actual completion (though it must be admitted that these bugs were fixed in a significant number). However, the promise of a brand new Fatesworn DLC was in the air, which could justify this remaster. We are now at a time when more or less a year and a half has passed since this add-on is in the world, and I have successfully completed it. And I don’t think the fans will be disappointed.

• Platform: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch
• Publication date: 14. 12. 2021
• Producer: Kaiko
• Genre: RPG
• Czech location: Not
• Multiplayer: Not
• Data to download: 10 GB
• Game time: Main story 7 hours / total about 20 hours
• Price: Separately 19.99 euros (510 kr) / complete edition of Fate for 54.99 euros (1400 kr)

New troubles for a hero without destiny

First of all, it should be noted that the events of Fatesworn only start after the end of the main game, which you must successfully complete in order to be able to start new content at all (it is not necessary to complete the previous DLC). ). In any case, this means that the Crystal War has finally come to an end, and people thought that all suffering was over, at least for a while, and peace would come. Unfortunately, this is not the case, as in the west, in the Mitros region (consisting of wooded and snowy landscapes still well looked after thanks to a fairy tale), past events have set another threat in motion, where monsters named Niskaru enter world through portals. That is why our protagonist goes to this region, when he soon finds out that this activity is connected with a cult that worships the god of Chaos – Telegra, who wants to save people from the “shackles” of fate. And this is exactly what our hero will try to prevent.

A new threat has emerged in the West that needs to be eliminated.

So the story basically offers the classic pattern of a newly discovered threat that needs to be stopped. So the story is again a bit generic, but at the same time it doesn’t offend you in any way. What I applaud the authors for is the character with which they included this add-on in the already created world. As a result, you won’t believe that there’s almost a 10 year difference between the original title and the expansion, as the local environment, residents, events, and new music (again provided by Grant Kirkhope) fit together beautifully to create a cohesive whole. In addition, the expansion works as such an epilogue, in which fans have the opportunity to say goodbye to the local world and popular characters, and they can hope to one day see the second part of the dream.

Resist Chaos

And this natural inclusion also applies to several gameplay innovations. In your travels, you will encounter many main and secondary tasks, during which you will meet old familiar enemies, but other options or completely new figures are not forgotten. Later on, this applies to equipment, where you can look forward to 6 unique weapon sets and 21 additional weapons and shields. In addition, the level cap has been raised, bringing your character up to level 50.

One of the most significant innovations is Chaos.

However, Chaos is one of the most significant innovations. This is directly related to the local history, where in the world you will meet the mentioned portals and gaps that need to be closed. But in order to do this, you must destroy the Chaos monsters, which are initially immune to normal wounds, so you must first bring them back with a special weapon. Simple but functional mechanics. In addition, the portals themselves will be scattered throughout the kingdom, where end-game content acts as such, as they move you to dungeons from which you get new materials. The addition is nice, but a little disappointing that the dungeons themselves are quite monotonous and without an idea. Subsequently, a new line of skills is directly connected with Chaos, the pumping of which makes it easier to find exactly those portals. In addition, you can test additional fate cards that provide skills that are directly suitable for dealing with new obstacles. So it’s understandable that Fatesworn offers a really large amount of content, which I spent about 12 hours with (of which the main line took about 7 hours), but if you want to collect everything, you get more than twenty hours. But I would definitely recommend setting the difficulty to at least hard, as it’s pretty easy at lower DLC levels. This, of course, provided that you already have your “spoiled” character at the maximum level.

Problems of the past

Personally, while playing this expansion, I became more and more worried about the problems that the original game and the remaster already suffered from. I still haven’t gone through the really awkward inventory of having to hunt for things. I was also more and more annoyed by the limited movement around the locations, where you constantly get stuck in various obstacles, and the lack of a jump does not help much. The recurring pattern of individual tasks has not broken, and they still work in the style – “come, kill, bring.” We will see a little specialization in the form of puzzles, but they are too few and too simple.

I was increasingly concerned about the problems that the original title was already suffering from.

However, in one breath, I must add that for the entire time of the game I encountered only one bug, which was not terrible at all, since it was a stuck inscription on the screen when typing the next level, which disappeared when loading the last saved position. Unfortunately, the unfortunate situation did not recur during my testing of the remaster itself. I would also like to say that I found the new locations a bit more detailed and crisp.

Satisfied fan part of success

So it’s clear that Fatesworn is a DLC that’s aimed at fans of the base game, who can say goodbye to their favorite RPG in a beautiful way through it, and at the same time don’t mind that some outdated or not-so-intuitive elements already have to be worked on. But if you’re heading into the world of Amalura for the very first time, know that this addition certainly won’t dishonor the game, as the local world expands naturally and effortlessly. But I recommend waiting for the full edition of Fate, which offers the base game and this data disc at a nice price.