Through multiple collaborations initiated by Riot Forge and Riot Games with independent studios, League of Legends Beyond the famous MOBA finds a way to enrich its universe, which struggles to develop its story during games in Summoner’s Rift to progress in the rankings. as Nunu song And Ruined King, Bendall’s Tale: A League of Legends Story, developed by Lazy Bear Games Studio (known for Graveyard Keeper), invites us to deepen our knowledge of online gaming champions and their world. This title immerses you in the world of Yordles through a sandbox RPG rich with agricultural simulation elements.
Test conditions: We played the title for about twenty hours on PC via Steam. We also have a (heavy) history as gold players on League of Legends.
Well done on the captain teams report!
Unlike Riot Forge’s other games, you don’t take control of one of the iconic MOBA characters, but a Yordle that you can moderately customize before diving into a new quest in Bandle, the hometown of Yordles. You play as a reserved yordle living on Maille, a welcoming and isolated island with a burning passion for knitting. After spending 101 years honing your skills, your greatest desire is to discover what lies beyond the magical gates that connect the rest of Bendal. However, the celebration you’re attending goes awry, causing the portal to break and throw everything into complete chaos.
You are awakened from your slumber by Tristana, who also acts as the narrator of this story. Indeed, during crucial moments or important progress in your adventure, Gunbot will be happy to narrate the events through short cutscenes in French, with his original voice from the MOBA. Your main mission is to find your best friend Clover, which will lead you to travel to the various islands of Bendal to restore order and unite the inhabitants. However, despite the seriousness of your quest, don’t expect an exciting story. Bendall’s Tale: A League of Legends Story A game where you take your time and is completely free of violence.
A very sweet atmosphere is created, which is accentuated by the cute character of Yordles. We will also meet a whole bunch of them and they will actively participate in the publication of the story. Thus we will meet Timo, Corky, Rumble and many others. We also have Veiger who plays the villain from the cartoon very well. This is how the studio has succeeded in embedding this legendary hero, who is very popular among fans of Summoner’s Rift. The decor fits perfectly with the image one might have of the world of Yordles, a magical place bathed in magic.
The game is also full of numerous references to the League of Legends universe, whether through objects (such as Blitzcrank’s fist) or the creatures we encounter. We quickly adopt “Poro” as a companion at home. Despite this positive atmosphere and its childish character, action fans may find the time long. This is not criticism so much as criticism; It is important to understand that its very leisurely pace will not necessarily appeal to everyone.
Not a right hook but crochet hooks
Indeed, this title brings together all the typical elements of a sandbox RPG, with the exception of combat. Instead, our protagonist uses his knitting skills to make things, garden, and throw parties in an attempt to connect with the locals. The game is designed to be simple and accessible with clear explanations provided by well-developed tutorials. The game involves your daily life collecting resources from the environment and building new facilities to meet the needs of the inhabitants that they give you. Each new task allows you to progress in a skill tree with multiple branches, thus opening up new possibilities in terms of food, magic, engineering.
However, if you’re used to sandbox RPGs, the no approach Bandal Tel Seems a bit restrictive. The adventure leaves little room for freedom, especially due to the game’s very sluggish start. Before you can finally sail between the main islands of Bendal, you’ll spend many hours completing a series of quests that make the adventure fairly linear. Don’t expect a learning phase before breathing freedom, but have to follow the path from A to Z.
Even when we reach the stage where it is possible to move between islands and choose the order of quests as we wish, the skill tree reminds us of reality. It is important to note that every resource gathered, every construction completed and every item created generates emotion points for your character (note that repeating the same actions gradually reduces the amount of emotion received to zero). When the character rests, these emotions are converted into skill points to use in the tree. It is often the case that certain quests require a certain branch to be unlocked first in order to be able to craft an item key to the quest’s resolution.
The game’s main problem lies in its uneven progression. After a rough start, we force ourselves to “cultivate” emotions by devoting ourselves to producing things repetitively and without a clear purpose. The restrictive nature of the framework often requires traveling back and forth between islands, with specific resources in specific locations and requiring resupply times. Fortunately, he has the good idea to include a portable home system that can be deployed in multiple locations.
That said, it still offers interesting concepts, such as a food stand where you have to serve customers in a style reminiscent of a very simple version of Overcooked, or the organization of parties aimed at uniting the residents of Bendall. Each party is personalized on a specific theme. For example, we could host an inventor contest in Gadgetville, a location associated with Rumble.
Once a pixel art gunner, always a pixel art gunner
Ultimately, this is a virtually seamless adventure that leaves little room for exploration. We’re really looking at a kids’ game that will easily appeal to youngsters, but will be hard to convince most MOBA fans. So, even if we welcome Riot’s initiative to expand its video game horizons by handing over its license to independent studios, we don’t really understand who it’s intended for. To raise the ranks of the rifts in the long run by indoctrinating them from a young age with cute yordles?
If there is one thing that is particularly successful Bendall’s Tale: A League of Legends Story, this is his artistic direction in pixel art. Thanks to the atmosphere and detailed settings, we can fully immerse ourselves in the aforementioned Bendal and his magical character. The whole thing is pretty cool, and the studio has even created interaction points that allow you to observe the fauna and flora in action. Given their previous productions, we didn’t expect to be disappointed on this particular issue. Same thing for the music which maintains a very calm and relaxing tone that goes well with the general atmosphere.
