A pretty good RPG at the core, suffering from a bland story and a severe lack of polish. As an oldhead LoL player who quit LoL itself years ago due to toxicity and multiplayer burnout I was excited for a single-player story-driven experience in this universe, but I ended up leaving the game unsatisfied.

Let's start with some positives. The visuals are generally quite good, with really nice looking in-game models and animations. The models do a great job of capturing something similar to LoL's aesthetic while adapting it slightly to fit into a more focused game with a different camera angle. The opening cutscene depicting the corruption of the Blessed Isles is gorgeous - on par with Arcane. The actual story cutscenes in the campaign unfortunately look terrible in comparison, but let's not get too hung up on that here. The music is great, with a very clear distinction between Bilgewater's music vs. the Shadow Isles'. The character portraits are all of extremely high quality, although I do kind of wish that there were a few variants for different facial expressions and such.

The core combat system is something that I immediately took to as a big fan of FFX. It uses a similar system of "turn-based" combat where the order of turns is fluid and mutable, but takes this concept to a much further extreme. You can change the cast time and cooldown of abilities in exchange for different damage values, you can delay enemy turns and advance ally turns, there's haste and slow effects, there's Doom counters, there's specific effects that trigger only if a character falls into a specific space on the turn order, the works. It's an extremely developed system and one that continued to keep my attention throughout the game's runtime, especially once I turned the difficulty up to Veteran and was suddenly at risk of my DPS characters getting 2-shot by most enemies if I wasn't paying attention. If the combat was worse, I probably would have dropped this game pretty early on.

The biggest issues by far all stem from a crippling lack of polish, in every sense of the word. This feels like a beta version of a game that needed another 6 months or more in the oven to iron out its myriad technical issues and other problems. Let's run through a non-exhaustive list of these issues. If you don't care about the details, feel free to skip this section while noting how large it is.

MECHANICAL BUGS. One of the final bosses turned off all of my characters' runes (passive abilities, essentially), making the fight much harder, but when I died and retried, all runes worked again. Puzzle mechanisms occasionally became frozen and un-interactable for upwards of 30 seconds, forcing me to wait until the game allowed me to progress again. Some (extremely slow) elevators would re-activate before I could get off, forcing me to make the whole trip again. Enemies would become grouped together in multi-wave battles even when they were way farther away than the visual "chain" indicator. Enemies can attack you while you're in a dialogue box or cutscene, and this can cause the whole game to freeze after combat.

VISUAL BUGS. Ahri's orb gets stuck easily and ends up lazily floating around after every battle you initiate with it. Quest markers sometimes show in the wrong spot or don't show up at all. Some chests and lore pickups don't appear on the map, or don't get checked off as "acquired" after picking them up. Miss Fortune's Level 3 Ultimate ability seems to involve her summoning a ship which fires upon enemies, but the ship is invisible making it look awkward and unfinished; the follow-up shot damage also often shows as "[AMOUNT]" instead of a proper damage number. Idle NPC dialogue occasionally gets stuck in a loop on your screen until you're sufficiently out of range. Buff/debuff icons from the previous battle are still active for the first few seconds of the next battle. Hazard and Boon icons sometimes stick around on the turn tracker even when they are not active.

INCONSISTENT ABILITY TEXT. Different abilities word similar effects in different ways, for example one will say "boosts crit chance" while another will say "increases [name of champion]'s crit chance". Some abilities that last a set number of turns don't mention this in the description, and some abilities that stack a buff and then do something at max stacks don't mention the max number of stacks. Some effects say "do X each turn" where "each turn" means your turn, other times it means ANY turn. Attack Power is alternately called Attack, Atk Pwr, and AP. Some abilities will modify values in the description when you upgrade them (e.g. "100 damage" -> "130 damage") while others will just tack on sentences (e.g. "100 damage" -> "100 damage. Deals 30 extra damage.") The description for Ahri's passive is repeated in the description of another unrelated ability of hers.

POOR QUALITY OF LIFE. Maps are extremely large and fast travel points are scarce, despite a lot of mandatory backtracking both in the main quest and especially in side quests. Potions with the same name but different rarity don't stack, even when the effect is identical, and they aren't sorted in any logical way in your bag, so it's a chore to find a particular kind of potion or tell how many you have. The long intro logo animations when booting up the game are unskippable, and the intro cutscene has to be skipped by holding a button for 3 seconds every single time. Weak enemies are hard to avoid when backtracking even though they give virtually no experience, and even "scared" enemies who try to run from you often get in the way or run directly into you, triggering combat. Non-linear stats make stat increases hard to understand, particularly in the Enchanting menu where you aren't given a preview of the actual difference in effect.

