7 Disastrous Games That Sank the Company

[@outsidextra]

No, even with Re-Reckoning out, Ellen is still not over the whole Kingdoms of Amalur thing... THERE WAS A NEARLY FINISHED MMO, PEOPLE, NO STOP DRAGGING ME AWAY FROM THE KEYBOA-

[@Input-um5et]

Knock knock

[@philipphartmann9813]

Kingdoms of amalur deserves so much more love.

[@chastitymarks2185]

​@@philipphartmann9813 That it does.

[@johnyshadow]

We are with you Ellen.

[@Input-um5et]

@@johnyshadow we are many you are but one

[@willbaker6532]

Sees thumbnail "Heeyyyy isn't that kingdoms of amalur" Looks down to channel info saying "outside Xtra" "Ohhhhhhh now it makes sense"

[@deusexvesania1702]

Legit surprised to see it in this video though. And main reason I clicked.

[@shadowstallion71]

And you already knew who was going to be the one talking about KoA before you clicked on the video.

[@nobodyxdel2390]

Kinda new, so I dunno the context

[@deusexvesania1702]

@@nobodyxdel2390 Ellen is a massive fan of KoA. And, to be fair, it's a really good game. Well made and has an air of MMO to it, just without other people giving you shit.

[@Elthenar]

I played Tabula Rasa in the beta. I had no idea who Richard Garriott is, so I asked in chat. Some guy named Lord British told me to google him, that he was a big deal. I did, and on the wiki it says Richard Garriott often plays his own games as Lord British. Well played Rich.

[@michellemarty7510]

"Ellen was right" is still the best review on Steam

[@thematiasmadness7010]

That actually exists? Weirdly awesome and wholesome

[@ShoGirlGeek]

I just went to check this. Not only is it real, it's ranked one of the most helpful reviews

[@ddjsoyenby]

yup.

[@cmdraftbrn]

ooh my

[@donalddavis303]

Ellen was right!

[@raijin2950]

The worst thing about Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning failing is that it made Ellen upset, which is basically a war crime. Not getting a Kingdoms of Amalur MMO is also pretty tragic.

[@lnsflare1]

To say nothing of all the war crimes Ellen committed in response to its failure.

[@Lokitty719]

I just want to hug Ellen every time Kingdoms of Amalur is mentioned.

[@Jacen436987]

@@Lokitty719 lol kingdoms IF Amalur

[@Darkprosper]

Kingdoms of Amalur's world design is basically a single-player MMO, so imo they should have gone there in the first place.

[@CookiePieMonster]

@@Darkprosper Agreed, the game is still nice on it's own though, surprised it failed as hard as it did. I thought it was in the same ballpark as Nier, ya know not a huge success, but not necessarily a failure either.

[@inDefyance]

Honestly I’m with her. KOA Reckoning (now Re-Reckoning) is INCREDIBLE. So many great things to talk about. So sad we didn’t get to see more. Hopefully THQ can do something good with it!

[@vladerag]

I agree, and Salvatore did well on it too.

[@jimmythegamer2231]

Well at least we got a new expansion for KOA Reckoning years after release, even if it wasn't that great.

[@andymcp4752]

Lara “Look, sure i’m *a* murderer, but I’m not *the* murderer” Croft

[@Mark_nobody3]

Angel of darkness glitch in the menu when you die and Lara death scream forever

[@rasmusn.e.m1064]

Meanwhile, she's simply *killer*

[@lnsflare1]

"I murderer people en masse, not on an individual basis like some sort of pervert."

[@akmal94ibrahim]

"I don't murder people out of petty personal vendetta. I massacre people because they're in my way."

[@araisikewai]

"I killed plenty people, just not THAT one." ("I probably would have if I met him though.")

[@Avatar_Sokka]

I feel like this whole video was made just so Ellen could talk about KoA

[@Brasc]

What?! Surely not! Luke would immediately put a stop to-- .....oh.

[@Tmanowns]

It's why they made the channel, actually.

[@shinryu129]

Yup I think that what it was.

[@markj3169]

Put money in the KOA mention jar

[@DeaderNephalim]

Yep, she's adorable 🤣

[@amezzeray2]

Angel of Darkness was one of the games that came with the first PC my family got. I loved it. My sisters loved it. I just thought the janky controls was me being shit. It wasn't until years later that I realised it was considered a bad game. Looking back, I agree. But those memories of me and my sisters navigating the Louvre... wouldn't change them for anything.

[@AlexVonCrank]

Weird, when I saw the footage I had feelings of nostalgia playing it too. I enjoyed it for what it was at the time but yeah... definitely different vibe for the series. The 1st one just blew my mind when it came out.

[@ArnieMcStranglehold]

i know for a fact that a few of the games we had growing up were only good/fun because I had two younger sisters to force the game on or have them laugh at it

[@yohnnyjames]

sounds beautiful =)

[@MrEshah]

If it's your first game ever it's likely not a bad experience because you have no knowledge of better. Experiences are subjective, and someone elses hadly matter for anyone else.

[@knytshayd]

Yes, the controls were horrid and that was pretty much what doomed this game imo. I thought the story was killer though and it drove me to finish the game.

[@reluctantbias8508]

If only someone loved me the way Ellen loves Kingdoms of Amalur.

[@davidbeasley1720]

No one loves anyone the way Ellen loves Kingdoms of Amalur.

[@mar_speedman]

Oh, you mean borderline obsessive? Whatever floats your boat, man :P

[@Sableagle]

You want some nice young lady to burst into tears any time anyone mentions your name? O.o

[@shepardren8006]

I was happy until I read this comment. Now I'm alone again....

[@Fenris2]

I love it too you start as a corpse

[@giulianvaz3159]

Luke's "Hello, everyone" among Ellen's singing still makes me laugh

[@lizzywolcott98]

Lol same

[@MetalheadAndy25]

You could feel the sigh in it lol

[@GearShotgun]

Kingdoms of Amalur really was a lost gem. The world was massive, you got cool abilities that made you feel powerful right from the start, and you were free to use whatever playstyle you wanted. Honestly, After playing Skyrim for years, it felt like a breath of fresh air to be playing a more traditional RPG game with Amalur.

[@1993rnicholson]

I feel this same way playing fallout new vegas after fallout 4

[@frodobaggins7710]

Luke: *goes on paternity leave* Ellen: *rubs hands with glee at the freedom she has to make a video featuring KoA:R*

[@DFloyd84]

What? Luke is old enough to be a father?!

[@travisrolison9646]

@@DFloyd84 I hope you is better at managing money than dobb is. If not his significant other better be checking the ponds near the house when its time to pay the bills

[@nvh119]

Suprisingly Luke is not much younger than Mike. Although they look like they could be 10 years apart.

