League Of Legends is a franchise many people know by name and have played since its release in 2009. Published by Riot Games this online multiplayer battle arena has been very popular with its peak player count being 12 million players in a day. This game features over 140 champions and is easily accessible for anyone to play. However I’m not here to talk about League of Legends but instead, a spinoff game dedicated to one of their species the Yordles in Bandle Tale: A League of Legends Story a spinoff RPG game that features a talking sock and a customizable Yordle. Prepare to embark on a journey to build a food stand and put together a massive block party to celebrate your accomplishments, oh and also save your friends.
The story of Bandle Tale: A League of Legends Story is that the player creates and plays as a shy yordle living in Yarnville, a small, isolated island where your character works as a knitting apprentice under their grandfather’s tutelage. When their apprenticeship finally ends, they want to travel along with their friend Clover to see more of what’s in store outside of Yarnville by traveling through the portal that connects to Bandle City and its other regions. After gathering materials and equipping a new yarn leg you and Clover travel through the portal and end up at a party in Bandle City hosted by Ozzy. However, everything goes wrong and as a result, the portals collapse and all of the islands are thrown into chaos to make matters worse Clover and Ozzy were sucked into the portal as it collapsed! Now your Yordle is determined to save Clover, Ozzy, and the rest of Yarnsville before things somehow get even worse from there, but don’t worry your Yordle will not be along on this journey.
In terms of the gameplay, the best way to describe it would be that the game is more of a farming simulator set in the world of League of Legends. There are basic controls like moving with the left stick, interacting with people and objects with the A button, and accessing your skill tree, inventory and quest log with the select button, but for the most part, this game acts as more of a relaxing farming/party crafting experience with Yordle’s rather than an Action Adventure Role-playing game. The skill tree starts with three different tabs knitting which features crafting upgrades for knitting magic ability, home upgrades, and Festivals, Engineering which unlocks crafting upgrades for tools, equipment, and furniture, and finally, Nature which upgrades gathering/hunting and cooking/baking skills. The best way to earn skill points is through Crafting and completing tasks that reward your character with Emoticons that are converted into skill points after sleeping in a bed. The best way to earn stars which act as the currency is by running a food stand.
As mentioned earlier, food recipes are obtained in the nature skill tree along with the facilities that are used to prepare the food. The player must then gather the materials needed to create the dishes either by collecting them in the world or purchasing them from the stores. Once the resources are gathered and the workstations are prepped the player can start serving food to the guests. Some guests have specific preferences for what they want, but for the most part, what players serve on the menu is up to them. Once the food stand event is completed the player earns mood and friendship points that contribute to festivals which is where players can earn and collect portal yarn which is used to travel to different islands. Mood and friendship points contribute to how many people attend festivals the more people attend and enjoy festivals the more yarn gets collected.
This game is not the first spinoff game of the League of Legends series, but from what I’ve seen this game is intended for more casual audiences, especially for those who enjoy games like Animal Crossing. To me what stood out the most about the game was the food stand system which involves your character essentially setting up a small restaurant outside of their house that is used to make income for your character and the festival system which also acts as a way to obtain items needed to access new areas.
The game’s design and art style are a stand-out for me. While this style isn’t anything new, I can say that it certainly gives this game an identity and sets the tone that it is a relaxing and colorful experience for anyone who enjoys these types of games.
Overall while I am unfamiliar with the lore of League of Legends this game is a fun introduction to the franchise which even features appearances from some of the well known characters of the franchise. While I wouldn’t say this type of game is everyone’s cup of tea it is a very enjoyable experience that people should grab if they’re looking for a relaxing time away from heavy combat focused games than this is definitely a good game to grab.
Score: 9 out of 10
Reviewed on PC