GENERAL LACK OF POLISH. Some quest NPCs abruptly appear or disappear at the beginning and end of cutscenes. Ahri's Level 2 Ultimate ability has a shot where it cuts to all of your enemies standing stock-still off-center from the camera, which looks really bad. A handful of dialogue options have icons next to them which are never explained or used anywhere else. The lore rewards spoil every character who will eventually join your party from the first minute of the game. Braum's mustache is black even though it's brown in LoL and other Runeterra media.

Any of these problems, or even a few of them, would be easy to overlook. But there are simply SO MANY bugs and other problems that it seriously affects my enjoyment of the game. If this game was polished I could easily see myself giving it an entire extra star in this review.

With all that out of the way, how is the actual game despite the bugs? While it's not bad per se, it's unfortunately not much to write home about. While the core gameplay concepts are good and highly engaging, the game is not super well balanced. Miss Fortune in particular is so strong that I could never find a reason to take her out of my party, and Illaoi is so much better than Braum - being a tank that can also heal and revive instead of a tank that has clunky CC which bosses are immune to - that I never used him once I had 4 total party members. And while I like the Enchanting system in theory, the game throws new gear at you quickly enough to make it feel pointless. Spending rare resources on giving a powerful enchantment to a piece of gear only for it to be summarily outclassed by something you pick up 10 minutes later feels really bad.

Not every game needs to be a mechanical masterpiece though, right? What about the story? Well, beyond the initial "wow" factor of seeing characters and places I love from a new angle, it didn't do much of anything to interest me.

Minor spoilers follow.

A large part of the story's intrigue, the mysteries and reveals that power the first 50-70% of the runtime, hinge on dangling questions that I already knew the answer to as a LoL fan. I'm not questioning if Gangplank is dead, because I know he survived. I'm not wondering about who the Ruined King is, because I've seen his story already. I'm not intrigued by the vague hints Yasuo and Ahri give about their pasts and their true nature, because I'm already intimately familiar with both of them. I realize that these things might go over better with someone who isn't already a fan, but not having that perspective really makes it clear how much of the story is simply dangling the prospect of answering various questions in front of you. The actual STORY of what is happening for most of the game is that you need to go through a dungeon to find a macguffin, which then unlocks another dungeon where you can get another macguffin. The story feels like it could've started and ended within 5 hours if there wasn't an endless stream of magical barriers that can only be nullified by spirit stones buried in lost tombs. The latter half of the game is especially egregious with this - just when you think you've reached the climax you're instead thrown into multiple barely-relevant dungeons just so you can power up the most important and magical macguffin of them all.

On the note of plot points that barely feel relevant: everything concerning Ahri and Yasuo comes across as tacked on. These are two characters from a faraway continent who have nothing to do with either of the regions at stake in this story. The story bends over backwards to invent new lore about Ahri's tribe and awkwardly try to connect them to the Shadow Isles, but as someone who knows a lot about both the Isles and Ionia from other media this was hard to swallow. Yasuo and Ahri were included because they're popular characters, not because there was an important story to tell about Yasuo's past and Ahri's tribe that related to Bilgewater and the Ruination. Braum is in a similar outsider position, but the story is by contrast very happy to just let him hang out in the background and be Braum. No one tries to convince me that there's a secret lost civilization of Iceborn in Bilgewater or that the Watchers actually originated in the Shadow Isles. Braum is just here to be fun, and he is.

As far as the actual character writing, it's about what I would expect from something set in this universe. For as much as I love these characters they are LoL characters at the end of the day, and LoL characters tend to be pretty one-note in their source material. Expanding on that to the point that any of these people have a halfway-believable personality is commendable, and for the most part I think Airship Syndicate succeeded at this. Braum is still mostly a wholesome comic relief, but that's a good role for him, and he can be more serious on occasion. Pyke rarely has much to say that doesn't concern dragging captains to the depths of the sea, but considering he's a cursed revenant who barely does or thinks about anything else this simplicity works out and is even fun to watch interact with the more complex characters. The one stickler in my opinion is Illaoi. Illaoi can barely get through a single sentence of dialogue without mentioning Nagakabouros or her faith. Every other word is about motion, Mother Serpent, faith, worthiness, visions, guidance, etc. I understand that's the core of her character, and that her arc in this game is supposed to be about stepping outside of her all-consuming religious fervor, but it's just exhausting to deal with especially when she gets more screen time than most of the rest of the cast. Characters like MF and Yasuo have similarly simple goals or ideals at the core of their character, but they are still given room to talk about other things.