[@sleepytime999998]

@@travisrolison9646 I love the idea that Dob is the real Luke. "No, Luke! Stop throwing Roman coins into the pond! Those might be valuable!" "This is an investment! These pondfish are looking far too orange to be goldfish. I don't trust a fish this coy."

[@marhawkman303]

@@sleepytime999998 The koi you say? :D

[@robstuart8474]

19:26 - "When it was released just three months after its direct rival The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim." Bethesda logic: If you release a port every three months, then _everything_ is released just three months after Skyrim!

[@MazTheOriginalGod]

Well, it is working for them and Rockstar with GTA V, so they are not wrong...

[@colonless7512]

I’m waiting for Skyrim on my new oven

[@WoofgangPrime]

Isn't Skyrim coming out for sneakers?

[@adenanf]

@@WoofgangPrime hell yeah

[@WoofgangPrime]

@@adenanf Air Dragonborns

[@RexiousX]

Kingdoms of Amalur - what a tragedy. I love that game. I've always enjoyed it more than Skyrim because the combat system is vastly superior.

[@fylimar]

I agree. I prefer Amalur over Skyrim too - for many reasons.

[@Autistic_Tarkov_Guy]

I love skyrim, but that's like comparing mma to boxing. it's just not even fair. skyrim's vanilla combat was GARBAGE

[@likeasparrowinthewildernes8333]

,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 2 Esdras 2: 30 -100 ''''''''''''''''''''';;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[@francescofranchino7097]

I bought it on release, and bought Re-Reckoning when that came out. Awesome games can't help companies from sinking due to mismanagement. Besides, Rhode Island sucks...

[@robertoaltuve4145]

I disagree, and i 100% both. In fact for me easily skyrim is a better game. KoA was magnificent in a lot of ways, but even without its faults, because it had them, and it were a lot worse than skyrim's, it was not enough with his concept and development

[@thajocoth]

3:47 - Or as I call it, "Angle of Darkness", due to the poor camera angles and poor lighting.

[@outsidextra]

eyyyyy!

[@drucy.]

Goddamnit dude ! I was drinking ! xD

[@Lord_Phoenix95]

I like to call it Angel of SCREAMING because somehow you would always end up saving during a fall.

[@ericb3157]

AVGN said it really earned the "darkness" part of its name due to its poor lighting.

[@scottylewis8124]

Guess 2003 was when they couldn't figure out how to brighten up stuff yet

[@maxvel0city906]

You know what they say: When Luke is away, Ellen will talk about Kingdoms of Amalur.👍😀

[@phillybobbby]

Was thinking the same thing. Luke just had to go and perpetuate the species...

[@jamesanthony8438]

Of course, Luke doesn't have to be away. Ellen will talk about it anyway at the drop of a hat. =)

[@wulfricr7635]

@@jamesanthony8438 I was gonna say, she'll talk about it regardless 😂

[@brodriguez11000]

There is a remaster so there must be something to the game.

[@nathankindle282]

KOA was, in my opinion, an amazing game. I remember playing it and couldn't wait for a sequel that never came. Another game I've always wanted a sequel for was Dragon's Dogma

[@RodneyG669]

Good news, there's a sequel for Dragon's Dogma coming in 2024.

[@David-ud9ju]

I remember playing the KOA rival, Skyrim, and I couldn't wait for a sequel to that that never came either. Presumably that studio must have gone bust as well otherwise you'd have thought there would be a sequel by now.

[@jamesgoude1799]

Dragons Dogma 2 looks phenomenal!

[@James-gj8rn]

Ellen has to be heartbroken, bless her soul :(

[@Vindominus]

69th like, NICE

[@jolan_tru]

Huh, the thumbnail is from Amalur. I wonder who is presenting this video? *Ellen's super chipper squirrel-person voice chimes up* Yep, there she is.

[@Ercarret]

Kingdom of Amalur was such a gem of a game. It's such a shame that the developer went balls up afterward. I would have loved for it to become a lasting franchise.

[@blueninjanoname7338]

It was generic af though

[@irishrunner27]

it did some things i really liked, like actually having job paths for multiclass or even a triple spec character. it's an incredibly interesting and customizable battle experience.

[@zeening]

that's.... not funny.

[@Dragowolf_Rising]

​@@blueninjanoname7338No more generic than Elder Scrolls, which rips off so much of its lore from D&D. At least your character controlled well and the game wasn't a barely playable pile of infuriating glitches. I couldn't go 15 minutes in Skyrim without the game glitching and the story was so dull. Didn't grab my attention at all. Barely encountered any bugs in KoA and I thought it had plenty of nice twists on classic fantasy. Mind you I'm not saying Skyrim is bad, just one of the most overrated games, that mostly did so well because of the modding community.

[@blueninjanoname7338]

@@Dragowolf_Rising yeah, kingdom of amular can't hold a candle to skyrim. Its not even a fair comparison.

[@Skorpys365]

I almost expected someone else to start on the KoA part, only for Ellen to break in and muffle them while praising the game (and the editor putting in more balanced details in between). 😋

[@SelkieGirl]

I believe Ellen is the soul reason Amalur had a remaster.

[@Martinerofsea]

It did?

[@KotCR]

@@Martinerofsea Re-Reckoning, not that long ago, and this time it actually did alright on sales AFAIK. A new expansion is in the works and there is rumours of a sequel now, yes.

[@fenghuanghun]

Then she should have a STATUE!!!!! That remaster is gorgeous!!!

[@gemhunter498]

This might be an American spelling thing, but i've always spelled that "sole"

[@KotCR]

@@gemhunter498 No, not just American, British too. Sole means the lone one, or the thing at the bottom of a shoe. Whereas Soul is your "inner spirit" or a type of music. But it's a KZbin comment section, so so long as we all know what OP meant I think that it is fine.

[@ZaxFSO8083]

I for one (and especially my older brother) love the fact that Kingdoms of Amalur was able to comeback, be available on modern consoles AND have new content added to it.

[@CasualNotice]

Who else, on hearing Lara Croft say, "I didn't kill him. I didn't," expected her to look off camera and say, "Oh, hi, Mark!"? Just me? I'll show myself out...

[@youmustpaythetrolltoll8517]

Ha. Nice one.

[@iyeetsecurity922]

No. Please. Stay awhile. Let's throw a football around while wearing tuxedo's.

[@Ajehy]

My thoughts exactly.

[@theauven]

I had the same thought!

