Overview
Ruined King: A League of Legends Story is a turn-based RPG developed by Airship Syndicate and published by Riot Forge, the Riot Games label dedicated to spin-off games set in its universe. It came out in 2021. The idea is simple: take well-known League of Legends champions and turn them into a party of adventurers in a classic single-player RPG, with exploration, quests and turn-based combat.
Story and world
The adventure starts in Bilgewater, the pirate port city of Runeterra, threatened by the Black Mist coming from the Shadow Isles. Little by little you gather a team of champions such as Miss Fortune, Illaoi, Braum, Yasuo, Ahri and Pyke, each with their own reasons for joining the adventure. You don't need to know League of Legends to follow along: the game introduces its world and its characters as it goes.
Gameplay
Combat is built around a timeline shared by allies and enemies, which shows who is going to act and in what order. When you use a skill, you choose which lane to place it in: the speed lane makes it happen sooner but with a weaker effect, the power lane strengthens the attack but delays it, and the balanced lane sits in between. This lane system that trades off the speed and the power of attacks is a good idea: every turn, you have to choose between hitting fast to act before the enemy or hitting hard and waiting for it.
Outside of fights, you explore the areas, pick up equipment and level up each character's skills. Over the long run, however, the whole thing becomes fairly repetitive.
Verdict
Ruined King is a solid, good-looking RPG, driven by a genuinely good idea in its combat system, but fairly repetitive over the long run.