Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning vs Torchlight II
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is an action-RPG open-world game from Big Huge Games while Torchlight II is an action-RPG RPG game from Runic Games (2012).
Quick answer: Torchlight II rates higher, 8.2 to 7.6 on the GamingPickz Score.
What each one is
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is filed under Action-RPG and Open-World. In contrast, Torchlight II under Action-RPG and RPG.
The minds of New York Times bestselling author R.A. Salvatore, Spawn creator Todd McFarlane, and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion lead designer Ken Rolston have combined to create Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, a new role-playing game set in a world worth saving.
The adventure continues in Torchlight II! An Action RPG filled with epic battles, bountiful treasure, and a fully randomized world. Bring your friends along for the journey with online and LAN multiplayer.
Story, characters and reception
Plot
Setting and characters Reckoning is set within the world of Amalur, with the game's events taking place across the Faelands, a land separated into two distinct territories by a great river. All things in the Faelands follow a destined path dictated by the Fate Weave, which can be read and reported by gifted individuals dubbed Fateweavers. The current age is referred to as the "Age of Arcana", a time when unknown magic is beginning to manifest. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Over its first two months on sale, Reckoning sold over 400,000 copies not counting digital sales, a figure referred to by NPD Group as impressive. In the United Kingdom during its first week, the game reached the top of sales charts, surpassing the previous lead Final Fantasy XIII-2 . By July 2012, the game had sold 1. (Wikipedia)
Plot
Years after the end of the original Torchlight , The Alchemist (one of the three playable characters in the first game) becomes corrupted by the Ember Blight coming from the Heart of Ordrak, the evil being who had been the source of the corruption under the town of Torchlight, and then destroys the town. The player character takes on a quest to stop this villain, who is using Ordrak's power to disturb the balance between the world's six elements. As the… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Critical reception Reception Torchlight II received favorable reviews; on aggregate review website Metacritic the game attains an overall score of 88 out of 100 based on reviews from 67 professional critics. Though the original Torchlight received positive reviews , the game's lack of any multiplayer modes was a near-universal criticism of the title by critics and fans alike. Game Informer stated that " Torchlight II is an excellent game no matter how… (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning | Torchlight II | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 7.6/10 | 8.2/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (88%, 13,009) | Very Positive (93%, 45,503) |
| Critic aggregate | 81/100 | 88/100 |
| Price | Not listed | $19.99 |
| Install size | — | — |
| Steam Deck | playable | playable |
| Released | — | 2012 |
| Developer | Big Huge Games | Runic Games |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning vs Torchlight II, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Kingdoms of Amalur: ReckoningAction-RPG open-world gameTorchlight IIAction-RPG RPG gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Kingdoms of Amalur: ReckoningRPG, Fantasy, Open WorldTorchlight IIRPG, Action RPG, Hack and SlashThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Kingdoms of Amalur: ReckoningScore 7.6 · 88% on Steam · 81 criticTorchlight II ✓Score 8.2 · 93% on Steam · 88 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning13,009 reviewsTorchlight II45,503 reviewsReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Kingdoms of Amalur: ReckoningNot listedTorchlight II$19.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Kingdoms of Amalur: ReckoningPlayableTorchlight IIPlayableValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Torchlight II takes 1 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueKingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning and Torchlight II on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Torchlight II (GamingPickz Score 8.2)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: Torchlight II (45,503 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
RPGFantasySingleplayerAction RPGActionAdventureLootCharacter Customization
Where they differ
Open WorldThird PersonStory RichMagicExplorationController
Dungeon CrawlerCo-opOnline Co-OpMultiplayerIndieModdable
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Torchlight II is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning | Torchlight II | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | — | — |
| Minimum CPU | — | x86-compatible 1.4GHz |
| Minimum RAM | — | 1 GB |
| Install size | — | — |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning · Torchlight II.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning and 0 for Torchlight II. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning and Torchlight II in scope?
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning has drawn 13,009 Steam reviews. Torchlight II has drawn 45,503 Steam reviews.
Is Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning or Torchlight II better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Torchlight II rates higher (8.2 to 7.6). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning or Torchlight II?
One or both do not have a current listed price, so a straight comparison is not possible. See the table above.
Should I get Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning or Torchlight II?
Torchlight II rates higher, 8.2 to 7.6 on the GamingPickz Score. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.