[@trevor3013]

Hey jonny didn't see ya there

[@KotCR]

What happened to Kingdoms of Amalur was a crying shame, and one of the most unfortunate events in gaming. Unlike the other titles on this list, it was genuinely a great game. I got it close to release and really enjoyed it too - it did an excellent job modernising some of the more stale elements of the genre - in particular the combat. When it comes to these open world single player fantasy RPGs, I'd still say it has some of the best combat in the genre - second only to the other initially under-rated late-bloomer title Dragon's Dogma. Skyrim may have looked nicer at the time (though I'd argue Amalur's graphics have aged much better due to the art style, discounting mods of course), and had more depth to it's quests, but other than that game mechanics wise Skyrim had nothing on Kingdoms of Amalur. Fortunately it appears the re-releases of both Dragon's Dogma and Kingdoms of Amalur seem to have gotten both games finally closer to the attention and respect they deseved after being over-looked by just about everyone the first time around with their initial releases.

[@twilightsparkle75]

skyrim even on pc with max grapbics and the high def pack active on steam you can STILL see the pixels on every texture clearly. like large blobs. its absurd

[@jslife1667]

I really enjoyed koa until it had to have the Xbox live update like I had gotten to the other side of the ocean and was fighting one of the dark elves but when I came back update required it was sad

[@thehumanmachine6121]

damn! i do not feel like reading that!

[@KerbalFacile]

The studio received a pile of "free money" from the state, and subsequently overspent left right and center until bankrupt - hmmm who could have seen it comiiiing ?

[@wolfflamekindl9339]

Still waiting on the Legend of Dragoon reboot; that four year effort game got overshadowed by final fantasy 8... and... well, yeah. Give us a reboot

[@snipemonkey]

i actually enjoyed Too Human when i was a kid, it was a very strange combat system you had to use both analog sticks and point them in a direction to attack and it was one of those games you had to spend time getting used too to appreciate but the armour and weapons i remember looked awesome and at the time had some cool ideas with adding weapon upgrades and crafting armour. the ending was a massive cliff hanger and even to this day im pissed ill never get to experience what happened next. looking back now yeh it wasnt great but i had some good times co-op and met some cool people, and for its time the graphics were damn fine. finding out the devs stole code from epic to make it is disheartening.

[@professeurgideere5856]

Same here, the system was weird but enjoyable, although it threatened to break your sticks. I wouldn't say the graphics were damn fine though, a large part of it seemed far too rigid.

[@joshuawilliams5213]

I enjoyed it too. It was a game that sucked me in and I exclusively played it till I beat it. I'll have to give it a try again, see what I think about it now, after "good" games, lol.

[@Isagratar]

It was never great. But it was far from bad. Many an hour spent with Baldur and the lads killing goblins.

[@johnturner9252]

List idea: 7 remakes/reboots that came out of nowhere

[@werh227]

Would Kid Icarus Uprising count?

[@PatrickLongblkwhtrbbt]

Demons souls. No one was asking for it but it was sooooooooo good

[@hundred2949]

Miitopia definitely It's such a weird one to pick

[@daviddaugherty2816]

Technically not a reboot, butI feel like Fallout 3 counts.

[@caldwin]

Kid Icarus, I was honestly (pleasantly) surprised when Mass Effect was announced. Amalur was also unexpected. Honestly, Ellen shouldn't need to find excuses to talk about Amalur. It's at least as worthof it's own series as Skyrim.

[@oriolgonzalez9328]

Damn, Ellen is making me feel bad about the cancellation of the Amalur MMO*, and I haven't even played Reckoning! *A-MMO-lur?

[@Andreas_42]

This wordplay is underrated 👍

[@CorwinAlexander]

A MMO lure

[@phoenixcierebiej9763]

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@marhawkman303]

@@khamjaninja. oh yeah, that's the real kicker with the franchise I guess. It wasn't actually just one game they spent all that money on.

[@brucemaximus3797]

@@khamjaninja. This explains so much about the way that game works.

[@Ulquiorra4163]

Something important to mention about DNF: It wasn't 3D Realms fault about the the repeated engine changes, it was the CEO. Basically whenever the game was going along abit, he'd see a game that'd go big on a new engine and force the team to drop what they had done and start over again. So Quake, Quake 2, Unreal, etc basically damned the game to redos because ol'e George wanted it to look as good as possible, including shelving one version when it was painfully close to being finished.

[@connerhuntington6094]

I think it’s unfair to say Kingdoms of Amalur sank the company, more like it wasn’t enough to keep a sinking company afloat.

[@bradsimpson8724]

That seems like a solid assessment. The same thing happened with Space Marine. It was great for what it was, but it just wasn't enough to keep THQ afloat.

[@adamcassara6924]

Right, 38 Studios had horribly mismanaged the development of their Amalur MMO and bought Big Huge Games because they needed to release *something* to keep the lights on. Big Huge had a single player RPG under development, but was going to be shut down if THQ couldn't sell them off. The Big Huge RPG got retooled to be in the Amalur universe and hopefully generate hype for the MMO, gets released and you know the rest. Considering all that and the simple fact that MMOs are unbelievably hard to pull off - let alone succeed - it's probably better for Ellen to have to wonder what could have been.

[@mpbMKE]

There was an article on maybe ESPN some years ago detailing just how absolutely mf-ing clueless 38 Studios founder Curt Schilling was. See, at the time he was famous for throwing things and having a bloody sock (I don't think he was yet a public incel-like troll, but that was yet to come). He was absolutely not known for being a successful developer, capable businessman or, like... smart. To his limited credit, the money he was hemorrhaging was mostly getting paid to staff and creators, like that all-star cast of contractors named in the video. But his business plan was literally a real-life version of the "3. ??? 4. Profit!" meme. Also he really hates it when you point out that he defrauded a whole-ass state on Twitter. 😂

[@DR3ADER1]

Nope, Kingdoms of Amalur is the RESULT of bad management and corrupt practices. DO NOT touch the remake or the original game. It's built off of the backs of the Rhode Island taxpayer. If you DO own either the original game or the remake, uninstall it from your hard drive and/or destroy your physical copy of that overrated pile of blandness and egotistical self-indulgence for the sake of your own personal ethics. No excuses.

[@shadonaifairn85]

@@DR3ADER1 not ditching a good game because the creator was an asshole.

[@TaurusTheCrazyBull]

I played Kingdoms of Amalur when I was a kid, absolutely oblivious of what had happened to the Studio that made it, I think it might also have been the first game I ever completed the main questline, learning about what happened once I got older and remembered Kingdoms of Amalur again was quite upsetting, though it does make me happy to see THQ get their hands on it, if they plan to make something more out of the IP, I'm sure they'll do it justice

[@KuueenKumi]

Honestly, it could potentially help fill the gap on PS5 that TES6's absence will leave. It's a good IP that just needs some love

[@charlesvitanza8325]

@@KuueenKumi KoA is a phenomenal game. It's a damn shame what happened to the studio.

