For League of Legends fans, Hextech Mayhem is a rather different game than what one would expect from the series: here’s our review
Riot Games in recent times appears unleashed in terms of news, announcing in surprise the immediate release of the two new titles Ruined King: A League of Legends Story, and the game protagonist of this review, Hextech Mayhem: A League of Legends Story. In addition, it was also able to approach horizons that go beyond the gaming industry, counting how recently many users, perhaps not too accustomed to the videogame media, have certainly approached League of Legends through the animated series Arcane.
In it there are a large number of characters from within the Runeterra universe, where the entire lore of each IP connected in some way to League originates. And after having given a first taste of this huge videogame world, it will certainly not have been complicated to remain intrigued and fascinated, wishing to learn more about the history and facets of the videogame series.
The Riot Games metaverse
In case you want to try to delve into this complex and articulated franchise, but don’t have too much of a vein for MOBAs or for strategic games in general, Riot has taken steps to make it easier for you to introduce yourself to this world, releasing titles from the much less demanding style of play and more focused on fun. Among the various options that can be screened, Legends of Runeterra appears among the candidates: it is a free-to-play card game released just over a year, great rival of Hearthstone and Magic: The Gathering.
Then also joins the aforementioned Ruined King, a single player style RPG with turn-based combat, developed by the same studio as Darksiders: Genesis. And for those looking to still get a taste of a champion already seen in the animated series, there will also be CONV / RGENCE: A League of Legends Story in 2022, with the protagonist Ekko and the city of Zaun and a more style of play. action platformer.
But if we want to consider something different instead and even more peculiar, difficult to imagine for a title with roots deeply embedded in logic and reasoning speed like LoL, our eyes (and ears) will have to direct towards the title developed by Choice Provisions, Hextech Mayhem: in our review, we will see what it comes exactly.
Bombs Per Minute – Hextech Mayhem Review
Let’s start this Hextech Mayhem review by defining the aspect that catches the eye both to fans of the franchise and to the less experienced: appearing at first glance as a rhythmic game, linked in terms of lore and characters to the well-known League of Legends and inserting settings and appearing in it, the game presents itself in an extremely different way from typical action and RPG styles representing the original title.
Developing in the form of a platforming genre, focused on race to the goal, the rhythm will be the protagonist, leading the player to try to press the keys following the music in the most correct way possible. The title with arcade gameplay and a movement based on horizontal scrolling, blends everything with stylized graphics in 2D, making the most of the variety of melodies and music produced.
Heimerdinger e Ziggs, two champions of League of polar opposite character, will end up colliding several times over the course of the levels. By creating ever larger inventions and weapons with the strangest shapes, all to do battle and establish who is the real genius present in Piltover, they will be equipped with weapons as diverse as they are effective: Ziggs will be armed with his “hexesplosive” grenades, Heimerdinger of his building mind.
The Yin and the Yan – Hextech Mayhem Review
As for the backgrounds that we will see flowing along the various stages of Hextech Mayhem, we can clearly expect scenarios from League of Legends, such as Piltover and Zaun. Due to a well-defined lore within the LoL universe, the game only has to resume its characteristics, explored through the crazy and devastating prospect of the protagonist that we will control, Ziggs.
We will visit Piltover, an enchanting place in continuous growth and a lasting evolution. This town, powerful and maintained by the order, is the hub of creative culture, commercial and engineering office on the continent further north of Runeterra, Valoran. Progress is what moves the society of this place, and it leads to important advances in power that make it one of the most influential places in the nation. In short, it is a city for luminaries.
Piltover, thanks to its abundance of technologies and novelties, boasts the largest number of inventors, attracting creative spirits from all over the world. It is also the home of the most illustrious and eccentric professor, scientist and inventor Cecil B. Heimerdinger. In addition, we will also have the opportunity to see the “slums” of Piltover, Zaun, from which Ziggs will emerge.
This area has managed to thrive through the influence that Piltover has exercised (indirectly or not) on it: however, it is a dangerous and hostile place, where they proliferate above all individuals with some wheels out of place, ready to experiment with extreme and unpredictable results, without caring too much about the consequences. A place, however, too narrow and dark for Ziggs, who will want to make his way into the most illustrious world of science, remodeling it by means of the results often obtained with his inventions: numerous explosions.
Contagious Chaos – Hextech Mayhem Review
Being a rythm game, we can guess how music takes on in Hextech Mayhem the dominant role among the various elements to be analyzed in the game review. While it will be necessary to best follow the keys to press during our chaotic race, we will still be able to unleash in various musical improvisations, leaving the margins placed by the notes in the “score” that extends above the various platforms, in order to reach the collectible gears in each level while avoiding interrupting Ziggs’ combos.
The generated sound will be provoked especially from the environment, with the movement of machinery, the gunshots of the guards, the skulls that the protagonist will give while falling on a platform, and many, many explosions. However, these songs will stop unpleasantly if you make a mistake or don’t see a key to press clearly, thus destroying the musical harmony that you were enjoying until a few moments before.
The entertainment given by this growing coupling of rhythmic actions to those typical of a platformer makes the game progress constantly engaging, placing the player as a street musician and with crazy creative veins, who can try to explore new avenues as he progresses through the level.
An innovative spin-off
The bring about new reversals within a videogame saga, wanting to dare and test the various possibilities, is a necessary path to take to continuously evolve a title. Many well-known series have practiced these experiments over the last few years: let’s think for example of how Atlus and Sega wanted to release Persona titles based on rythm games, obtaining a resounding success in Japan, and aWarmer welcome in the weste, which awaited bigger news.
The Yakuza franchise also comes to mind, which starting from Like a Dragon will become a real RPG, despite the discontent of a good part of the fans. Evolving drastically often involves having to pay a certain price, and probably the choice of Riot in giving life to several small alternative titles, connected to League of Legends, has been placed as the safest means with which to show the numerous potential of the work, capable of even entering the audiovisual entertainment market.
Hextech Mayhem comes with some somewhat problematic missteps, such as poorly conceived commands on PC. Either way, it still manages to entertain, and such to attract even the least interested people to delve into the world of League. It is a “caciarone” game from every point of view, which does not want to take itself too seriously; having a rather short duration and focusing mainly on following the music, Hextech Mayhem could be a viable option for those looking to get distracted for a moment. from frustration and anger caused by the mother game.
This was our Hextech Mayhem review; in case you have played the title, let us know what you think. Stay on our website TechGameWorld.com for more news, reviews and guides on video games, and take a look at the Instant Gaming store for new games at discounted prices.
Sorry, grandpa, you broke the inventor’s pace
Points in favor
- Fun and addicting gameplay
- Good degree of challenge
- Very catchy soundtrack
Points against
- Levels with a short duration
- Hard to read button signals to press
- Awkward default commands on PC
- Lack of alternate modes and characters