And through all the dungeons and Ionian distractions, what is the story at the core of it? A bog-standard tale of the good guys beating the bad guys with almost no additional complications. Your plans always work and you defeat each villain the first time you encounter them. Everything is played so incredibly straight that it's difficult to ever feel like there's any tension or stakes to what's happening, even when the world is on the verge of ruin.

At the end of the day this is a mechanically-sound RPG soured by a boring story and heaps of technical issues. Despite playing through the whole thing I would find it hard to recommend to almost anyone - fans will be bored by the reveals of information they already know, while newcomers will likely be uninterested in what seems like an extremely generic fantasy tale. I really wanted this game to be great, but it couldn't live up to those expectations.

Final Edit: Can recommend. Fun game but drags on in the last third. Controller support is extremely inconsistent and quest/key item bugs are still frequent. Expect to reload often.

Edit: The game has been patched fixing most of these issues. The game itself is very enjoyable so I will be changing my review accordingly. I'll return once I've completed the game.

Noticably buggy. had UI softlock, HUD disappear, combat lock-on issues, enemies attacking after dying, quest progress improperly, enemies despawn, etc.

m&kb controls are clunky (especially UI) and I've had issues with controller support consistency

gamplay and story so far is solid but this game needs cleanup bad

Ruined King imerso no universo do League of Legends apresenta uma história centrada em Bilgewater e nas Ilhas das Sombras. Utilizando 6 personagens de Runeterra, Miss Fortune, Illaoi, Braum, Ahri, Yasuo e Pyke, a obra constrói sua história através dos objetivos de cada um dos personagens que convergem em parar o suposto morto Gankplank e o governante das Ilhas das Sombras Thresh em seu plano de dominar toda a Runeterra.

A narrativa da obra é intrigante pois ela consegue de forma bem natural reunir todos os campeões e cruzar os diferentes objetivos em um único ponto para que a história fosse corroborada, a Sarah Fortune quer continuar sua vingança contra Gankplank por ter matado sua mãe, Illaoi precisa proteger Bilgewater devido ao seu papel de sacerdotisa da deusa Nagacáburos, Braum quer achar uma cura para a doença que afeta as crianças Freljord por isso ele desce ao sul a procura das ilhas abençoadas, Ahri quer saber mais sobre o seu passado e ela sabe que seus antepassados tiveram contato com os moradores das ilhas abençoadas, atual ilha das sombras, Pyke precisa matar Gankplank pois este está listado pelas profundezas como um alvo e Yasuo foi contratado como guarda costas de Ahri. Essa união dos objetivos cria a necessidade de cooperação entre as personagens, ou seja, o formato da história facilita a construção das relações entre as personagens.

A proposta da obra consiste em um jogo de turnos que conta com 6 personagens jogáveis onde o máximo de campeões ativos por vez são 3, o jogo segue o clássico modelo de andar pelos mapas e ao entrar no combate os turnos são abertos. Há bastante inovação no aspecto da gameplay que é o grande foco deste tipo de obra, mas ainda assim a obra não abre mão de contar uma história interessante com os diálogos e cinemáticas que constroem a história minuciosamente, nada é deixado de lado, o passado de todos os personagens são explicados, há motivação e há construção das personagens, elas evoluem, mudam, elas não são mesmas desde o começo do jogo, e tudo isso é contado calmamente e cadenciadamente, sem grandes saltos na história que deixam lacunas no enredo.

Para auxiliar essa construção das personagens o jogo em determinados momentos bloqueia qual personagens podem ser jogados, obrigando o jogador a ter uma personagem específica obrigatoriamente no grupo, a fim de contar e se aprofundar na história da mesma. Há na construção da relação entre as personagens os momentos de diálogo nas lareiras de descanso, esse elemento cria a sensação de companheirismo entre os campeões conforme a jornada prossegue, já que depende de quanto o jogador avançou na história para determinado diálogo seja liberado.

Essa construção da história compartilhada é muito interessante pois ela não dá protagonismo a ninguém, pelo contrário, ela compartilha o protagonismo e deixa na mão do jogador a escolha dos protagonistas, tudo dependendo do trio que o jogador prefere utilizar, esses 3 personagens escolhidos serão os protagonistas da história. Mesmo a história estando compartilhada ela não é fragmentada, ela tem um progressão clara e linear, até há ausência de plot’s na obra, mas ainda há a necessidade de saltos entre as personagens para desenvolver cada uma no seu momento e a sua maneira específica, porém isso acontece sem prejudicar a linearidade da obra.