[@ZaxFSO8083]

They did add some dlc in December 2021, so that’s pretty nice

[@1993rnicholson]

@@KuueenKumi yes because TES 6 will someday, maybe, possibly, somehow, supposedly, hopefully exist... maybe

[@Eonymia]

Amalur was fine, but you really could tell it was imagined as an MMO at first. Tons of fetch quests, empty, sometimes boring landscapes. Weird zone leveling system that would just sync the zone forever to whatever point on their leveling scale is closest to you when you first enter it. Rarely got into a zone that felt "balanced" for the character.

[@greyroo]

No, it was not imagined as an MMO at first. It was always going to be a single player open world rpg. They were tossing around the idea to make a MMO spinoff using the Amalur setting.

[@Grogeous_Maximus]

@@greyroo Regardless, it had some of the worst aspects of an MMO and none of the good parts.

[@greyroo]

@@Grogeous_Maximus I disagree. It doesn’t have one of the most obnoxious, irritating, disgusting, frustrating, and all round infuriating aspects of a MMO……… people. Have a good day 😊

[@PanAndScanBuddy]

My favorite thing about Kingdoms of Amalur is when an ancient elf describes in great detail the centuries they have spent putting their plan in motion, how no mortal could ever stop them, and also how much gall you have to try - immediately followed with a fantasy magic beatdown that's both showy in a wrestling drama kind of way, and brutal in a Purge movie kind of way.

[@MrFutago87]

Let me guess, the KOA part is just incoherent sobbing? Edit: Yep

[@DryTEKGI]

I love that game so much

[@MusicFan752]

@@DryTEKGI I think it's criminally underrated. Not ground breaking but it's a solid game.

[@grabble7605]

Seeing how Silicon Knights turned out always makes me glad they almost immediately lost rights to the Legacy of Kain series...Although Square Enix hasn't been treating that property any better recently...

[@Christian-rn1ur]

But what if Legacy of Kain but...Fortnite? Legacy of Fortnite. Some Squeenix shareholder, probably.

[@John_Smith.]

And now they don't own it either! Instead, it's now owned by Embracer.

[@skynet0912]

I loved KoA! I was even one of the few people who ended up with the Reckoner Knight Armor and Chakram Launcher legit in Mass Effect 3, which was only possible by playing and beating the KoA demo! The only real problem i had with the original PS3 version (the only version i could realisticly play), was that it tended to crash a lot, and even with online saves it was possible for your savefile to be corrupted, meaning you could be forced to start the entire game from scratch... Didn't stop me from loving the game, and i also got Re Reckoning on PS4, 100% it in less than a week during lockdown!

[@hashimashadoo]

I love Kingdoms of Amalur. I've also spoke to Bob Salvatore about it - while I wouldn't say he's quite as upset as Ellen, he was pretty cheesed at the time. I wish I could get a look at his world timeline.

[@dragonking2248]

I love KOA, how could anyone not like it? It was one of the first games that made me feel like an unstoppable BA. I feel even more awesome than I did when I first played it today thanks to all of the dlcs that are available in Re-Reckoning.

[@lidge1994]

It's not that it wasn't liked, people JUST bought FUCKING SKYRIM a few months earlier, they were still playing it and would rather not spend money on an unknown IP from and unknown developer. If it came out a year after Skyrim, maybe it would've done better, but Skyrim is adored TO THIS DAY.

[@dragonking2248]

@@lidge1994 Ah, that makes sense.

[@nabodabo1235]

also the baseball player Curt Schilling made some boneheaded financial decisions with the developer and Rhode Island

[@flickflack]

A thank you to Ellen. Her endless praising of KoA:R got me to buy it out of curiosity and I have to say, it's well worth the price. I really quite liked it. It's a solid game.

[@MystFox1314]

As stated by a reviewer on Steam: "Ellen was right." After I first heard of KoA:R thanks to Ellen, I actually noticed it among my stepdad's old Xbox 360 games and started playing it

[@Nero_Eclipse]

KoA:Re-Reckoning is also worth it, plus comes with all the dlc

[@Naemen]

@@Nero_Eclipse I have the original game and I love it. I've been hesitant to buy the Re: version due to the "mixed" reviews on Steam. Am I daft to listen to those reviews? I mean, I loved it from the beginning.

[@michaelfalestal6748]

@@MystFox1314 o

[@firemoonlily]

@@MystFox1314 I found a copy with my boyfriend's 360 games, remembered Ellen's MANY rants about it, mentioned I was thinking about playing it, and then my boyfriend started gushing about it. They were both right, its SO FUN

[@OwlNightwind]

Tbh, kingdoms of amalur was a good game. The issue was that it didn’t have the add revenue that Skyrim had.

[@KotCR]

Brand recognition too. Elder Scrolls had a legacy, with Morrowind and Oblivion both being massively successful, so people knew it would be decent. Kingdoms of Amalur was a brand new untested IP, and so most people didn't pay any attention or didn't want to take a chance and stayed in "wait and see" mode for much too long; Getting fully absorbed in Skyrim and then simply forgetting KoA was even a thing.

[@CDRaff]

That, and the company was helmed by an idiot. Schilling was spending like crazy, not only did he blow through the $75 million that RI gave the studio he blew through most of the money he made playing baseball(like over 100 million dollars). Then when the company was out of money he kept it secret from everyone, letting them come into work thinking they were going to get paid only to find empty bank accounts on payday. The worst part of the whole fiasco is that Schilling wasn't paying the company's heath insurance bill and when the coverage for all his employees and their families lapsed he didn't tell them. One of the company VPs found out when his wife's bone marrow transplant was nearly canceled because they didn't have insurance anymore. This living sack of trash water wants to be in congress too. IIRC he is planning on running in 2022.

[@defiant4eva]

@@CDRaff Okay, I would like to see sources on this. As it differs a lot from the events, that I know of. Firstly it was a company with multiple people at the top, not just Schilling, as if he was some sort of bad comic book villain. There was CEO Jenifer Maclean, you know what CEO stands for right. Anyway, yes they burnt through the 75 million of the RI loan, but that was to be expected, it was a loan, and it was given so they could move locations and an agreement for hiring people or starting 450 jobs but no schilling didn't sink 100 million into the company as games development, it was spent on the dozen count settlements from civil court cases that came at him and others that ran the company, after the company had closed. It also wasn't 100 million, it was closer to 50-60 million. Anyway, there was CTO, CFO, etc etc, and if the VP wasn't aware of the company financial problems, then the guy sucked at his job, as he should be well aware of that sort of thing, from company meetings and reports that would come his way, and have access too. I am not saying Schilling is a good guy, but there was multiple people that run that company, and who have a lot of blame at their feet. As always it is the workers that suffer, as the rich get richer and the guys at the bottom get shafted. However, I remember reading an article back at the time, and a lot of employees said they saw it all coming because departments in the company were being rearranged and/or getting shut down. Also, most of the employees were contractors, and they had seen this all before in other companies, and so were already preparing themselves for the day. As they were veterans of the gaming industry. If you know anything about the industry, you know a few things, 90% of developers are contracted, and 99% of studios that open, close or are bought up. It is a billion-dollar industry, that is unstable as fuck. It is also why studios or publishers don't like change or, want a franchise they can milk.

