Announced last year, Legends of Runeterra is the first title in its own right that will take the trouble to expand the vast universe of league of legends. However, we are not dealing with a publishing of Riot Forge, as this work was published and developed entirely by Riot Games itself, as opposed to what will happen with some titles coming this year. As we know, the company has in fact decided to expand its world with games of different genres: this time we are in the world of card games.
Legends of Runeterra wants to give Hearthstone a very strong moral slap, after having had a chat with Magic: The Gathering in development. With certainly interesting premises, the game entered different phases of Closed Beta, which have allowed a very small group of users to get their hands on the product in an embryonic state. However, on January 24th the Open Beta has finally arrived, and after having spent several hours on this work we are ready to talk to you about what we have found. Read on to find out if you should put aside the classic Summoner's Rift a bit!
Factions and heroes
Just like League of Legends, Legends of Runeterra is peppered with the presence of the iconic champions brought into vogue by Riot Games. The two works are in fact closely linked in terms of lore, as they host the same main characters. However, in the game card, many servants have been patented and inserted specifically for this new experience, but all of them undoubtedly remain consistent with the atmosphere and the narrative.
The cards are shown in more dazzling form than ever, as all the animations and models have been redesigned for the occasion. The textures of League of Legends, for reasons of dynamism of the title, are in fact rather backward if we consider the current evolution of technology. Just like Hearthstone did in 2014, Legends of Runeterra is back to amaze and entice thanks to its extremely pleasant and captivating graphics sector… at least in its PC version.
A tight schedule
Recall that the game has not in fact yet officially released, but fortunately we know the evolutionary program of the latter. Legends of Runeterra will finally debut this year, also landing on mobile, and we hope it can boast a good optimization and a graphic rendering as excellent as the one it presents on PC. Despite being in Open Beta, however, the title seems to be already well complete and perfectly usable with all its most essential contents to enjoy the experience.
The ranked mode has already been successfully implemented, and the card collection manages to tempt the meta of the other card games. The progression system is simply fabulous, although still enough mysterious. By playing and completing the missions you will get experience, which will enrich both the weekly chests by improving their content, and the reputations related to the various factions: what is it?
Let's talk about a number of different Pass Battle, which can be upgraded one at a time and release important prizes at each new level, as well as gems useful for making expeditions and creating new cards. The Battle Passes are so many, and it will take a long time to be able to complete them all, but as already mentioned it is still a mystery what will happen once this has happened. In fact, there are no packages that can be purchased with in-game currency and we wonder if obtaining new resources will then be relegated to weekly chests, or if simply a new Riot Games gimmick will show up soon, given that the game does not particularly focus on Pay to Win.
Between two huge universes
The Legends of Runeterra target goes to find a space between the two main online card games, Hearthstone and Magic: The Gathering Arena. What this title presents is a series of technical innovations, and a very consolidated fan-base directly from League of Legends, which will allow it to have a good initial boom in terms of users. However, we know that gameplay content and mechanics will dictate over the years.
The gameplay of this new card game is positioned in the midst of its rival works, as it manages to take interested parties found by both, obviously adding its own. The mechanics of the direct attack came directly from Magic, as well as the stack of spells, but the deployment of the units and their permanent damage has instead been patented by Hearthstone. However, leaving out some evolutions that wink a bit at the Pokémon Trading Card Game Online, the game has its own magnificent mechanics, linked to the alternation of actions.
The first and second player's turn does not exist in matches, because after each action the ball passes to the opponent. However, with regular alternation of this possibility, one of the two can decide to attack and the other will have to organize to block, even if some cards allow you to vary this particular formula as well.
Cards on the table
With a series of great ideas well done, Legends of Runeterra has now officially landed on the PC market. After this Open Beta there will be no further resets or closures for indefinite periods, although the day of the official debut could bring a great wave of content, as well as porting to mobile. Hoping that this Card Game will also find its place in the market, we just have to see how the waters will move, and we will talk about it in depth in our review of the game.
