Song Of Nunu: A League Of Legends Story Review (PS5) – In all my years playing games, there still remains a few franchises on which I know nothing about.
League Of Legends is one of those franchises. I’ve seen people play League, but I’ve never been enticed to try it, even if the odd character design made me intrigued to find out more about the world and lore in League Of Legends.
Thankfully for people like me, Riot established a publishing arm specifically for telling new stories in the League Of Legends world that play absolutely nothing like League Of Legends.
Song Of Nunu: A League Of Legends Story is one of those games from developer Tequila Works, and publisher Riot Forge. Though before I go on with the review it feels pertinent to say that Riot Forge was recently announced as having been shut down by Riot, as part of its restructuring and laying off of over 500 people.
It’s upsetting to think about, because Song Of Nunu follows suit with the pattern established by all other previous Riot Forge published-works. It’s a very enjoyable game that does a wonderful job telling a new story in a way that can bring new players into Runeterra, while being steeped in lore veteran fans will get a kick out of as well.
Song Of Nunu: A League Of Legends Story Review (PS5) – A Song Never Dies
Searching For Loved Ones
Song Of Nunu opens up with our protagonists in trouble. Nunu is searching for his Yeti friend, Willump, in a blizzard. When he finds him, he also finds the ice witch, Lissandra, standing over him. Before we see any more, we’re thrown back to three days prior.
It’s a very different scene, as Nunu and Willump are taking their first steps into the Freljord, as they search for the Heart Of The Blue, and Nunu’s missing Mom. Within minutes, Nunu and Willump are having a snowball fight, in the snowy wonderland, laughing and being the best of friends.
This is where you begin to understand what’s at the heart of this game. More than just these two characters, it’s friendship, family, and learning how to deal with loss.
Song Of Nunu is a special game because of all that at its core, and its storytelling. The game is constantly shifting and freezing the camera on a stunning landscape, ancient architecture or a long lost city.
The art in Song Of Nunu is beautiful throughout each of the five chapters. It’s bright, vibrant, and the icy blue of the Frejlord is easy on the eyes, especially playing on PS5.
It’s a wonderful setting that contrasts the warmth of the story, because that’s the thing that’ll keep anyone who picks up Song Of Nunu playing.
Willump and Nunu’s friendship, Nunu’s positivity, even if it’s part of a mask to avoid a sad truth, is infectious. You never know exactly what Willump is saying, but subtitles will reveal a tone with whatever he says, in conversation with Nunu. Even still, when both Nunu and Willump got excited about something, I always noticed I had a smile on my face too.
Beyond Willump’s various grunts and Nunu’s constant positive spin on things, what helps further endear these characters to you is Willump’s excellent design and animations. Getting Willump to dance, watching Nunu and Willump go through their high-five routine.
Those little storytelling moments help sell the big moments when they come. The heart of the story(blue) shines brighter because of those smaller moments peppered across the whole game. I was charmed from start to finish.
Clunky On Purpose(?)
Much as I adore Willump, Nunu and their adventure, it’s not without faults. Those mainly come through in the gameplay, but none are so egregious that it accumulates to a huge problem.
The combat for one is simple, but in a way that leans more towards boring, at least for anyone who’s played any kind of action game before. The finishing moves are cool, especially ones where Nunu gets involved.
But there’s not even enough combat sequences in the game to merit it really being an issue. You fight a few different kinds of ice wolves and a charging turtle-looking creature what feels like maybe, six or seven times throughout and that’s about all the combat there is.
Even the few boss fights there are, save for the final one are more puzzle fights than anything else. Those puzzle fights however do not alleviate part of what makes the combat feel clunky, which is controlling Willump.
On one hand, I get it. Willump is a great big Yeti, so he’s not exactly going to be light on his feet. It feels very much like a choice that was made, to make his steps more weighty. That said, just moving around, going between sprinting and walking, none of it made movement feel like it flowed.
That all worked to really interrupt the pacing of the game. Willump would be running only to stop abruptly because of some uneven ground getting in the way. Even the jumping, and the small amount of platforming you’re asked to do never felt great.
Contrarily, the climbing felt great. Whether as Willump or Nunu, the climbing was snappy and it made me wish that Naughty Dog would retroactively add in features from the climbing in Song Of Nunu into the Uncharted games.
What made it feel great was this speed boost mechanic, where a timely button press as you leap between ledges makes you climb faster. If I could have that appear in every other adventure game with climbing, I’d really appreciate it. Ubisoft could do well to add it into Assassin’s Creed titles as well.
Belly Slides And Flute Puzzles
Even though there’s a few main things that don’t work about the gameplay, what does work is all the puzzles you’re asked to solve, and all the times you speed down an icy path on the back of Willump.
There are more belly sliding sequences than combat sequences, and more puzzles than anything else. I think it should be clear to anyone why the belly sliding sequences are fun. You feel like you’re speeding down these hills, and the way each new belly slide section ramps up the difficulty with sharper turns and more obstacles to avoid help keep the whole thing fresh each time.
The puzzles on the other hand are fun to solve because though they’re simple, they’re well-put together, and because of Nunu’s flute. Nunu’s flute or Svellsongur as it’s called helps him interact with the world, and tap into the magic that’s imbedded into the Freljord.
Playing different notes with each of the shoulder buttons and different combinations of them all elevated the puzzle solving, and even the game’s storytelling, as Nunu’s Svellsongur and his connection to music weave into the whole narrative beautifully.
A Song Never Dies
While Song Of Nunu: A League Of Legends Story is by no means a perfect game, it can stand confident as a solid game with incredible, heartfelt storytelling and a few hours of fun to be had.
It’s an excellent choice for someone looking for a game that their young child could play, or if you just want a break from the doom and gloom of the world.
Nunu and Willump’s adventure could warm even the coldest gamer hearts, if this game is catching your eye in any way, I implore you to give it a chance. If only because it seems impossible to walk away from it without feeling happy.
Song Of Nunu: A League Of Legends Story is available on PS5 and PS4 on January 31, 2024.
Review code generously provided by developer.