[@CDRaff]

@@defiant4eva Schilling literally admitted to all of it in court and in an interview he gave to Boston Magazine. I think he even admitted it on the World of Warcraft podcast The Instance. Also, yes there were other people in management involved, but they weren't and couldn't have been involved with his PERSONAL finances. That is where the problem came in, when he started putting his personal money into it without oversight and without being honest about it.

[@krislarsen6546]

It was a super awesome solid game too it's too bad

[@hngongstring]

What there was of Too Human was fun. The combat system was intuitive and cool. It just felt like there was a significant chunk missing.

[@tomhiggins4651]

“They called it duke nukem begins, probably because it was to ambitious to call it duke nukem finished” Jesus, did you give them some ice for that 3rd degree burn?

[@CryBlueofZ]

Nah they dead

[@LittleNemoGaming]

It's actually not good to put ice on a burn wound. So I hear.

[@CryBlueofZ]

@@LittleNemoGaming that's why they're dead

[@ab-wz2ny]

one of the best lines of the episode lol

[@SpeedyJ54]

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning was an amazing game. I wish it had gotten the sequels it deserved.

[@PhoenixBorn666]

Same. I've played it so many times

[@Stand_By_For_Mind_Control]

It was pretty good. But my god it doesn't hold up.

[@marhawkman303]

@SCP - 1669 - 45 yeah, KoA's problem wasn't the game, but the excessive overspending to make it.

[@shaymorcormick8743]

@@Stand_By_For_Mind_Control tbf neither does Skyrim. Playing vanilla Skyrim makes you realize just how dated that game is. Still I'm sure Todd will announce yet another Skyrim release for the new consoles.

[@Gamer3427]

@@shaymorcormick8743 Probably with all new bugs as an added "feature".

[@jonnoble5624]

Sacrifice and Messiah - two unbelievably groundbreaking and exceptionally replayable games that sank Shiny Entertainment early in the 2000s.

[@JamesSerapio]

Duke Nukem: holds Guinness record for longest development time Star Citizen: challenge accepted

[@___Nightbreeze]

Well, I think Duke Nukem will still have it because the game needs to have been realized / properly released in order to count. I don't see Star Citizen ever having a full release. It'll just get left in an incomplete state.

[@shadowwolf2122]

I remember playing duke nukem 3d when I was younger and then playing duke nukem forever and being like what happened?

[@michaelpirrone]

I'm not sure SC will win that honor, since it will never actually come out.

[@synapse2441]

I think Warframe actually takes that spot, considering it is still in Open Beta, the first concept existed in the year 2000 under the name of Dark Sector, although considering Digital Extremes did release a game named Dark Sector, this might disqualify it, but considering Warframe uses the original ideas, I think it would still qualify. But there were some breaks during the development from what I know, so not sure, oh yeah, and it might have to leave Beta to be considered complete and therefore qualify.

[@SheosMan117]

Oh....it can be easily topped. By a game I don't think was ever officially cancelled. I only need to give you a single hint as to which game. 3.

[@peschionator7873]

Such a shame that Kingdoms of Amalur wont see another entry. They had really good ideas like giving mages actual weapons with basic combos unlike other games (*cough* skyrim *cough*) that make you entirely reliant on mana and spamming the same 3 spells in a fight. I liked the specific benefits you got when you either sticked to a classic archetype or mixed them together and got cool interactions like a poisoning teleport dash. I would love to see those concepts developed further in another action rpg.

[@StudioThirtyEight]

Man, reviews 15 years ago were actually useful.

[@everythingsalright1121]

38 studio made kingdom of amalur. Are u them

[@StudioThirtyEight]

@@everythingsalright1121 I am not.

[@skipperg4436]

yup, back then publisher didn't bought "journalists" or in other words reviews were written by real journalists and not by publisher marketing department

[@KuueenKumi]

And brutally honest

[@ElFrogge]

@@skipperg4436 I'm going to buy you a dictionary

[@Hailstormand]

I'm here just to listen at Ellen's unrelenting adoration and heartbreakingly sorrowful sobs.

[@kriscynical]

Haze being "overproduced" makes me think of my digital illustration prof in art school who cautioned all of us to let a piece be finished when it's finished instead of "noodling it to death". Which is the correct technical term for it, of course.

[@johnoneil9188]

Kingdoms of Amalur was actually a fun game and I enjoyed my time with it a lot after Ellen convinced me to give it a shot.

[@ddjsoyenby]

ellen gave us the best reccomendation.

[@PrinceSilvermane]

My experience with KoA was positive for the most part, then a show stopping bug utterly corrupted my game that I was 10 to 15 hours in already and I stopped playing.

[@elvesrus]

"I'm sure that one person was very happy" Yes, Yes I was, and I even had to go through customer service to get that offer to work.

[@PatrickLongblkwhtrbbt]

Vampire The Masquerade bloodlines managed to sink Troika games, but developed into a cult classic afterwards. Its sequel seems to have ruined Hardsuit, but only time will tell i guess

[@JamesSerapio]

Given that they went back to the drawing board with a new developer around the same date as the delayed planned release date... I'd say it's borked

[@PatrickLongblkwhtrbbt]

@@JamesSerapio the gameplay we saw on Oxbox looked so fun too 😭

[@Hudson316]

To be fair, Temple of Elemental Evil had sold about half as many copies as Arcanum and VTM Bloodlines sold a bit over half of ToEE's sales so they were struggling for a while, and both ToEE and VTM Bloodlines suffered from horrible bug issues at launch. Troika tried to get the rights to make Fallout 3 but Bethesda outbid them for the rights and Troika went under.

[@BLScoop5]

Hardsuit Labs wasn't "ruined" as so much they were "sacked for gross incompetence" given, amongst other problems, unceremoniously sacking the head writer! (unfortunately his name escapes me but iirc he was the one who wrote the first Bloodlines and was touted in marketing tours for the sequel quite heavily...) the poor b'stard only found out about his lost job _via social media!_ Edit: changed the studio name because we both got it wrong.

[@JohnZ117]

@@Hudson316 Bug issues, yes, but I'd say being released the same day as Half-Life 2 had more of an effect on sales.

[@Yora21]

I'm always hugely skeptical when a game is marketed with the name of the lead designer. It never seems to result in a good game.

