Greetings fellow gamers, I'm the Soulsborne Seeker and today I'll be reviewing Convergence, a League of Legends story. A beautifully handcrafted action platformer Metroidvania title developed by Double Stallion and released on May of 2023 for PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, as well as the Xbox Series X and Series S. Convergence is the latest in a series of games situated within the fantasy universe of League of Legends, an extremely popular IP that took its first steps in the gaming world back in 2009 with its flagship free-to-play MOBA game of the same name developed by Riot Games, a title that enthralled millions of players and became one of the pioneers for eSports to become more prominent. Aside from its addictive gameplay, one of the main reasons why League of Legends ended up so admired was its vividly fleshed out setting of Runeterra, an incredibly imaginative realm featuring deeply ingrained lore and larger than life, complex characters with stories that begged to be told. With such a multi-layered mythology to draw from, it was only a matter of time before Riot would see the potential for storytelling via other games, at which point Riot Forge was born, a branch of the main company that would focus on the publishing of new titles within the League of Legends universe, eventually leading to the release of games like The Ruined King, Mage Seeker and of course, Convergence. Convergence takes place in the sprawling undercity of Zaun, a place situated in the bowels of a deep crack and home to a variety of different inhabitants from all walks of life, including merchants, scavengers, inventors as well as cutthroat criminals who are vying for power over it. Zon is in perpetual conflict with Piltover, a large capital that's overlooking the undercity from high above. The two locked in an uneasy coexistence as they try to profit from one another but also engage in frequent skirmishes between Zon's vagabonds and Piltover's military might. It is in the midst of such a clash that we step into the boots of our protagonist, Echo, a child prodigy inventor who spends his days having fun with his friends and traversing Zon in search of scrap that will lead to his next great creation. Little does he know, Echo's life is about to be turned upside down when a large explosion of a prominent building sends the city into chaos and sets in motion a chain of events that will lead him down an unprecedented path of self-discovery as he'll strive to save both Zon and Piltover from an apocalyptic fate. Thankfully, Echo is in possession of the Zero Drive, a device he constructed that allows him to reverse time ever so slightly, a power he will have to use wisely if he hopes to succeed in what gradually evolves into an impossible task. The effectiveness of the story of Convergence caught me a bit by surprise, since it starts in a relatively slow and simplistic manner, before making a hard turn with an early reveal that will have you second guessing every character you will meet along the journey. A journey filled with twists and turns as well as some genuinely heartfelt moments. The game goes deep with its themes, two of the major ones being fate and our ability to change what we know is to come as well as understanding when it is simply time to let go, themes whose effectiveness is further enhanced through our likable protagonist. Echo is a genuinely kind person who constantly clashes with the idea that the end should justify the means, a philosophy that is hard to maintain when it comes to a hostile place like Zaun. By being faced with hard choices as well as having to interact with characters that function as foils to his own mentality, Echo will be forced to hold a proverbial mirror against his own self as he'll try to come to terms with certain actions that go contrary to everything he stands for as well as do his best to fix things in the way he feels is right. The first thing that truly stands out about Convergence is its magnificent art style and animations. Every part of Zon and every character situating it is designed in exquisite detail and brought to life by an amalgamation of beautifully vivid colors, making each area of the game worthy of an art frame. The visuals are complemented by fluid and seamless animations that make each movement a pleasure to witness, further solidifying the presentation of Convergence as one of the most amazing hand-drawn works I have seen in recent years. Moving on to setting, Convergence takes place predominantly within the vast undercity of Zaun. Despite the map being comprised of a single city, there is a veritable diversity of biomes to experience, from the cyberpunk inspired main hub to its sewer underbelly, all the way to the beautiful cultivar gardens and even a floating theater, just to name some of them. I will admit that, despite its varied sections, the map could have been bigger, but what you have here is a treat for the eyes as well as a dream for any gamer who enjoys exploration. Zaun is a place filled to the brim with secrets, challenges and incredible platforming segments, all of which lead you to worthwhile rewards, including small figurines that you can trade in for currency and crafting material, flowers that you can swap for more color options, as well as rare artifacts that you can exchange for upgrades that will assist you in platforming and combat segments. As expected from a Metroidvania game, progressing through the story will grant you access to new abilities that will allow you to reach previously inaccessible areas. Though I will admit that some of the abilities I got to use here were quite unique and unexpected, mainly due to the