The most recent Riot Forge sport is one other story set within the League of Legends universe, stepping exterior of the confines of the Summoner’s Rift to discover a smaller slice of the world. Ruined King targeted on Bilgewater and the Shadow Isles, The Mageseeker was all about Demacia, and now we’ve got a strategy to discover Zaun for ourselves. Convergence: A League of Legends Story (stylized as CONV/RGENCE) is the newest Riot Forge sport, developed by Double Stallion.
Convergence is an action-platformer within the vein of Castlevania or Metroid, and it facilities on plucky protagonist Ekko. It’s a strong sport that may be crushed in just a few sittings, filled with likable characters and tense boss fights. A number of the platforming is usually a bit finicky, however fortunately, I’ve a set of gizmos readily available to get round probably the most tough bits.
Ekko is an inventor who creates devices like localized time-travel gadgets and wall-running sneakers, however his actual energy is his coronary heart of gold. He was born in Zaun, a steampunk metropolis constructed within the shadows and crevices beneath the seemingly shiny tech utopia Piltover. The 2 cities have a symbiotic relationship, with Piltover benefiting from its place over Zaun to oppress its folks.
![Ekko flees from the augmented werewolf Warwick in the depths of Zaun in Convergence: A League of Legends Story](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/lzYYWp0-GR7NZFPCEbMeeOnHb8w=/0x0:1920x1080/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:1920x1080):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24681815/ss_8fec651341334254dc06c058af91ceff7a73b9e7.jpg)
Picture: Double Stallion/Riot Forge
I take management of Ekko within the aftermath of an enormous explosion in a Zaunite spire, sending a mysterious orange substance in all places and drawing the eye of ruthless chem-barons and Piltover elite. Additionally, an older and ominous Future Ekko has proven as much as warn me of some nice calamity. All of this means there’s a disaster on the horizon, and Ekko isn’t the kind of child to take a seat again and let it occur.
Ekko has useful devices to assist his journey, like his Z-Drive, which permits him to show again the clock by just a few seconds. This clearly is a useful instrument; each time I get hit by just a few too many sniper pictures or I plummet into an abyss, I merely reverse the clock and get again into the motion. Ekko’s skills from League of Legends all present up in some type as properly, permitting me to leap by way of partitions, freeze platforms midair, and in a pinch I can pop my final to leap again in time and do huge harm to everybody round me.
Ekko additionally has some new skills that he lacks in League however are essential in Convergence. It takes particular sneakers and candy strikes to navigate round Zaun. The platforming feels nice, nevertheless it principally requires a controller — utilizing keyboard and mouse is an effective strategy to fall down infinite pits and miss the timing on grabs. I grind on rails, run alongside partitions, and flip round utilizing poles and clotheslines.
Typically, I run right into a useless finish that requires a brand new gadget to navigate. Convergence has a map readily available that I can entry at any time, and the corners of Zaun are filled with collectibles, races, and challenges. I want sure elements of the map weren’t fairly so locked behind platforming — it feels a little bit foolish to should vault, leap, spin, and bypass hurdles simply to get again to my condo. I suppose that’s simply Zaun for you!
![Ekko faces off against Jinx in a colorful section of Zaun in League of Legends: Convergence. Jinx has the high ground and is firing explosives down at Ekko, who rushes past the blast radiuses.](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/neSzuwIED4XPpR8nBnZpvcWVwRg=/0x0:1920x1080/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:1920x1080):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24681810/ss_c5538c33897d922241b73d5dd672856093efeda4.jpg)
Picture: Double Stallion/Riot Forge
And in equity, Zaun is a bizarre metropolis — however that additionally makes it enjoyable to discover. The town is a darkish place by nature, constructed from iron and glass, however its residents have festooned the place with neon lights and brilliant graffiti. Zaun and its inhabitants are filled with persona, and Double Stallion’s sprites are cartoonishly exaggerated, with heavy black traces and daring colours. The voice appearing within the sport can be strong; I’ve by no means been an enormous Ekko fan, however he grew on me considerably over the course of the journey.
The opposite Riot Forge video games have targeted on elements of Runeterra which might be largely unexplored, however we’ve seen a variety of Zaun — significantly within the Netflix animated collection Arcane. When you’re anticipating Convergence to comply with up on Arcane, you is perhaps confused, as a result of they’re separate continuities. Ekko has dad and mom right here as an alternative of being a tragic orphan, and he rolls with a unique group of buddies in a unique HQ.
However in case you go in with out the expectations of Arcane, Convergence is a superb journey. Ekko faces off in opposition to some nice boss fights in opposition to champions like Camille, Warwick, and Jinx. These boss fights pressure you to play in a different way; Camille makes use of the excessive floor and hextech instruments to regulate the battlefield, whereas Warwick is extra of a uncooked pressure of nature that’s finest dodged and managed. Seeing these champions exterior of League is a reminder of the promise of Riot Forge video games. Because it seems, many of those characters do finest exterior the confines of a aggressive sport. Convergence gives one other probability for them to shine of their component.
Convergence: A League of Legends Story was launched on Might 23 on Nintendo Swap, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Collection X, and Home windows PC. The sport was reviewed on PC utilizing a pre-release obtain code offered by Riot Video games. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These don’t affect editorial content material, although Vox Media might earn commissions for merchandise bought through affiliate hyperlinks. You could find extra details about Polygon’s ethics coverage right here.