[@Ajehy]

Unless it’s Kojima. He’s crazy enough to break that rule too.

[@LordHammer33]

Civilization begs to differ

[@Fyrmer]

American McGee's Alice

[@Lakhshamana]

@@LordHammer33 Pirates was not bad either.

[@samuelmorse784]

@@Ajehy Kojima, Miyamoto, half life 3 creators, are all exceptions to rule

[@margotrosendorn6371]

I vaguely remember playing Too Human, and grinding my teeth in frustration. The combat and weapons were so bad, trying to fight through the trash mobs felt like banging my head against a wall.

[@maxlittlewood]

Wait Haze killed Battlefront 3? This is outrageous, it's unfair!

[@Hudson316]

and Haze, in turn, was pretty much torpedoed by Ubisoft, so in a manner of speaking Ubisoft killed Battlefront 3

[@fireblade295]

After BF2 original, I am glad. THE only good thing in that game is the space battle...and vehicles. Nothing else. Especially that fucking Jedi Temple level...

[@michaelandreipalon359]

It's games like Haze and The Old Republic that kinda ruined Star Wars gaming as a whole. Of course, TOR is still good in its own right, but seriously, KotOR III was the saner option, all while MMORPGs will die out slowly as times pass. Haze, on the other hand, needs to be burned all across the world and be forgotten... apart from a few surviving copies for history's sakes.

[@shadonaifairn85]

@@fireblade295 blasphemy of the highest order

[@Kathychis]

I just want to inform Ellen that she successfully piqued my interest with her continuously pitching Kingdoms of Amalur at us. I've been meaning to get it for a year or so now, and when I saw the remastered version I took it as a sign to finally buy it. It arrived yesterday and I'm very excited to begin playing it for the first time today 😁

[@wulfricr7635]

What're your opinions on it so far?

[@Kathychis]

@@wulfricr7635 Oh my God, it's so fun! I'm loving the combat system and the reckoning moves are just *chef's kiss* spectacular. The overall aesthetic is also great. I didn't realize I wanted to play such a colorful rpg, but apparently I did and I'm having THE BEST TIME

[@r.j.penfold]

@@Kathychis :)

[@scootinloaf]

I love kingdoms of amular! It's my favorite video game

[@Kathychis]

@@scootinloaf I'm having loads of fun playing Kingdoms of Amalur. It has the most fun combat system I've ever played in a game. I think it would be my second favourite game after Dragon Age Inquisition.

[@aymanibrahim9736]

I loved too human, i was addicted to Norse mythology and got it on pre-owned for like 5 bucks after a few months of release, I did not like it at first, but i played on, the story gets really great, and you get used to the shortcomings in a while and as your character powers up, I am still waiting for part 2 😂 and i check every 2-3 years if there are plans to make one

[@festro1000]

Hey, I love Kingdoms of Amalur and will swear by chakrams being the best weapons in the game, and Ainmhi's "What is the meaning of this" is still my go-to line where applicable.

[@TheArtistLuna]

CHAKRAMS!!!!

[@ericmurray5441]

Best weapons for a pussy magic dex user. Pure magic build will not only out damage you but I’ll have better sustain.

[@festro1000]

@@ericmurray5441 What makes you think I'm any part dex? I just like the animation still have a staff as my backup.

[@GhengisJohn]

4:18, I heard Laura spending her time solving a murder mystery and suddenly thought how much better/different Murder She Wrote would be if Angela Lansbury also brandished two handguns wherever she went.

[@DeuxLeftHands]

I'd watch that

[@Legendary_Detective-Wobbuffet]

Murder She Did.

[@TigerofRobare]

How would she get any writing done?

[@mooniejohnson]

@@TigerofRobare Pens that pop out of the guns like weird bayonets.

[@marhawkman303]

@SCP - 1669 - 45 Nah, she didn't actually kill anyone. It is strange how she was so close to so many murders though.... But she had a reputation in-universe for detective skills. IIRC some of them weren't cases she was actually close to and were actually things she was asked to investigate.

[@RiptideShark]

I remember loving Too Human, and being incredibly bummed that there was no sequel for it. The combat system was very unique.

[@jprofio]

I saw the title and immediately knew there'd be a section on Kingdoms of Amalur. It's a great game, and I love talking about how it did a number on Rhode Island's economy

[@colemandustun883]

thats rhode islands fault tbh .

[@jprofio]

@@colemandustun883 The Rhode Island Board of Economic Development, to be precise. They didn't understand the cost/profit of a new game studio and put in a lot more than it would make even if it was a hit

[@ReXtion88]

Without wishing to diminish Ellen's pain, I had been looking forward to Too Human ever since its first ever teaser waaaaaaay back before the GameCube came out. By the time it actually came out I was definitely way past done, but it was still a blow. The core concept was pretty sweet

[@lc9245]

KoA asides, this video reminded me that we lost one of the last arcade shooter developer, Free Radical, because of Haze; and Deux Ex, Ion Storm independence, due to Daikatana. Silicon Knight also made a lot of good stuffs, Legacy of Kane and Eternal Darkness were fun, creative and unique. Those guys loss made me at least as much as sad as Ellen with KoA. Does anyone remembers Massive Entertainment World in Conflict? That was a great game despite its heavy bias. Ubisoft shuts down all unique, fun ideas for generic shooter games...

[@getshwifty3101]

*Sees Amalur: The Reckoning in thumbnail* Me: Oh, I possibly wonder who's pick that was, and will be talking about it. *Whispers* Ellen.

[@nightmarishcompositions4536]

While the story and characters didn’t interest me much, Kingdoms of Amalur had the funnest combat and exploration in an open world rpg I’ve ever played. Most open world rpgs suffer from boring combat and empty worlds. Dragon’s Dogma was also great.

[@Nedk82]

I actually LOVED KOA when it first came out, it felt soooo ahead of its time and I enjoyed every minute of it. When I heard a remaster was in the works I was excited because I remembered how passionate I was about koa. Sadly the remaster wasn’t done well and to todays standards koa felt very aged and not what I remembered. Maybe if they put a bit more tlc into the remaster it would have done much better I think.

[@ericmurray5441]

Though I respect you on your opinion but comparison to another remakes koa is a fantastic remake that adds new dlc. Your not a actual fan you just a casual.

[@MrZer093]

Something interesting about Tabula Rasa’s development is that Richard Garriot didn’t have much to do with it. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but that he couldn’t fit it in his schedule as he was training to go into space (as that is something that takes months of prep work after all). NCSoft rushed it out the door before he could come back and give it his proper attention. He later remarked that it was unfortunate that there was a scheduling conflict and he very much wanted Tabula Rasa to succeed but going into space was a childhood dream of his and “go to space” isn’t something you can just reschedule. Hard to say if it would have even succeeded even if he was there and even if it wasn’t rushed out and we’ll never know.