nature of our protagonist's power. You will of course get landmark skills like the dash, double jump and wall jump, but there are also other abilities connected to your Zero Drive. For example, you will get an ability that allows you to slow down time in a specific area, as well as another that lets you send a shockwave around you that can break particular sections of the map, as well as push certain crates around. There's also your basic trademark time rewind skill, which allows you to roll back time for a few seconds and save yourself from certain death. I have to say that the abilities Echo gets throughout the game make for some incredible platforming set pieces as you progress across the map, especially in secret areas where you have to put your reflexes to the test in order to reach your reward at the end of the trial. The developers have created some truly memorable segments that hit the difficulty balance just right to make you feel like you performed a fit of acrobatics while at the same time not making it disturbingly hard. I will admit I got to a couple of challenges that brought me close to losing my patience, though those were mainly ones that combined platforming with combat. On the topic of combat, Convergence does a very good job of weaving together basic combo attacks with special abilities you can utilize in order to emerge victorious, which you will definitely need to use since many of the altercations you will engage in can be very challenging and require lightning fast reflexes to win. Ability wise, first and foremost, you can use Echo's time rewind skill in order to correct certain mistakes you may have made in order to take the correct action. For example, if you get hit by an enemy, you can rewind a few seconds and then parry the attack since you are now expecting it. You also have an ultimate ability in your arsenal, which can be used to annihilate many enemies at once if you play your cards right. Said ability is connected to the afterimage that follows Echo around whenever it is ready to be used, and once activated, it will create a time continuum void in its location which will pull enemies in and deal massive damage. Additional to the aforementioned abilities and attacks, Echo can purchase more skills in a way similar to progressing across a skill tree, and can also create and equip certain gadgets that further enhance the combat and exploration aspects, for example by having enemies drop more currency or by having secrets revealed on the map. Said gadgets function in a manner similar to the charms in Hollow Knight, meaning you cannot equip all of them at once, but need to decide which ones you will utilize based on your capacity, which you increase by defeating bosses. Speaking about bosses, I have to say that Convergence did not disappoint. Though it didn't feature a large number of them, the big bats you go up against are incredibly detailed and have very imaginative attack patterns that make each bout with them a truly fun experience from start to finish. I would have wanted to see more villains make an appearance, but the ones that made it into the game are more than worth your while. Lengthwise I'd say the game is on the average spectrum. It took me close to 9 hours to finish it on normal difficulty with a little more than 90% of the map completed, with an additional hour or two to get to 100% depending on how fast you will clear some challenges. For a price of about 30 bucks, I felt like I got my money's worth given that the experience was extremely fun. In terms of difficulty, the game allows you to adapt it based on your desires, meaning you can make it as easy or as hard as you want to by controlling the overall difficulty setting, as well as micromanaging aspects of the game like how much health you will have or how many times you will be able to rewind time, so there's something here for everyone. Before I move on to the verdict, I do need to say the following. As mentioned previously, Convergence is a game set in the universe of an already existing IP, which means that prior knowledge of the League of Legends lore is definitely considered a plus. You don't actually need to have former experience with the history of its world to enjoy the game, since the story is explained to you adequately via dialogue videos and codex entries, but Convergence is filled to the brim with easter eggs and winks to said universe that you will only be able to appreciate if you are familiar with it. In conclusion, I had a blast playing Convergence a League of Legends story. I loved the art style and animations, I was pleasantly surprised by the story, I couldn't get enough of the exploration and I thoroughly enjoyed fighting the bosses lurking about. I would have definitely liked it if the world was bigger and there were a few optional segments where the challenge became too intense to the point where I felt a tinge of unfairness, but nothing that would take away from my overall enjoyment of the game. If you are a fan of metroidvania games and also have prior experience with the IP, this game is a no brainer. If you haven't engaged with league of legends before, you will still get to enjoy a well crafted title that I rank among the best metroidvania games I have played in recent years. My final verdict on Convergence a League of Legends story is 8.5 out of 10. What did you think about Convergence a League of Legends story? Have you played it yet? Do you agree with the points I mentioned or do you see things differently? Let me know in the comments below and please subscribe if you enjoyed this video. As always, thank you so much for watching. Until next time, Soulsborne Seeker out. you