Crafting RPG in the League of Legends universe
Bandle Tale: A League of Legends Story is a premium role-playing game that lets you play as a Yordle, a race from Riot’s flagship title League of Legends (LoL). Combining exploration and crafting on top of RPG elements, it sets you on a quest to restore Bandle City after a party goes horribly wrong.
Cute characters in classic JRPG format makes Bandle Tale: A League of Legends Story thoroughly enjoyable. However, it suffers from the same niched content as other Riot Forge products like CONVERGENCE: A League of Legends Story and The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story.
One small Yordle, one big problem
Bandle Tale: A League of Legends Story centers around Yordles, a race of spirits that often appear as small biped mammals in the extensive LoL universe. League champions like Teemo, Poppy, and Heimerdinger are some of them. In this game, however, you play as a new, original character who sees a party go wrong, throwing the Bandle City’s portals into disarray. This premise sets the tone for a light experience.
With your spirit, knitting magic, and your fellow Yordles, you will restore everything back to normal. Its overall JRPG vibes, colorful pixel-art style included, makes it ripe for a wide range of activities. Craft new materials, explore different locations, and pursue a host of side quests from colorful furry Yordles. Another excellent aspect in this game is the soundtrack, which makes the game rousing or relaxing as needed.
The largest letdown in this game is that most of the dialogue and references do not make sense to the average player. Bandle Tale is a product of Riot Forge, Riot’s team-ups with indie developers to bring League of Legends properties into other gaming genres. Unless you’re a LoL player, a lot of things here will feel like an inside conversation you’re not a part of.
An enjoyable JRPG with a bit of a story barrier
Among all the Riot Forge products, Bandle Tale: A League of Legends Story stands to be the most engaging and most enjoyable of all. Its retro art style reminiscent of most JRPGs already does a great job at being a mostly relaxing gameplay experience. Pair this up with its impressive sound choices and you have something that would make you go through the niched concept and references that alienates non-League fans.
