Convergence: A League of Legends Story Review: A Time-Bending Action Platformer

As Riot has continued to expand the reach of League of Legends in recent years, it has started to release separate one-off games from other studios under its Riot Forge publishing label. These titles have all been quite different from one another in genre, art style, and character focus. Convergence happens to be the latest offering from Riot Forge it proves to be a game that even non-League players might want to take notice of as it hits all of the right notes that make for a solid Metroidvania experience.

Convergence centers entirely around a story involving Ekko, the young time-bending inventor. Set within the region of Zaun (which should be familiar to those who have watched Arcane), Convergence tells a tale that sees Ekko dealing with both the present and future ramifications of a conflict unraveling in his city. Outside of simply needing to defeat the de facto villains at the center of this situation, Ekko also ends up having to grapple with some of his own motivations in a story that proves to have a fair amount of depth for its genre. 

Speaking to its bonafides as a Metroidvania game, Convergence doesn't do a ton to drastically set itself apart from other titles. When first beginning Convergence, Ekko has some fairly basic combat and traversel mechanics in his toolkit. As the game continues onward, though, he begins to unlock a vast number of new mechanics that enable him to access new areas and complete various puzzles. 

Not only are these powers based directly on the ones that he has in League of Legends, but just about every ability serves just as much of a purpose for combat as it does traversal and puzzle-solving. Ekko's "Parallel Convergence" power, for instance, doesn't only slow down foes in their path and allow him to more easily beat them to a pulp, but it also lets him freeze certain platforms or other objects in ways that let him get from one place to another. This dual purpose to most of the mechanics in the game makes the process of unlocking a new one that much more satisfying.

Unlike other games of this same ilk, Convergence is pretty streamlined and doesn't require players to do a whole lot of backtracking. There are plenty of collectibles and additional items to collect in Convergence, but you never really need to go out of your way to obtain them as the game naturally places them in front of you. As someone who typically loves to fully complete Metroidvania games but doesn't like unneeded backtracking, I found this more linear approach to the genre to be pretty refreshing. 

Convergence also finds a way to blend these combat, traversal, and puzzle elements to great effect in the game's boss battles. While not every boss fight in the game is proves to be memorable, the ones that are end up being the biggest highlight in Convergence. Each bout proves to be a puzzle of sorts in its own right as you'll be tasked with using your different abilities to avoid incoming damage while also finding an opening to smack the boss around. Some of the late-game bosses, in particular, are quite a joy and ended up giving me a satisfying challenge. 

The art style of Convergence is also one of the more unique aspects of the game as it looks like a graphic novel in action. Developer Double Stallion uses a bright color palette to bring the world of Zaun to life and give each environment its own unique flair. It's a style that doesn't have a lot in common with League of Legends itself, but it works incredibly well in this instance. 

If there is one disappointing element of Convergence's look, it would be with the characters themselves. Although the character models generally look great, they fail to be very emotive. In turn, this leads to some of the more emotional beats of the story falling a bit flat. It's a small complaint in the grand scheme of things, though, as these models do look highly stylized while in action. 

Convergence likely isn't an experience that will stick out in my mind for the long haul, but I have very little to say about it that would be considered negative. From start to finish, Convergence makes for an enjoyable action-platformer that doesn't look to overstay its welcome. Perhaps more than anything, the game once again proves that Riot has been wise to continue expanding League of Legends as titles like this help add more character and depth to the franchise's world. If you're looking for something new to play that deviates from the endless grind of solo queue, Convergence is very much worth checking out. 

Rating: 4 out of 5

Convergence: A League of Legends Story is available now across PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC platforms. A review copy of Convergence was provided by the publisher for this review and the game was played on PS5.