Here is the review of the first chapter of the new “saga” of the Riot Forge house, Ruined King: A League of Legends Story: the Harvest is rampant on Runeterra!
The November 16 has been released on various consoles and on PC Ruined King: A League of Legends Story, the first of the Riot Games single player RPGs (more specifically, Riot Forge): it must be premised that this review is done by a person completely external to the world of the most played MOBA in the world (it has already reached 180 million active players!), but that going on with the history of Miss Fortune and the other heroes she totally fell in love with the settings and characters.
Riot has recently released a lot of news on future games, both of the A League of Legends Story series, like the title on Ekko, and also of the fighting game set in the LoL universe. The greatest success, which is bringing many laymen closer to the world of Runeterra is Arcane, the Netflix series inspired by the lore of many League of Legends characters, focusing on the twin cities of Piltover e Zaun. Are you ready to embark on this adventure? Destination: the Blood Docks of Bilgewater!
Welcome to Bilgewater!
The game starts at Bilgewater, a port city often inhabited by shady figures who are not very recommendable, where the regent Sarah Fortune he must give a show of strength to some former loyalists of the “late” captain Gangplank, which for years has now stopped holding the city in its grip. Immediately after, the Dark fog, a curse that affects more and more territories of Runeterra, returns to the city to claim new victims: this time, however, the target seems to be Captain Fortune. The woman, therefore, will have to find unlikely allies against an enemy that does not yet have a face yet.
This is how Ruined King: A League of Legends Story begins, and this is where my adventure in the world of League of Legends began. As a profane of the genre, with years of various RPGs behind me (especially World of Warcraft), I found myself quite well: Bilgewater it looks a lot like the capital of Kul Tiras Boralus (anyone who has played the expansion of WoW Battle for Azeroth knows what I mean: it is in fact a port city structured on several levels) and it is great that you can to explore in a very free way (apart from some areas that are temporarily unavailable for plot reasons).
Another thing to appreciate is the presence of side missions and of sizes to be collected: they enrich the game, make it more alive. Unwelcome, however, the way in which you come across side missions by chance (unless you find theInformant, which also unlocks a PlayStation Trophy), and that the bounty board is quite hidden. Also thanks to one unclear map (you have to press the touchpad every time, for those who have played it on PS4), finding your way around is really difficult in Bilgewater, with all the NPCs present. However, by pressing R3 we will see with what is possible to interact in the space surrounding our character.
I personaggi e la lore – Review Ruined King: A League of Legends Story
At the level of the general storyline of the games, it was confirmed by the manufacturing company that the facts of Ruined King predate the event that involved all the Riot titles belonging to the continent of Runeterra: the Ruin. Here too is the Dark fog, which from the Dark Isles off Bilgewater (which we will be able to visit later in the game) has moved to the rest of the surrounding world. With the Ruin event, characters like Viego, Gwen and Akhshan have been introduced to the world of League, and just Viego makes his appearance in Ruined King: he is, in fact, the Re in Rovina of the game, and its story is revealed in the opening credits.
The original playable heroes of Bilgewater are Miss Fortune and the priestess of the serpent goddess Illaoi: the two had collaborated in the past, as will be seen in some cinematics, but there is no good blood between them. Together with them Pyke, returned from the dead to take revenge on those who tried to kill him: at the beginning of the game, the champion will hunt down the captains of the Bloody Harbor to satisfy his thirst for revenge.
Braum, the gentle giant, arrives from the Freljord in hopes of finding a cure for a mysterious disease that is afflicting the children of his land; Ahri e Yasuoinstead, they land from Ionia, and both seek redemption (and artifacts related to the Dark Isles). These six characters manage to work together and put aside their differences to unravel the mystery of the islands off the coast of Bilgewater, where the Mist comes from.
As for the other characters from the Riot house games, some appear directly (like Gangplank, ready to take back the city, or Thresh, the jailer of the Shadow Isles), while others are only mentioned as Easter Eggs in some tales scattered around the explorable areas (such as Gwen, Riven or Fizz).
