In a world full of competitive, tough, or violent games, ever so often there comes a breath of fresh air in the form of lighthearted narrative-driven adventures. Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story is one such title from developer Tequila Works and Publisher Riot Forge that aims to take you to a magical land filled with various unique characters and creatures, hoping to immerse you in an emotional story that tugs at your heartstrings. Does it succeed at what it set out to do? Here’s my Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story review, tested on Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch Lite, and PC.
Before we get into the review, though, let me talk about the elephant (or Yeti?) in the room. Do you need to play League of Legends or know about the series before playing Song of Nunu? While Nunu and Willump (the Boy and his Yeti) are champions in LoL and you will enjoy the spin-off more if you already know about them, it is not mandatory to do so.
I haven’t played League in a long time but it did not affect my experience in this game. Song of Nunu has woven the story in such a way that even those who haven’t dipped their toes in League can still feel the connection with Nunu and Willump. I’d say it even made me interested to get back to League of Legends.
Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story Review
Story
Song of Nunu is a story of two best buds, Nunu and Willump, who embark on an adventure across Freljord. Nunu is a little Notai boy who is searching for his mother Layka in this region full of harsh environments as well as terrifying wolves. But he’s not alone – Willump is right there to protect and support him through it all. The way the story unravels keeps you intrigued as you discover more and more secrets about the world they’re in and themselves.
As you keep playing, you will stumble upon various story elements that seem to reveal that Nunu is much more than meets the eye. Soon enough, you’ll also discover that the duo is searching for a mysterious artifact – they don’t know if it’s an object, a person, a creature, or something else. But they must find it! It’s a simple story, but one that stays with you.
The journey, while difficult, is a blast because Nunu is such a cute little character (and voiced brilliantly, might I add) that it’s hard not to root for him immediately. Plus, his camaraderie with the playful Willump is a highlight of this game. The snowball fights between them are very amusing because of it.
Willump adorably grunts as Nunu understands everything he says, much like the relationship between Groot and the Guardians of the Galaxy. But that’s not all – the developers have smartly utilized Willump’s subtitles as hints for players while solving puzzles (more on this further below).
Song of Nunu Characters & Gameplay
The game switches between two types of gameplay styles – one where Nunu walks by himself while Willump follows, and the other where Nunu navigates by jumping onto his Yeti bestie.
As you’ll learn early on in the game, Nunu is from the Nomadic tribe called Notai which is known for their mastery of songs. This skill is what helps the duo proceed because there are musical notes present throughout Freljord. With his trusty magic flute (Svellsongur), he can not only sing but also solve all magical riddles that block his path.
So, Willump can run fast, jump long distances, use his body as a sled, use some strong attacks against enemies, and most importantly, juggle snowballs. Meanwhile, Nunu can use his flute to solve puzzles and do some light platforming himself too.
Puzzles
Nunu and Willump’s journey is not going to be an easy one because there will be lots of obstacles blocking their way – broken bridges, closed doors, rivers to cross, and unreachable areas that you will have to jump and climb to get to.
Once you get a hang of the puzzle parts — like the plants that burst and reappear, red plants that work like bombs, shiny ice blocks to climb onto, and musical notes that move platforms — the puzzle-solving process gets progressively more natural.
Some puzzles are chain reaction-based, some need perfect timing and to solve some puzzles, you need to get to multiple areas and move things around. All of it is quite engrossing.
I did find myself being stuck at some sections of the puzzles, only to find out that the solution was right in front of me — I just had to think outside the box. Props to the level designers because the challenges are very creative.
As I mentioned before, Willump only makes noises and doesn’t say anything, but his subtitles actually have hints. For example, when I was trying to solve a puzzle, but was about to do something wrong, Willump’s subtitle turned to ‘[Warns]’ and I had to stop what I was doing. Didn’t want to disappoint big ol’ Willump, you know?
The game reminded me of God of War Ragnarok which involved similar elements of puzzles, some even being timing-based. But unlike Atreus, Nunu didn’t sound off the puzzle solution as soon as you set your eyes on it. The game gives you time to figure it out and only mentions hints when it’s the right time. However, if you keep dying and respawning, or doing the wrong thing over and over again, the game might give you hints every single time, which can get slightly repetitive.
Aside from that, even Willump does his part while hinting; he will cutely point at the location where you need to go if you’re stuck. I appreciated that. Thanks, Willump!
Verdict
Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story is a fun game that you can complete in 6-10 hours because once you get invested, you will find it hard to keep it down. If you’re a fan of League, you will also meet Lissandra, Braum, and more from the OG game.
Lissandra, the Ice Witch, is the baddie here and while she looks the part of a fearsome antagonist, her backstory is layered and more than the standard trope you’d normally expect from a short game.
This simple and linear experience isn’t punishing at all, which is why grown-ups and kids will enjoy playing it. You can go for it if you want a break from stressful games or if you’d like to gift it to a child who loves to solve challenging puzzles. I recommend it for children above the age of 10 (as per the ESRB rating) because Song of Nunu gives you as many opportunities to retry a puzzle as you wish and doesn’t rush you. It will help inculcate logical thinking and help kids learn to figure out creative solutions to problems in an entertaining way.
The game decides to do away with the format of the ‘missions’ list and keeps the screen UI-free to make players more immersed – and it works. While playing, I wasn’t focused on which ‘quest’ I had to do next — I was just focused on progressing Nunu’s story, intrigued to find out what’s about to happen, because the game seamlessly guides you to your next destination.
So, to conclude, yes, Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story does achieve what it set out to do. It’s an epic adventure that explores unbreakable friendship, loss, and family — all with a spark of magic.
If you’d like to read more Reviews for the latest games from our team, be sure to explore more on Gamer Tweak.