A obra não propõe uma ideia de grind na dificuldade normal, é bem tranquilo passar por todo o jogo sem se preocupar por exemplo em explorar a mecânica dos encantamentos, mas é necessário certa atenção e habilidade para se passar dos bosses, mas nada surpreendente. O jogador consegue chegar no nível máximo(30) antes de enfrentar o último Boss, então na última batalha estará disponível todas as habilidades com todas as evoluções possíveis, além da árvore de maestria com todos os perks liberados e provavelmente o jogador terá bons equipamentos nesse momento. Falando em dificuldade a obra disponibiliza o modo história onde o jogador pode pular todos os combate e realmente só vivenciar a história do jogo.

O jogo ainda apresenta certos desafios para se obter armas lendárias e a terceira ultimate dos personagens, o que é um atrativo para alguns jogadores e os impulsionam a explorar ainda mais a obra e se aprofundar a fim de desbloquear todo o conteúdo disponível.

As sensações provocadas vão sempre passar pelo desafio, algo comum ao gênero, além de botar o pé numa dramaturgia durante a construção de toda narrativa e ainda consegue toda uma ideia de intriga, mistério e apreensão no desenvolvimento da história ao encarar um mal antigo junto com pessoas desconhecidas.

A jogabilidade é um dos carros chefes da obra e ela que faz a obra realmente ganhar vida, o combate de turnos em si é muito interessante, apresenta inovações notáveis como as linhas de combate (equilibrada, poder e rapidez), além das áreas de buff e debuff na turn order que adicionam um novo elemento de complexidade e variabilidade no combate. Outro fator interessante são os Bosses, eles possuem mecânicas bem únicas, onde é necessário ler as skills do inimigo para realmente poder derrotá-lo, é fascinante o cuidado dos devs ao realmente tentarem criar um desafio.

O que surpreende nas mecânicas no extra combate é a grande complexidade na montagem dos personagens, há bastante o que se testar e é possível variar bastante a forma de jogar, conforme a build que o jogador pretende montar.

Esteticamente a obra é avassaladora, o cartoon casa bem demais com a proposta surrealista, porém torna toda a ideia de sangue e morte pela temática de pirata menos impactante, o que talvez seja até bom, considerando o público alvo. As cinemáticas animadas a partir do desenho à mão complementam demais toda a proposta estética proporcionada pelo cenário, personagens e pela própria ambientação.

Concluindo, a Airship Syndicate ao assumir esse projeto baseado no universo de Runeterra teve uma grande oportunidade que foi graciosamente aproveitada e executada, criando assim uma obra fantástica que aflora a lore do LoL e expõe novas oportunidades de parcerias entre Riot Games, através da Riot Forge, com estúdios que saibam criar obras de qualidade contando histórias interessantes enquanto divertem e agradam o público através de uma gameplay excepcional.

Riot Forge is trying their best with a lot of different projects and it shows, but maybe it ends in all games distributed with their name on it really are a bunch of ideas that often don't work. The gameplay is either really complicated or you spam one ability all the way. The story and world building is definitely the strongest point, telling the story of the Ruination better than the event in the mainline game. But alike everything coming from Riot, it's pretty buggy and unbalanced. The mission tracker doesn't work at all, showing random places or nowhere, saying you've completed a mission besides not even beginning. A lot of content depends on you to explore the map, that is and lacks a good fast travel system. Characters tend to be really just one trick poneys, like Yasuo is completely broken even if you don't build correctly, Braum turns into a shield bot, Illaoi becomes a tanky support that heals, Pyke uses all his mana until he doesn't have any anymore, since he needs to keep spamming abilites to have his whole gimmick, Ahri doesn't do damage (ironic) and Fortune does what every other character does, but on levels that really feel like if you use Yasuo, you've got what you need. Bosses are either easy or a chore, given the horde system being really fucking annoying, with the whole acceleration bit, where even if your character stands in the beginning of the action bar, there's this chance they aren't going to act first then the enemy. Pyke's dungeon ability, the hook, doesn't work at all, you're going to end up in horde battles, like it or not. Got a lot of infinite loadings here and there. But honestly, it's not a bad game, you sure can feel the love in it. And despite it feeling like either pretty quick if you don't care about finding side missions or really long if you're doing any of them, it's a good ride. If it had more variety in combat, maybe the experience would've been better, since the skill routes, runes and upgrading where interesting. It feels like they were strictly trying to follow the shadow of League of Legends, and perhaps trying to be it's own game would've been a better approach.