Turn-Based Battles and Lanes – Ruined King: A League of Legends Story Review
So we come to the sore point of this review, because the combat mechanisms of Ruined King: A League of Legends Story are probably the least convincing part of the game. The fights, in fact, develop through a classic turn-based combat, which however turns out to be little intuitive and perhaps excessively complex. lanes in fights it is a further difficulty, for a game that already in normal mode is rather difficult (the story mode is more suitable for those who want to discover the story and the characters without having to make too much effort in the fights).
There are three lanes in all: that of the speed, which allows you to attack more quickly, that ofBalance (neutral) and that of power, which increases the damage taken by enemies (or healing points against the team). The lanes, and the turn system, are a mechanism that the player must get used to quickly, especially if you decide to play with higher difficulties to story mode. Then having six characters available, the combinations to get a good team of three champions to face the great variety of enemies in the city of Bilgewater and the dungeons of the Dark Isles.
The player can customize the abilities of each character in the menu Skills, empowering those he deems most useful in the fight. Be careful, though, because skill points will be awarded as the champion levels up, as will the runes (applicable in the menu Rune); l’equipmentInstead, it can either be bought from in-game merchants or found in chests scattered throughout the explorable world. Characters level up by earning experience points at the end of each fight, but the XP allocation is pretty unfair, especially in the fights against the bosses and mini bosses: the distribution among the participants in the fight would seem almost done more following the case than the merit.
The graphics, soundtrack and dubbing – Ruined King: A League of Legends Story review
So let’s go back to the strong points of this new title from Riot. There graphics of the game, which alternates between 3D and 2D, is very pleasant, and never feels flat. The 3D exploration and special moves of each character during the fight blend with the dialogues and the spectacular 2D cinematics, which despite being monochromatic at times are alive and engaging. The drawings are well done, and the stories are very well explained.
Another great feature of the game is the soundtrack. The background music is perfectly in tune with the game, especially inspired by seafaring songs and a touch of Pirates of the Caribbean. Riot has managed to channel a gloomy and at the same time engaging atmosphere into Ruined King thanks to the apt soundtrack that makes you want to listen more. Missing a hit, it’s true (like Enemy of Imagine Dragons for Arcane), but other games have survived without, and their soundtracks are still heavily listened to.
Speaking of the dubbing, here too, hats off for a job well done. The voices are spot on compared to the characters, there are no smudges, everything flows perfectly. Sometimes the voice does not reflect what is written on the subtitle, but it is about semantic differences, rather than real meaning. If the game had remained in English as far as the dialogues are concerned, it would probably have been less enjoyable for the Italian public, while in this way you can totally immerse yourself in the story.
Final remarks
To be honest, I didn’t have high expectations from Ruined King: A League of Legends Story, and when they asked me to write a review I was quite skeptical. I have never been a huge fan of League of Legends, and the complaints I had read about the game about the various online communities had left me perplexed.
Apparently, it all stems from the fact that Riot has always developed games free to play, which however offered optional paid content (skins and related). This new saga, A League of Legends Story, will feature various champions from the continent of Runeterra, and will expand their history and background. For those like me who are approaching League of Legends and its characters for the first time, Ruined King is a great start: the story is well developed, and it’s understandable even for those new to the world; veterans, on the other hand, will love the various references to the other titles, although they will probably be less enticed to play it due to the price (which, however, is not so high).
And you? What do you think of this review, are you already playing Ruined King: A League of Legends Story too? Let us know! Remember to follow TechGameWorld.com for the latest news in the sector, and for unmissable offers on video games and similar, visit Instant Gaming!
“The bigger the risk, the bigger the loot”
Points in favor
- Great texture
- Captivating characters with a pretty solid lore behind them
- Chance to explore areas of Bilgewater and the Dark Isles
- Spectacular cinematics and perfectly themed soundtrack
- Dubbing in Italian definitely spot on
Points against
- Cumbersome gameplay
- Price, perhaps, excessive
- Unclear map
- Allocation of Experience Points to be reviewed