Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story Review – Simple Pleasures

A tale of a boy and a Yeti; Song of Nunu is the latest project from Riot Forge. Developed by Spanish outfit Tequila Works, the game is a heartwarming adventure through the icy plains and frozen caves of the Freljordian North. Song of Nunu is cosy, consisting primarily of walking and light puzzle solving, with occasional combat sections. Those familiar with League of Legends will enjoy this one, but I don’t think there’s enough substance here for non-League players to resonate.

As the name implies, Song of Nunu is headlined by every jungler’s least-favourite opponent, the dynamic duo of Nunu and Willump. We don’t get to see how the pair met, instead joining our heroes in the midst of their adventure. Nunu comes from a tribal and nomadic people called the Notai, steeped in Freljordian culture and myth. Willump is a magical Yeti, supposedly the last of his kind.

Right from the beginning, the pair’s objective is clear. Nunu’s mother Layka has been missing since raiders attacked their tribe’s caravans. Nunu believes that by finding the “heart of the blue”, a myth his mother used to tell him about, the two can be reunited.

Song of Nunu is a light experience; there isn’t much here that will challenge players. The majority of the gameplay is climbing or running through each area while listening to Nunu and Willump engage in affectionate conversation. There are some puzzles to be solved, usually a new mechanic for each area forms the core of that area’s puzzles. If you’re dawdling for too long then our protagonists will usually be on-hand to give you a hint.

I appreciate that each of the puzzles is built around utilising both of the pair’s abilities, really making you feel like the duo is a team. It’s clear Song of Nunu was designed from the ground up with this philosophy in mind. A fantastic job has been done in giving Willump, the non-speaking Yeti as fleshed-out a personality as his human companion. You really get the sense that these two are a collective, rather than individuals.

You could call Song of Nunu a platformer, albeit a basic one. The climbing sections are essentially just jumping from one icy handhold to the next, or shifting from wall to wall if you’re playing Willump. If you time your jumps right then you’ll be rewarded with a small speed boost, adding a neat fluidity to the motion. There’s nothing intricate here, just classic simple platforming.

Narratively, Song of Nunu is telling a fairly standard story. You start the game with an objective and spend its entirety chasing that goal, with a couple of detours along the way. There’s nothing you’d really consider a twist, and you encounter the characters you’d expect. Lissandra is the primary antagonist in a game set in the Freljord? Colour me surprised. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with this. Song of Nunu is an adaptation of League of Legends, and League’s lore has never been that elaborate. The game does a great job of showcasing the existing lore of Nunu and the Freljord, and that’s enough.

Song of Nunu’s combat isn’t too complicated and appears to exist solely to break up the other sections of the game and for the couple of ‘boss battles’. There are only a couple of enemy variations and you can pick them all off with ease by spamming the same attack. There are these cute fatality-style animations when you finish off an enemy, which I enjoy.

Other than the core building blocks of walking, platforming, puzzle solving and combat, you also have sections where Nunu and Willump go full Shaun White and slide down rolling hills of snow, complete with speed boosts and ramps. The only thing missing is the ability to perform cool tricks in mid-air. I’d be down to see Willump do a backside 360.

Curiously, there’s also a full stealth section near the end of the game complete with detection meters and distraction mechanics. I certainly wasn’t expecting this but it was a refreshing change from the regular gameplay loop that was starting to drag towards the game’s conclusion. That being said, I think Song of Nunu was exactly as long as it should be. You can probably blow through it in 8 hours without rushing, enough time to be satisfied with the experience without feeling bored.

One aspect I’ve found with every Riot Forge game I’ve played is that the voice-acting and score are always on point. As Nunu’s flute Svellsongur plays such a big role in the game, you’re treated to a plethora of wistful and melancholic solos that really set the scene. The Freljord is a vast, lonely area and the melodies of Svellsongur make you feel like you’re a small speck of life surviving in a dark and desolate land.

That’s one thing that Song of Nunu does very well, it captures the intended feeling of its source material. The Freljord is this wondrous, magical place full of myths and history and you get to experience everything the region has to offer. You even get to meet some of these myths; you can probably guess which ones if you’re familiar with League.

That is the essence of Song of Nunu. It’s an elementary story platformer that has the mechanics you’d expect it to, has the characters you’d expect it to and makes you feel how you think it would. It’s a sleek creation, with quality visuals and audio. Song of Nunu does everything it intends to do well and goes above and beyond in some areas. That being said, there isn’t anything that excites or entices in this charming little adventure, there just isn’t anything particularly compelling here. Fans of the source material will get what they came for, the uninitiated may find themselves bored or uninterested.