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It’s been a busy yr for Riot’s new Forge publishing arm, aimed toward increasing its League of Legends Runeterra universe in video games past the favored MOBA. In April, we acquired The Mageseeker, a hi-bit brawler set within the austere kingdom of Demacia, and in June, we acquired Convergence, a standard Metroidvania set within the seedy depths of the town of Zaun. To complete out the yr, the corporate has now revealed Song of Nunu, a story motion sport developed by Tequila Works, which beforehand developed RiME again within the early days of the Change library. We’re happy to report that Tune of Nunu is one more robust addition to the Runeterra universe, expertly combining a gripping narrative with gratifying gameplay.
Tune of Nunu is about within the Freljord, a harsh, frigid, mountainous area within the north of Runeterra, and follows the adventures of an brisk younger boy named Nunu and his affable yeti buddy, Willump. Nunu’s mom has gone lacking since his camp was attacked by raiders and he retains having desires the place she tells him to seek out “The Coronary heart of the Blue” on the Winged Mountain. Aided by Willump’s energy, Nunu units out on a quest to succeed in the mountain, the place he expects to seek out some solutions about what occurred to his mom and hopes to be reunited along with her. All of the whereas, nevertheless, the 2 are unknowingly pursued by a harmful ice witch named Lissandra, who needs to make use of Willump’s distinctive powers to assist her struggle again in opposition to a shadowy pressure that threatens the entire Freljord.
It is a highly effective story, one which’s buoyed by the healthful and loving relationship between Nunu and Willump. It’s clear proper from the start how a lot the 2 adore one another, and Nunu is consistently making feedback and asking questions as the 2 wrestle to make their strategy to the mountain—Willump can’t really discuss, however Nunu can perceive his language of grunts and roars simply effective. And although a lot of their time is spent partaking in impromptu snowball fights and dancing to Nunu’s music, there’s a sure bitterness to go together with the sweetness; Nunu is clearly nonetheless processing his trauma from the assault, and Willump is cagey concerning the tragic story that explains why he’s the final yeti left within the Freljord.
These of you who aren’t followers of League of Legends shall be happy to know that this can be a totally self-contained story the place newcomers can establish with Nunu and Willump’s travels simply in addition to longtime followers of the MOBA. That stated, followers of the franchise will nonetheless recognize the looks of different Freljord champions comparable to Lissandra and Braum, who add some good texture to the narrative with out stealing the highlight away from the starring duo.
Gameplay follows a linear, narrative-driven construction that mixes platforming, fight, and puzzle-solving collectively in a tightly-paced journey that hardly ever has any downtime or filler. You’ll recurrently move management between both Nunu or Willump, who each depend on the opposite’s strengths to endure the challenges of the Freljord. Nunu has a magical flute he can use to govern some objects or enemies within the setting and he can throw snowballs to activate switches, whereas Willump can scale icy partitions, create frozen platforms in water, and struggle off harmful foes, comparable to packs of wolves. We appreciated how a lot their distinctive skillsets complement one another right here—you play as every of them equally and the puzzle design manages to play to each their strengths with out feeling overly compelled.
Followers of old-school Zelda will really feel proper at house with the environmental puzzles right here, that are satisfying to resolve with out being too straightforward. Whether or not you’re lining up lasers to unlock a hidden door or attempting to determine tips on how to clear a path for Willump to hold one thing throughout a spot, it seems like these puzzles do an excellent job of highlighting the teamwork the 2 have constructed up collectively. Extra importantly, new concepts are being launched very often, which provides every part its personal id and retains Tune of Nunu from feeling prefer it will get too stale.
Fight is sparingly interspersed among the many puzzle sections, and whereas it isn’t the spotlight of the expertise, it does a good job of breaking apart the gameplay loop by including one thing new. Willump has gentle and heavy assaults along with a primary dodge, whereas Nunu hides out on his head and might throw snowballs that freeze some enemies. When you empty an enemy’s well being, you possibly can activate a flashy finisher transfer that can even restore a little bit little bit of any well being Willump is lacking. It’s clear that fight isn’t the main focus right here, and the enemy selection is a little bit low, however we appreciated how the occasional battle mixes issues up with out overstaying its welcome.
Nunu and Willump’s journey to the mountain is essentially linear, however there are sometimes some hidden facet paths that lead you to collectibles. From time to time, you’ll come throughout an cute misplaced Poro in want of a snack, a mural that expands on the lore of the Freljord area, or a wind chime that teaches Nunu a brand new music. None of those are required for development of the narrative, and there aren’t that many unlockables to seek out throughout the entire sport, however they add simply sufficient further incentive to encourage you to maintain your eyes peeled for something that appears sketchy.
By way of presentation, Tune of Nunu makes use of an artwork model that seems like a mix of Rime and one thing like World of Warcraft or Darksiders. The stylized visuals are an excellent match for the widely lighthearted tone, and whether or not you’re looking the ruins of an deserted fortress or the lava-filled caverns of Ornn’s lair, there’s loads of selection within the locales past simply extra snowy mountainscapes. We had been particularly impressed by the standard of the character fashions, which really feel right here like they’re extra superior than you’d anticipate for a Change port of a multiplatform sport.
Whereas the visuals are definitely spectacular, they do include a light efficiency tax. Although Tune of Nunu targets 30 FPS, we famous many cases the place the sport was clearly loading the subsequent space and the body price tanked to about 20 FPS. And although it largely sticks to the body price goal outdoors these hundreds, there are nonetheless nonetheless some moments the place we seen issues getting a little bit extra sluggish. General, efficiency isn’t horrible, however there are simply sufficient hitches right here for the drops to be considerably noticeable.
Conclusion
Tune of Nunu is one more welcome boost to Riot Forge’s rising lineup of video games based mostly in Runeterra. The heartwarming relationship between Nunu and Willump carries this compelling narrative, whereas the linear gameplay alongside the best way is well-paced and interesting. Although efficiency might be higher and fight is a little bit simplistic, that is an all-around nice sport that we are able to simply suggest to any followers of old-school Zelda or somebody on the lookout for a high-quality, narrative-focused sport that’s on the brief facet.
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