Bandle Tale review: The less intense League of Legends we deserve

League of Legends is a competitive game that requires concentration, focus and knowledge of both the champion and the map. In contrast, Bandle Tale: A League of Legends Story is a light-hearted crafting RPG that’s equal parts whimsical and satisfying. Bandle speech The main role is played by a yordle, a furry little fairy creature who lives in the realm of Bandle City. A party goes haywire and the portal network connecting the islands of Bandle City collapses. Luckily, the protagonist has just completed a hundred years of training, giving him the ability to magically put the portals back together – with a little training, elbow grease, and clever thinking.

Bandle speech is a larger game than its counterparts in the Riot Forge catalog, the publishing arm for the League of Legends story games we’ve gotten so far – The Magic Seeker, Ruined king, Song of NunuAnd convergence – as it takes at least 40 hours to complete. It’s also a game that places much more emphasis on the journey than the destination. The player creates their custom yordle, joins the fateful party, and sets out to save their home through the power of crafting.

You’ll have a few tools at your disposal along the way: a handy backpack that expands into an entire home when you lay it down, a talking sock, and a magical book. Every task in Bandle speech It’s about crafting, completing quests, earning badges, and unlocking new crafting recipes. Stories often take place in the style of the old lady who swallowed a fly; I set out to complete a seemingly inconsequential task, such as bringing my backpack home, but was stymied by an unexpected problem – in this case, a nest of snail cats that refused to move unless I found one a new home for them. I couldn’t move her because everyone knows that would mean 800 years of bad luck. So I had to scout out a new place for the snail cats to settle, and along the way I met a few crabs who were having a marital dispute. You know, just normal yordle stuff.

Image: Lazy Bear Games/Riot Forge

This whimsical, strange feeling runs throughout the game and is best expressed in the environments. Bandle City feels comfortable and cozy, but it’s not particularly normal. In Yarnville, the streets are made of loosely knitted scarves that twist and turn around every corner. Other islands have giant hourglasses built into the terrain or Escher-esque geometry that makes no sense to the naked eye. Some islands are soft and pastel, while others are bright coral colors, but they’re all a little strange.

This is fitting, as this is the home of the immortal Yordles. Immortality has some strange effects on the yordle psyche – look at the evil Veigar, who constantly laughs at his evil plans, for an example of how this can manifest – but many of the neighbors I met along the way were strangely banal. It’s a funny contrast; A nice old lady down the street taught me how to grow turnips and complimented me… She happened to compliment me on my new magical yarn leg that created a rainbow trail every time I sprinted.

In order to improve my skills and unlock new recipes, I had to travel the world. Sometimes that meant I had to solve quests, repair bridges, and carve new paths through Bandle City. Another time I had to set up the home fort to throw an absolutely amazing dance party with plenty of refreshments for my guests. As I complete tasks, I fill up emotion orbs, which are visible in the top left of my screen. Once they are filled, I sleep and that energy is converted into skill points that I can spend on crafting talent trees. To unlock the trees I need to earn badges in this job.

Image: Lazy Bear Games/Riot Forge

This creates a loop that is very similar to a game Stardew Valleywhere I focus on both caring for my own home and traveling out into the world to help those around me. Bandle speech The focus is less on farming and making money and more on exploration, helping the characters in the world solve their problems, and hiding goods to ensure you only throw the freshest and most popular parties. It’s not exactly high-octane action, but that’s the point.

Although the pace is a bit slow, it helps that many of the lyrics are sweet and fun. Even though we’re dealing with a collapse of the portal network, the Yordles are pretty calm overall. Somewhere near the start of the disastrous party, a few Yordles who believe they are stranded on this small island decide to plan their new careers on this deserted island, and one of them declares that they want to become journalists. It’s a funny, adorable moment and Bandle speech is full of these silly little interactions that put a smile on my face.

Bandle speech is one of the biggest departures in the League of Legends franchise, but it’s a most welcome change from the more serious games in my backlog. It does require a certain time commitment – anywhere between 40 and 60 hours – but it’s fun to stroll from destination to destination, taking breaks to throw epic parties. It’s a shame that with the end of Riot Forge, we won’t see these experimental titles anymore. While league can be an intimidating prospect, I felt completely welcomed by the comfortable, silly nature Bandle speech.

Bandle Tale: A League of Legends Story will be released on February 19th on PC and Nintendo Switch. The game was reviewed on PC using a pre-download code provided by Riot Forge. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These have no influence on the editorial content, although Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased through affiliate links. You can find More information about Polygon’s ethics policy can be found here.