CONVERGENCE: A League of Legends Story

In recent years, Riot Forge has adopted a rather clever way of making the League of Legends universe more accessible to the audience. It occasionally commissions various development teams to develop games of various genres, based on already known and successful ideas, but with the lore and heroes of the famous MOBA game as a "front". We saw this happen in Ruined King, we saw it in the recent Mageseeker, and now it's the turn of Double Stallion's Convergence to take the baton, representing the action/metroidvania genre. The result of this strategy is that the risk is somewhat lower, since the player knows in advance what to expect, while at the same time creating almost out of nowhere, for someone who doesn't know the lore, likeable protagonists who can become beloved by the audience.

One of them is Ekko, the main character of the adventure, who, among other things, has invented a unique device that allows partial management of past time. Specifically, he can rewind time for a finite amount of time, as much as correct/change a wrong (in his opinion) move. Unfortunately, this invention is not enough to prevent the fierce conflict between the Ferris and Poingdestre organizations, which are fighting under the semi-light of the underground city of Zaun, over who will possess the most, rare minerals called Syntixi.

At first, it is unknown why the two organisations so ardently desire these minerals, but Ekko will soon learn their origin from his... future self, who has mysteriously appeared. The temporal paradox of quantum physics doesn't seem to be destroying the universe, so at the adult Ekko's suggestion, our teenage protagonist will take it upon himself to collect as many Syntixi as he can, as long as everything he's spouted is true, of course...

Overall, Convergence's storyline starts off well and is completed in a satisfying manner, regardless of whether you have previous League of Legends experience. Even if, at a certain point, it becomes a little predictable in terms of where it wants to go - after all, originality isn't the main priority of the development team. But certainly, if you're a fan of the well-known MOBA, you'll feel more familiar, as you'll recognize several champions involved in the plot, either as allies or opponents, such as Jinx and Warwick.

On the gameplay front, Convergence runs mostly on action/platform rails, with perfectly precise, solid and thoughtful controls (although we highly recommend playing with a gamepad), while the ability to reverse time for a few seconds gives a very nice touch of the much-loved Prince of Persia. Initially, Ekko has a poor palette of offensive moves and powers, however this is soon enriched with powers that make both combat and platforming challenges enjoyable. Typically, each additional power is acquired after completing a boss fight and simultaneously "paves the way" for visiting locations previously impossible to reach. The familiar metroidvania formula that is, only in Convergence this element is not so pronounced.

The reason is that the game puts much more emphasis on story and player progression in new locations, rather than backtracking, as is usually the case in games of this genre. Not that there's no option to go back to previous parts of the map, on the contrary, even a completion indicator for each piece of the map is present. It's just that the rewards aren't always rich enough to make it worthwhile (there are more cosmetic items given out than actually useful ones), and the complete lack of fast-travel certainly makes it difficult to decide to walk to the other side of the map.

However, Convergence does a very good job of phasing in the new powers so that we don't get bored anywhere, and makes sure to make the most of them in every new location we visit. And the environmental puzzles never get too difficult, even when we have to apply all of Ekko's powers sequentially (such as pausing time at a certain point in the environment, double jumping, dash, etc.), and the fact that we can rewind time (with some limitations) means that the game allows us to make a lot of mistakes.

After all, many times even battles "cry out" for the use of time-rewind, as Ekko is quite fragile (three to five hits are enough - depending on the difficulty level or a fall into a void) and apparently it's better to avoid a hit if you can, rather than take it and say thank you. The combat system is just as interesting, with Ekko wielding a huge sword that deals a fair amount of damage, and very useful (on many levels) is the Timewinder disc, ideal for long range hits. Both the enrichment of combos and the increased effectiveness of the Timewinder are accomplished through the appropriate merchant purchases (there is a sort of coin in the form of gear), and there is also a crafting system on special benches, which result in certain artifacts that greatly enhance Ekko's abilities.

However, not all artifacts can be worn at the same time, as there is a limit to how many can fit in the Ekko's "belt", however we can change them at any time and adapt to the upcoming conditions. The truth is, once you find the artifacts that work for you, I doubt you'll change your mind afterwards, as Convergence isn't the most challenging game we've ever seen. Most, if not all, of the boss fights, for all their fancy appearances, are beaten down in two or three tries, while the conventional fights, with elementary time management, Ekko's counter moves and timewinder use, cause no headaches.

Perhaps the only real challenge, both in terms of platforming and combat, is when we stray from the main story and try to reach that remote chest, which as mentioned above, may offer some cosmetic goodness, creating a slight feeling of frustration. But for someone chasing 100% completion, this is not a deterrent. I simply set myself apart from such "chores", so the seven or so hours it took me to finish it are deemed satisfactory. Add a few more for full completion and you've got an idea of what Convergence is all about.

Undoubtedly, the audiovisual aspect is an aid to the enjoyment of Double Stallion's game. The cartoonish graphics are among the best we've seen in a game of this genre, with excellent animation, apt colour schemes and stylish, vibrant environments - where at least the game's scenario allows. However, the Saturday cartoon-style cut-scenes are nothing special, though they are few in number. On the other hand, the soundtrack is very enjoyable, with the voice-over following close behind in terms of quality and professionalism.

In short, Convergence: A League of Legends Story doesn't propose any innovative ideas, but it implements the existing ones so well that they add up to an excellent metroidvania game, guaranteed to please fans of the genre. So if you're looking for an entertaining representative of the genre, look no further.

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