The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story Review

The world of League of Legends is so richly detailed and intriguing. With years to develop a fleshed-out world, Riot Games' publishing label Riot Forge promises to explore stories that are otherwise impossible to experience in a competitive MOBA. Introducing The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story, which takes the form of a 2D hack and slash. With outstanding, high-quality visuals and a gripping story featuring League of Legends champion Sylas, one word comes to mind after finishing The Mageseeker, and that is: Epic.

The Kingdom of Demacia might appear to be a utopia on the surface, but look underneath the gloriously gilded halls and find that this paradise comes with a price. The Mageseeker Order, which comprises both regular soldiers and brainwashed magic-users, have a tight grip over the mages. Mages are persecuted and controlled in Demacia, and Sylas, a mage imprisoned for 15 years, has a vendetta against Demacia. Lead a revolution against the regime and free yourself from tyranny and, just maybe, you might be able to build a better future for magic users such as yourself.

Magic is Might in The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story

Like in Riot Forge's previously published title Ruined King, these games place a particular emphasis on the champions of the MOBA. Transitioning their skillset and flavor from League of Legends into new gameplay formats is, no doubt, a daunting task. Sylas is a magic-user that has these giant, lethal chains on his arms. In the MOBA, he slings them around and infuses his magic into the attacks, but he can also steal magic from other enemies. Elements vital to Sylas' character are expertly carried over into an action hack and slash format and it feels gloriously fun to play.

The Mageseeker has a fairly strict mission structure tasking players with exploring story-based scenarios in a plethora of linear maps. Scattered across these rather expansive maps are essentially arena areas where players will fight swarms of enemies. The Mageseeker does a good job of creating varied combat scenarios through the use of clever level design. No fight feels exactly the same, as developer Digital Sun makes sure to include different enemies and obstacles in every fight.

Sylas' is able to use light and heavy attacks with his chains to physically attack enemies. The weight of these chains is very evident as you see the impact on enemies accompanied by extremely satisfying sound design. Sylas' moves from the MOBA, like  Chain Lash, are real attacks in The Mageseeker and feel powerful to use. Of course, at the core of The Mageseeker's combat is the magic system. Sylas, being a mage, has the unique ability to steal spells. The Mageseeker has an element system, so almost every enemy has an elemental affinity and one they are weak to; Digital Sun makes sure to include the necessary enemies in fights to leverage this system. For example, you'll often find fire and ice Mageseeker enemies grouped together, so The Mageseeker incentivizes players to steal the right element and use it against its counter to deal extra damage. You'll also be able to take four spells of your choice to any mission, and with many to choose from, the options allow for versatile builds.

Players will also recruit various mages to take along during their missions. While you don't see these allies fight alongside you, they do grant Sylas new abilities to use against his enemies. These are more combo-based abilities that require players to input a few simple buttons before casting. It mixes up the gameplay just a bit more and adds some good oomph -- and these are especially useful when you're out of mana and can't cast any of your chosen spells. The tools to succeed in battle are there, and when you're stealing spells, throwing them at enemies, and slashing away with combos and chains, action is frantic and incredibly fun. Oh, and you can also grapple onto enemies and launch yourself at them. It never gets old.

The gameplay is largely gratifying and fun, but I did have some trouble with the controls in The Mageseeker. The controls aren't difficult and even on mouse and keyboard, it all plays decently well. Problems actually arose when I used a controller. The Mageseeker definitely seems intended for controller use -- especially considering it's launching on all the consoles -- but aiming with the controller leads to frustration. Aiming allows Sylas to shoot spells or grapple onto enemies, but doing so with a controller will jerk the camera quite violently. The shaky effect from jerking the camera around while moving my joystick felt disorientating. I switched to mouse and keyboard and experienced less strain, but trying to input combos was more difficult on a mouse than it is on the controller.

Taking Par

Taking Part in a Rebellion in The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story

Story takes a huge focus in The Mageseeker and follows the origins of Sylas. Sylas, as a character, didn't impress me too much in the beginning. He's bloodthirsty and rash, and doesn't see the bigger picture. After escaping from his imprisonment in Demacia, he joins up with a ragtag rebellion and takes part in missions to destabilize Demacia and its cruel Mageseekers. Throughout the story, we'll meet a plethora of characters both old and new that help Sylas and allow him to grow as a character. There is immense character growth in The Mageseeker and I soon became attached to Sylas and the rest of the main cast.

Getting a look inside how Demacia works as a country is fascinating, too. I did not realize just how cruel the Mageseekers were. Demacia at a glance is this pristine, prim, and proper country that could often be construed as the "good guys" in League of Legends, but that is certainly not the case. It's refreshing to see that not everything is black and white in the League of Legends universe. Along the way, players will also encounter champions like Garen, Lux, and Jarvan IV. Seeing some extra characterization for champions other than Sylas is a pleasure.

But really, it seems as much about Demacia as it is Sylas' own base. As you progress and recruit new outlaws and mages, you'll see your base build up around you. The facilities in the ruins you're stationed in become more substantial and you'll start to see many more NPCs walking around. It's that extra bit of spice to the camp that makes your cause feel all the more real. It certainly helps that The Mageseeker is a gorgeous game with some of the best pixel art I've seen. There's so much detail and it adds life to both Demacia and the other areas you explore. The soundtrack is also outstanding and serves as a great companion to the often epic set pieces, like the many boss battles.

As your base grows larger and new characters join the cast, you'll gain access to upgrades and additional spells. The trickle of content throughout The Mageseeker's campaign always offers something new for players. There are simple, baseline upgrades to health, damage, and defense, but also upgrades to potions and eventually Sylas' ultimate ability. With additional missions to take on and even the ability to replay them to look for some small collectibles, The Mageseeker offers a generous amount of content.

The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story | Final Thoughts

While The Mageseeker's offerings as a whole create a wonderful experience for League of Legends fans, it is held back by some bugs. I experienced numerous bugs ranging across the board. In one instance, the map wouldn't appear for an area which made it difficult to search around for recruits and collectibles. Every so often, enemies would sit in place and just take a beating. In another instance, I couldn't read a conversation because I approached an area from a strange angle, so part of the dialogue bubbles were cut off (it's a weird one, I know). That said, the issues I experienced should be pretty easy to iron out and I don't doubt The Mageseeker will be quite polished once a few small kinks are worked out.

Publishing League of Legends spin-offs developed by talented studios across the world is no longer a proof of concept anymore. With now a third title under this label -- and it being an outstanding one at that -- I can't wait to explore so many more scenarios within the League of Legends world. I would definitely not be opposed to playing another The Mageseeker title too, as the gripping story and satisfying combat left me yearning for more.

The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story was reviewed on PC with a copy provided by Riot Forge over the course of 15 hours of gameplay - all screenshots were taken during the process of review.