[@redwolfexr]

Yeah, Tabula was screwed by NC Soft. Then they tried to screw Garriott and he took them to the cleaners. (I never really likely Garriott's attitude, but NC is worse) Of course the aftermath of Garriott winning his case was that they shut down all the OTHER US based properties that they had - including those that WERE making a profit. And they never sell off anything, ever. So at least 3 other games including City of Heroes bit the dust when Garriott won.

[@irrespondible]

@@redwolfexr Oh... so Tabula Rasa killed City of Heroes... strange case of a bad MMO killing a good one... from the grave, I would say. Then again, CoH is alive thanks to the Homecoming project which NC Soft's remnants won't close qith feat to having to admit that somebody manages to get their source code to restore the game.

[@redwolfexr]

@@irrespondible Yeah, I tried Homecoming. I just couldn't get into the game without all the friends I had before.. the server was just sorta impersonal. It also hurt that I lost all my characters, I had like 10 top level and 4 that were well along the post-game. Especially my Warshade.

[@irrespondible]

@@redwolfexr I guess so.

[@azazelleblack]

Everyone's talking about Ellen and Amalur and I'm just over here gutted as I remember how much fun I had playing Tabula Rasa. :(

[@TechnoSpice]

The early version of Tabula Rasa was a techno-archana game with magi-tech in it and summons that looked like mythical creatures. It was pretty dope. I remember when it was rebooted during development and became an FPS I was super disappointed. Early screenshots had me excited.

[@thomasboys7216]

Tabula Rasa was a pretty decent game in the end the Logos system and character cloning were some interesting takes. Wasted potential, honestly.

[@Raz0rking]

What I liked about Amalur was that it did feel like a MMO without everything around it that makes MMO bad

[@charlottestreet3301]

I really enjoyed xmen desney which got bad reviews

[@MinistryOfMagic_DoM]

Guys, I got it! Star Citizen is actually done but CIG is just going for the record for longest game in development! Obviously. Now does Guiness count the time they spent pre-Kickstarter or do we only get to count from the end of Kickstarter? Hmmm. Either way we're currently approaching either 12 or 10 years.

[@Jeridiculous]

CIG?

[@steeleye2112]

It won't matter as an actual finished game will never see the light of day so there won't actually be a Star Citizen development time as such.

[@MichellePondueCruz]

Lol, you think that's long? I literally grew grey hair in the time it took for Shenmue 3 to come out. I'll be dead and gone by 4 at this rate.

[@Sneakyspace]

That makes so much sense

[@Zoso14892]

@@MichellePondueCruz Waiting for them to decide to make a game isn't the same as being stuck in development though. It took 4 years from announcing the game to release it.

[@madanotap6492]

Welp. I guess we can now add Concord to the list

[@Seinari]

It hurts to see Kingdoms of Amalur in this list, but Re-Reckoning gives me hope for a future sequel

[@Mattocon757]

I just want 2-4 player co-op man.

[@Seinari]

@@Mattocon757 I'm more of a single player game guy myself but a 2-4 Co op could be interesting

[@TheMeta141]

i'm actually pretty annoyed by Re-Reckoning. sure it IS a graphical upgrade from the original but really if you're going to try getting back into the Amalur world why not make a sequel? gurantee you'd sell more copies than Re-Reckoning has

[@Seinari]

@@TheMeta141 yeah you do pose a good point, I guess they thought they would get a bigger audience with a remake of the original.

[@Mattocon757]

@@Seinari i think it could be done in the game as is, just make the enemy spawns more numerous. the ally NPCs always do very little anyway.

[@robbutler3902]

I wonder if they made Ellen call the game she loves a studio killer or if she volunteered. Like "No Paw, I'll do it. Yeller is my dog."

[@theOGLovelace]

This is the greatest, and most accurate, content I think I've ever read. I laughed so hard I made myself sad XD

[@pierre-marcvaughan1875]

Rise of Nations by Big Huge is also massively underrated. The finest historical rts ever made by far. It's a joke that it still doesn't have a sequel.

[@garetheggleston7807]

Ellen crying over the “Legends of Amalur” non-happening is quite possibly the most soul destroying thing I’ve ever heard 😭

[@2st486]

and rightfully so

[@scootinloaf]

Kingdoms of amular was my first rpg, so I have an emotional connection to it seeing as I grew up playing it. But even with that said, the combat, the character building, the character development, and even the leveling up system is magnificent. I grew up with these characters and the first time I completed the game, I cried. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone.

[@Zephy_Sky]

Ooof... hearing someone "grew up playing kingdoms of amalur" makes me feel really old. It just feels like yesterday when that game first came out to me.

[@HawnixArtistry]

Agreed..I'm currently playing it now for the first time and I'm loving it.

[@grimreaper8300]

I grew up playing reckoning and skyrim. More reckoning because I didnt get skyrim till later

[@thomascolucci4984]

Do you know i own the statue from the game got the collectors edition its so huge i love it lol

[@ianwilkinson5069]

@@grimreaper8300 I grew up playingff7, the legend of dragoon, Chrono cross and Jade cacoon...now I feel old lol.

[@healsallwounds]

Two additions for the list if there's a Part 2: Forspoken - While the game sold fairly well, the critical reception was so poor that the studio which made it, Luminious Productions, got folded up into Square Enix. Saint's Row: The remake's poor sales and reviews contributed to the death of Volition. Its parent company had a $2 billion deal fall through with Saudi Arabian investors, so they announced a re-structuring, and Volition was the first to get the axe.

[@lorelthedragon]

I seem to remember Okami led to Clover Studios sinking, causing the staff to form Platinum games, for better or worse... (as in, worse for okami fans as the rights lie out of the creators' hands and with publisher Capcom).

[@Sophie_the_Sapphic]

I'm pretty sure god hand was more too blame for clover shutting down.

[@lorelthedragon]

@@Sophie_the_Sapphic oh yeah that's probably the case, seems like barely anyone played it

[@marhawkman303]

@@lorelthedragon I can easily see how Bayonetta is like Godhand, but somewhat less insane... somewhat. Then we have that other game by Platinum about Raiden... Metal Gear Revengeance.... I think it was called? yeah... real easy to see how that was from the same devs as Godhand. :p

[@DR3ADER1]

@@Sophie_the_Sapphic Clover was going to be shuttered regardless of how successful Okami and God Hand were. Capcom were actually in a bit of a financial pickle in 2006 due to them spending billions of yen building the MT Framework engine for HD consoles.

[@DR3ADER1]

@@marhawkman303 MadWorld is the actual spiritual successor to God Hand, it even has the same camera position and a similar health bar design.

