It’s been a busy yr for Riot’s new Forge publishing arm, geared toward increasing its League of Legends Runeterra universe in video games past the favored MOBA. In April, we bought The Mageseeker, a hi-bit brawler set within the austere kingdom of Demacia, and in June, we bought Convergence, a conventional Metroidvania set within the seedy depths of the town of Zaun. To end out the yr, the corporate has now printed Song of Nunu, a story motion sport developed by Tequila Works, which beforehand developed RiME again within the early days of the Switch library. We’re happy to report that Song of Nunu is one more sturdy addition to the Runeterra universe, expertly combining a gripping narrative with satisfying gameplay.
Song of Nunu is ready within the Freljord, a harsh, frigid, mountainous area within the north of Runeterra, and follows the adventures of an lively younger boy named Nunu and his affable yeti pal, 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 Heart of the Blue” on the Winged Mountain. Aided by Willump’s power, 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 together with her. All 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 battle again towards a shadowy pressure that threatens the entire Freljord.
It’s a strong 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 continually making feedback and asking questions as the 2 wrestle to make their option to the mountain—Willump can’t truly speak, however Nunu can perceive his language of grunts and roars simply fantastic. And although a lot of their time is spent participating in impromptu snowball fights and dancing to Nunu’s music, there’s a sure bitterness to associate 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.
Those of you who aren’t followers of League of Legends will likely be happy to know that this can be a absolutely 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 respect 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 often 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 control some objects or enemies within the atmosphere and he can throw snowballs to activate switches, whereas Willump can scale icy partitions, create frozen platforms in water, and battle 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.
Fans of old-school Zelda will really feel proper at residence with the environmental puzzles right here, that are satisfying to resolve with out being too straightforward. Whether you’re lining up lasers to unlock a hidden door or attempting to determine how you can clear a path for Willump to hold one thing throughout a spot, it appears like these puzzles do an ideal job of highlighting the teamwork the 2 have constructed up collectively. More importantly, new concepts are being launched very often, which supplies every part its personal id and retains Song of Nunu from feeling prefer it will get too stale.
Combat is sparingly interspersed among the many puzzle sections, and whereas it isn’t the spotlight of the expertise, it does an honest job of breaking apart the gameplay loop by including one thing new. Willump has mild and heavy assaults along with a primary dodge, whereas Nunu hides out on his head and might throw snowballs that freeze some enemies. Once you empty an enemy’s well being, you may activate a flashy finisher transfer that may also restore somewhat little bit of any well being Willump is lacking. It’s clear that fight isn’t the main target right here, and the enemy selection is somewhat 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 often some hidden facet paths that lead you to collectibles. Every every now and then, you’ll come throughout an lovable 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 tune. 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 additional incentive to encourage you to maintain your eyes peeled for something that appears sketchy.
In phrases of presentation, Song of Nunu makes use of an artwork fashion that appears like a combination of Rime and one thing like World of Warcraft or Darksiders. The stylized visuals are an ideal match for the commonly 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 count on for a Switch port of a multiplatform sport.
While the visuals are actually spectacular, they do include a gentle efficiency tax. Though Song of Nunu targets 30 FPS, we famous many cases the place the sport was clearly loading the following space and the body fee tanked to about 20 FPS. And although it largely sticks to the body fee goal exterior these hundreds, there are nonetheless nonetheless some moments the place we observed issues getting somewhat extra sluggish. Overall, efficiency isn’t horrible, however there are simply sufficient hitches right here for the drops to be considerably noticeable.
Conclusion
Song of Nunu is one more welcome addition 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 fascinating. Though efficiency could possibly be higher and fight is somewhat simplistic, that is an all-around nice sport that we will simply advocate to any followers of old-school Zelda or somebody in search of a high-quality, narrative-focused sport that’s on the quick facet.
