Review: Convergence – A League of Legends Story

The latest of Riot Games’ recent indie game projects, Double Stallion’s Convergence: A League of Legends Story is an explosive, high-octane journey through the expansive underground city of Zaun. In the fight to control the dangerous Syntixi crystals produced by the Poingdestre Chembaron family, Ekko enlists many unlikely allies and faces some familiar enemies in what ends up being a captivating, funny and thought-provoking story.

To keep Zaun safe, Ekko has to pick up a roof – or rather his sword – and get his hands a little dirty. Convergence’s combat is elegant and fast-paced, utilizing both roving environments for surprise encounters and custom-designed levels for manic, acrobatic platforming action as you frantically try to take down hordes of enemies. The combos are fluid and dynamic, and Ekko’s abilities are pretty easy to understand, as well as chaining together extremely well for some massive takedowns. However, later in the game the battles become a little too easy and a little too repetitive, and it’s at this point that the game introduces some enemy types that skip “challenging” and go straight to “disgusting” and are almost guaranteed to do damage to your limited health pot .

The game’s boss fights, on the other hand, are a highlight. As a fan of League of Legends’ extensive history, it’s great to see the characters being taken out of the Summoner’s Rift and back into their natural habitats. It’s fascinating to see how the common people of Piltover and Zaun react to these characters and their stories, and it only makes me want to play them in the rift even more. The characters’ movesets from the game are, just like in Ekko, implemented in a creative way, and the boss fights generally serve as good tools for learning how to handle Ekko’s ever-growing arsenal of gadgets.

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Traversal in Convergence must have robbed Ekko’s weapon of its sharpness, for it is a double-edged sword. Overall, the game’s environments are well designed, with enough platforming elements to make simple movement and exploration interesting. Many of the travel methods are reminiscent of 2D Titanfall, providing the same agility and joy of linking skills. That said, some areas of the game are annoyingly – if not downright poorly – designed. Simple movement in challenging levels often proves to be more difficult than the battles, and not nearly as fun. A single bad move can often result in Ekko getting caught in a time loop and dying from his surroundings if he doesn’t rewind, but is unable to rewind far enough to be safe, which is extremely frustrating and ruins the progress of a level . In addition, several areas – once completed – have no easy way out, meaning those wanting to go back and retrieve hidden chests they missed will have to go all the way to the end of the level to get back to the main map.

When we talk about collectables, it is safe to say that the order could have been structured a little better. Later in the game, players have probably figured out what kind of gadgets and play style Ekko has, and so they’re instead looking for hidden figures and cosmetic rewards, so hunting chest after chest just to get one (bordering on useless) gadget component, but it does make the discovery of collectibles ultimately feel more impactful and rewarding.

It might seem strange to single out, but the sound design is one of many small details in this game that make it so good and make it feel like a project with passion behind it. The sound of Ekko’s abilities is dense, mechanical and heavy, making it easy to recognize them in hectic combat situations, and the scattered use of directional sound throughout the game is a nice touch. In addition, the game has a great soundtrack, with background music that is appropriate without being intrusive, and motifs that smoothly move from safety to danger and build powerfully.

Convergence’s narrative is probably the highlight of the entire experience. With a whole host of new and familiar faces, the game manages to make each character stand out, even if it’s just for a specific function, giving a real insight into Ekko as a character and not just a set of abilities. The story in the game is quite serious, dangerous and dark at times, but seen through the eyes of Ekko – just like Zaun – it’s not so bad. A perfect mix of drama and comedy creates some really funny and poignant moments (my favorite is in chapter three) and elevates the game from a simple platformer to a truly entertaining experience. With some well-written twists and a good exploration of the black and white versus gray moral justice system, it’s an extremely fun journey to play through.

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All in all, Convergence: A League of Legends Story is a really solid platformer with an even better story. There are some minor annoyances along the way, and the game peaks pretty quickly with a sluggish middle section, but the end result makes it absolutely worth playing in its entirety, as it gives you a greater understanding of the world of Piltover and Zaun, and maybe even makes you challenge your moral compass.