[@jojotheswede8444]

we need to cheer up ellen, throw some cats at her or something

[@davidburnett5049]

The tabula rasa joke at the end was solid. Well done sir

[@MichaelSmith-zw5fu]

The only revolution happening is my revolving my eyes at the name "Superfly Johnson"

[@jonathanwessner3456]

I really enjoyed playing Kingdoms of Amalur. I still have it installed on my system. I loved how the crafting system actually let you build really good weapons and armor. I also loved how you could get super powerful weapons early

[@alucardbunche4197]

Have you played the remaster it’s really fun

[@jonathanwessner3456]

@@alucardbunche4197 yes, I need to reload it though. had my game drive fail hard and suddenly. Got a new one, but still don't have all my games on it

[@jonathanwessner3456]

@matt alan I found a named sword early on, and until like the final area, i couldn't even build something stronger than it

[@QueenOfTheSea101]

super powerful weapons early, especially when you have all 3 steam DLC to go with it and get that chest of cheaty-mccheatster powerful gear in very first town when you first get there that you can tear apart and rebuild .... yeah, that was fun.

[@ZanathKariashi]

my only gripe was that the game really needed a higher difficulty mode that would continue to scale enemies up to the maximum of the zone, instead of locking them at the level you first entered (or the minimum) and maybe a higher combat weight cap (mods for re-reconkening sort of fill this niche so that works alright for now). I ended up ignoring a lot of the crafting/enchanting because it just made the game way too easy, especially once you got used to the combat mechanics (it's definitely fine for people struggling with the combat systems though, which is why I'd have preferred a higher veteran player difficulty as opposed to just blanket buff/nerfs (and iirc the devs actually stated they were look in to making one based on player feedback but the company went under before they could)).

[@GentlyUsedFrog]

NCsoft truly had a bad problem of ruining games and then abandoning them right before shutting them down. RIP Wildstar and Master X Master, you've done well.

[@AchtungBeccaC]

"A violent slide show" is the kind of line that makes me laugh way more than it should. Just cracked me up. Oh, also Rhode Island owning KoA...simple, odd things make me laugh.

[@Alex_K221]

As a Rhode Islander I remember the huge scandal about it. It was all over the local news. What happened (if I remember correctly) was the council was given a whole bunch of money to give to small businesses and help the economy. Most of that money went to 38 studios. The rest is history. A side effect of this was that the Paw Sox moved to Wooster, Massachusetts because one of the members that was on the council was still upset at it. Governor Chafee ran for President in 2016 , his main platform being to switch America over to the Metric system. He got only 1% and dropped out of the race.

[@rjmacready5151]

@@Alex_K221 It's like Florida's brother.

[@Alex_K221]

@@rjmacready5151 The only difference is that Florida is more well known than Rhode Island. (Which I don’t know if that’s a bad thing or not). But yeah, we at Rhode Island have a motto: “I know a guy. Don’t ask any questions”

[@joshuaporterfield6774]

@@Alex_K221 because nothing says 21st century president like focusing on the metric system. That’s what Americans really care about!

[@Llortnerof]

@@joshuaporterfield6774 You mean 20th century. The rest of us is still waiting for you to catch up. Though i don't think KoA really fits in here. It's something of the inverse, the studio sinking the game rather than the game the studio.

[@sheldonpetrie3706]

We never got a sequel to Eternal Darkness 😭

[@Toastmaster_5000]

Yeah, that is a real shame. That will always be one of the most interesting games I'll have ever played.

[@anthonyfaiell3263]

Kingdom of Amalur and Too Human were actually solid games. . Too human had a really fun style of combat that used the right analog stick in a way no other game really had done before. It also had fun levels with an engaging character development system through gear, runes, abilities and talents. Each class felt unique. And enemies had unique designs that required specific gameplay strategies. It's crazy to me that people would rather play braindead ARPG's like Diablo over something like Too Human. . Kingdom of amalur was just a great real time 3d action RPG. The combat was satisfying, with a wide array of different build paths and character interactions. . It's unfortunate that just being a "solid game" is not nearly enough to make a game successful.

[@anarchyantz1564]

Thanks to Ellen being right (best review ever on steam!) I purchased Kingdoms of Amalur and is one of my favourite RPG's in years!

[@shadowsleuth4078]

I'm replaying KOA now. Still as good as the first playthrough.

[@sennageneux784]

We know this is your alt account, Ellen

[@shadowsleuth4078]

@@sennageneux784 No, just another fan of the game. But I first learned of the game from her videos.

[@CainLatrani]

Ellen's love for this game convinced me to buy a console for the first time since the original Xbox came out, just so I could play it. I have no regrets and am currently on my twelfth play through. Meanwhile, haven't finished my first play through of Skyrim.

[@jamiedanielvincent6940]

It's actually possible to finish the game?

[@richardwhitehead6966]

Well, if KoA can be on this list despite being a good game, then I would add VTM:B for finishing off Troika. Brilliant game, even better with the fan patches, but just didn't sell enough copies to save the company as it was competing against HL2

[@weasel_in_a_tophat]

13:12 Old companies don't die, they just change names.

[@fireblade295]

Imagine in another reality, we all could play with Ellen in an MMO. Maybe even a guild.

[@ronstacy6489]

Koa is one of my all time favorite games, played through many times and bought re reckoning.

[@untoldtales8300]

I remember the Kingdoms of Amalur thing. A former superstar baseball player/world of warcraft nerd wanted to make a WoW killer and underestimated the massive endeavor that would be. Somehow they were able to spin out a great single-player rpg in the same world, but continued to sink tons of money in the MMO that was doomed to fail rather than fully pivot to what worked. He then blamed the governor of Rhode Island for publicly calling the whole thing a disaster as the reason for the studio's failure.

[@nemoniemand9264]

Ellen should make a Twitch and dedicate it almost exclusively to the memory of this lost gem

[@Omnifarious0]

Ellen playing up her love of Kingdoms of Amalur is pretty amusing.

[@3RAN7ON]

7:13 this is like a line from the Room movie. "Oh, hi Mark"

[@MazTheOriginalGod]

Skyrim: A game about killing Dragons, 38 studios and the creators of Rise of Nations.

[@inaraoftyria3878]

I still have a copy of Rise of Nations in my house somewhere. Lol. Is a prized possession lol

[@bowen324]

I found out about Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning in 2017, and bought it for 5 dollars. I would have paid full price had I know about it when it was coming out. It was an amazing game. Ellen is right. It is easily the best game on the list and could have been a major IP if the studio had budgeted out correctly... and maybe had worked a little harder to advertise the game.

[@682logan]

I might have been a little shallow when the game came out, I absolutely could not stand the voice acting.

[@ghosty2270]

Idk why but I absolutely loved Too Human I found it hella fun to play, hard but fun