3/5 ★ – valhallaVANDAL's review of Ruined King: A League of Legends Story.

This was a fun one to show up on the PlayStation store after I'd finished watching ARCANE. I've long been fascinated by the LEAGUE OF LEGENDS world, but without any interest in a competitive MOBA, I sat it out until this year, when their push for games outside the arena battles started to land. I enjoyed this game overall--turn-based combat has steep competition, after the glorious latter-day achievements of OCTOPATH TRAVELER and the near-perfection of PERSONA 5, it can't quite hold up without a some kind of return on attacking a weak point. The "lane" system tries to do this, but it staying true to its LOL roots, it sort of forgets that it's a turn-based RPG. The idea of "stacks"--which I assume emerge from LOL--worked well during engagements, but battles became tedious towards the end because there wasn't a breaking point for the enemies--the stacks just ran out, unless you kept applying them (which became easier as your party members became more powerful). The game does features a scaling tree of "ultimates," but absent a break system, they ended feeling like a more powerful attack (with some really neat animations). Narratively, the game excelled. It introduced new players such as myself to a diverse and vibrant cast, in much the same way as ARCANE. I loved the personal touch that each party member added to the overall story, with clever side quests and campfire conversations a-la Dragon Quest. Laura Bailey, to no one's surprise, steals the show as Miss Fortune and I'd gladly play another game in this style and explore other LOL spin-off games for those more interested in single-player or cooperative play.