The latest single-player experience from the League of Legends
-universe is set to release on November 1st. MyMMO author Nikolas Hernes was able to play Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story and finds that the game is perfect for those looking for an animated film for the Christmas season.
The LoL universe has, besides TFT and Legends of Runeterra, now also introduced several single-player games that give various champions a solo spotlight and expand the world beyond dry lore texts.
This year there was already CONVERGENCE and The Mageseeker. Song of Nunu is, however, the first full 3D game in the LoL universe, and especially for the upcoming Christmas season, the game is worth checking out, even if it has some gameplay weaknesses.
You can find a trailer for the game here:
A story like Pixar
What kind of game is Song of Nunu?
- You accompany Nunu and the yeti Willump as they try to find Nunu’s mother in Freljord
- The focus here is on exploration and solving smaller puzzles
- Occasionally, there are combat passages and small skill segments that aim to break up the gameplay
- You will also encounter various well-known LoL champions, but I won’t reveal them here
The presentation of the game, with a very rounded art design, fits perfectly with the two characters Nunu and Willump and directly gives the feeling of being in a Pixar film while playing. This feeling fits perfectly with the currently colder season. The animations of the characters are correspondingly charming and highlight the personality of each character. Only Nunu’s facial animation sometimes feels a bit stiff to me.
The story doesn’t bring anything particularly new, and the journey of Nunu and Willump feels like a familiar theme. As a fan of the LoL universe, it is incredibly fun to explore Freljord and see how the familiar lore is expanded. I have always found the mystical aspects of the land, with deities and past battles, fascinating.
And the landscapes and architecture you explore are beautiful and make the cold and icy Freljord shine with a lot of its own character and charm.
The friendship between a child and the last yeti
For me, the biggest highlight of the game is the relationship between Nunu and Willump. Willump is not a utility or pet for Nunu, but a partner and friend. Both have snowball fights together, annoy each other, but also help one another and talk to each other when something is wrong.
Willump, by not being able to speak but being understood by everyone, reminds me of a childlike version of Chewbacca. Sometimes, Willump runs ahead, builds snowmen by himself, or just sits down. This makes Willump feel like a real character and not just an NPC that mindlessly follows you around.
The dialogues and the voice acting, which I played in German, contribute to this and create heartwarming moments that highlight the relationship between the two.
Gameplay has a few weaknesses
Besides exploration in Song of Nunu, the core gameplay involves solving various puzzles to progress. Sometimes you do this together with Willump, or as Nunu alone in coordination with a self-acting Willump. The most important item for this is the flute Svellsongur.
Like with the Ocarina in Zelda, you play different notes with it. Each shoulder button on the controller corresponds to a note. While you can play whenever you want, the notes only have an effect in fixed puzzles. If you play something during free exploration, Willump at least dances.
However, you shouldn’t expect complex puzzles; most of them are similar to sliding puzzles. They are never obsolete, but you don’t need to think long about them. For me, as someone not fond of puzzles, this was great, but for those expecting complex puzzles, this could be a disappointing point.
The biggest weakness of Song of Nunu lies in the combat system. There is a light and a heavy attack, a ranged attack that can freeze, and a dodge roll. This reminds me of the Xbox 360 era when brands like Spyro tried to establish a simple action combat system.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that well here. The combos feel clunky, and thus there is never a pleasant flow in combat. Most of the time, I used a single combo that was significantly more effective than the others. The ranged attack also does not integrate well with the other attacks and is mainly needed for specific enemies.
However, you have to keep in mind that there are relatively few fights in the game, and they don’t last long either. Therefore, I never really felt frustration, but also not much fun. Only the finishers, when you defeat an opponent, are charmingly staged and occasionally bring a smile.
Conclusion: Despite the small gameplay flaws, I had a great time with Song of Nunu. Especially the story, the animations, and the friendship of Nunu and Willump perfectly suited the cold season for me, and I felt like I was watching a good Pixar animated film. Although the puzzles are shallow and the combat system isn’t perfect, the shortness of these segments and the overall brevity of the game allows me to recommend Song of Nunu to fans of heartwarming stories.
Song of Nunu is obviously not the last game in the LoL universe. Next year, we can expect a crafting adventure:
