After going through the review copy of the game, here is a spoiler-free review of Bandle City: A League of Legends Story.
Riot has been looking into many different avenues to explore the lore of League of Legends. That created Riot Forge, which created single-player games like Ruined King, Mageseeker, and the recent Song of Nunu.
All those games gave an insight into the world of Runeterra with some fun gameplay. However, while Riot thought to explore the world in that way, it did not financially fit their mold. So, Riot Forge is being discontinued which leaves most people sad.
The only shining light to come out of it all is the fact that we will be getting one last Riot Forge game called Bandle City: A League of Legends Story. This is a game that will take you on a journey across Bandle City in a variety of locations and save the city from a disaster.
I had the pleasure of getting a review copy for the game and it was a joy to play through the game. So here is an overview of Bandle City before we move on to the review.
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What Sort Of Game Is Bandle City: A League of Legends Story
As mentioned, Bandle City takes you on a journey to many different locations and explore the many different isles. It is similar to the likes of Stardew Valley and games of that genre where you collect, scavenge, build, and do other activities.
The usual stuff like gathering, exploring, and fishing are prevalent while there are some new additions to fit the theme of Bandle City. There are parties, or should I say A LOT of parties.
So for those people who are into this genre of games, this is the game for you to try.
Bandle City Review
So this review will be broken down into several parts, starting with talking about the story briefly, the gameplay, and more.
The Story
In this game, everybody controls a character that is a knitter and their task is to save Bandle City from a disaster. Without going into specific details, the story takes you to different Isles to solve the various problems thrown at you while meeting some of the League of Legends characters.
The story itself is very simple and straightforward. There is not a huge amount of depth or decision-making in it. So just sit back, chill, and enjoy the game and experience what it all has to offer.
The Gameplay
As for Gameplay in Bandle City, there is an abundance of systems and activities available. Here is a breakdown of all of them.
Emotions, Orbs, Dreams and Skill Points
Any activity you do in this game gets you Emotions. These are stored in Orbs, which convert into Skill Points after you go to Sleep and Dream. Repeating the same activities earns less Emotions and this incentivizes players to do different things each time before Dreaming.
Dreaming converts Emotions into Skill Points but also progresses time. The more Orbs you have a capacity off, the more you can do each time before sleeping. There are many ways to get these.
Skill Points are used to research Skills to unlock new abilities, resources, objects, and such. All these are core resources in the game to progress in the game.
Backpack Badges
All quests in the game are related to different Badges. The Badge system has an impact all over the game such as unlocking different research trees, quests, and such.
Progress for these Badges comes through quests and activities such as Cooking. Do all of them to get the full progress of the game.
Gathering
The most simple of the mechanics of the game is gathering resources. Different Isles have unique resources and you unlock more of them as you play through the game. There are a variety of resources available to be gathered including Wool, different types of Bugs, metals, etc.
Many of the resources require time to regenerate after gathering them while others can be gathered as much as you want. Also, to gather resources, you need to unlock and use different tools. All in all, pretty straightforward.
Farming
Some resources are only gathered via farming. So, you will need to make seeds, plant them, and wait for them to grow. Rinse and repeat and get more of these fruits and veggies.
Cooking
By gathering many resources, you can use them to cook and feed the residents of an Isle. Doing that gains Emotions, Skill Points, and gaining Happiness and Togetherness for Festivals. Also, to do a Cooking event via a Food Stall, the Isle needs to have at least 4 Orders.
Completing different sets of Orders and feeding certain combinations of dishes can grant you progress on Backpack Badges.
Fishing
The Fishing Mini-Game is pretty simple as you use the many different kinds of hooks to get different types of resources. Rewards largely differ and there are many different fishing spots in the shape of horizontal portals. Explore that when you have the chance.
Crafting
There are many different kinds of workstations and such available in the game. Research unlocks all sorts of workstations, crafting, and more. Explore that during the game.
Festivals
This one uses Happiness and Togetherness to hold Festivals and Yordles Parties. Parties net you Portal Yarn and Skill Points, which allows you to teleport from Portal to Portal. It’s a lot of dancing and it’s great.
There are many many more stuff in the game and it is best to explore them.
The Cozy Feels
The game is just very cozy. You experience the light-hearted world of Bandle City and meet the great Yordles from the region like Tristana and Teemo. Lore is fit to perfection and it is just a great feeling to play the game.
My Thoughts On The Game
Bandle City: League of Legends 2023 was a joy for me to play. It has such a light-hearted way of going about the game while introducing characters in the most unique ways. The story is simple, the gameplay has an abundance of things to do.
However, as these games go, they can get repetitive and it can become a little bit of a chore. The game is open-ended enough to let you explore and do your own thing. All in all, this is a solid game and one you should give a shot.
