Song of Nunu review – LoL spinoff hits some bum notes

The Music of Nunu is a pleasant exploration of a few of League of Legends’ most fascinating lore, although its gameplay typically feels extra like a stalactite-filled impediment course than a clean, Willump-y stomach slide throughout the Freljord’s frostscapes. As Tequila Works daintily treads themes of grief and located household by way of Music of Nunu’s story, its total execution is as clumsy as a yeti’s disco. Above all else, although, the studio has excelled at weaving collectively a cohort of League’s most-loved champions, and the ice-forged brotherhood between its two protagonists leaves a long-lasting impression after the credit roll.

Nunu and Willump have had one of the weird trajectories in League of Legends’ historical past. The topics of Pornstar Zilean’s notorious but artistic ‘Disco Nunu’ tech, the MOBA’s most healthful duo have lengthy been linked with poisonous gameplay and audacious strikes. These days, I can’t even hear the identify ‘Nunu’ with no shrill, Swedish shriek drifting in on the wind (although, admittedly, I’m an enjoyer of Charlie ‘KeshaEUW’ Eriksson’s content material).

Fortunately, Riot Forge has stepped in, teaming up with RiME developer Tequila Works to reset their popularity and remind us that, on the frozen coronary heart of all of it, it’s only a magical boy and his yeti pal being a few bros and slinging snowballs at one another whereas on a grand quest to seek out Nunu’s mom, Layka. The most important hurdle for the studio to clear has been translating the duo from the Rift in a means that endears them to an viewers and makes their bond really feel genuine. And it’s right here, and maybe solely right here, that the studio has hit a house run.

The principle thrust of Music of Nunu’s narrative is rigorously crafted round how Nunu and Willump navigate grief and trauma. Within the authentic canon – as it’s right here – Nunu’s tribe was attacked by raiders, separating him from his mom, whereas Nunu’s total species perished throughout a struggle with the Watchers. It’s extremely heavy stuff, and the distinction between how Nunu – a younger boy – and Willump – an historical yeti – method it in their very own distinctive methods supplies a heart-breaking layer of complexity to their in any other case effervescent personalities. Although the odd communication mismatch can result in frustration for them each, they’re completely unstoppable when singing from the identical track sheet.

Music of Nunu is full of distinctive interactions between Nunu and Willump which are completely cute and successfully construct on their discovered brotherhood. Whether or not it’s Willump throwing a snowball at Nunu for sub-standard flute enjoying, a stomach bump after a profitable mission, or the plethora of different tiny interactions that the pair share, I rapidly related with them in a means I’d by no means been capable of in my decade of enjoying League – Tango’s use of physique language, particularly when animating the non-speaking Willump, is expertly deployed. Whereas there’s severe juice to the overarching plot and the forces that lurk beneath the floor of Lissandra’s wall of true ice, it was the interpersonal connection between the protagonists that I used to be magnetized to – an actual Rell final to the feels.

It’s not solely Nunu and Willump that really feel so authentically alive, although. Whereas I received’t touch upon characters but to be revealed, Braum is as heat and kooky as I’d hoped he’d be, whereas Lissandra’s lonely, anti-heroic technique for holding her homeland protected – learn the lore! – supplies a powerful juxtaposition to Nunu’s personal modus operandi. What would you sacrifice to save lots of the world? And does sacrifice point out true power? These are the salient questions that function Music of Nunu’s high line, and the studio does nicely to discover them by way of its rigorously curated forged of characters.

Nonetheless, whereas I loved the eight hours I spent traversing the Freljordian tundra with Nunu and Willump for probably the most half, I’m not satisfied that Tango has executed sufficient to make their large journey as epic and superior because it might’ve been – and all of it begins with the Freljord itself.

Visually, Music of Nunu is stylistically easy, however there’s element in all the correct locations. You received’t be capable to rely each blade of grass that dares to insurgent towards the snow that smothers it, however there’s sufficient variation within the icy hues, and pure distinction due to different terrain components to maintain it fascinating. Sure areas are extremely fairly, bolstered by the magical properties of the ice. Whether or not you’re utilizing large rocks as cowl in a snowball battle, or are sliding down a mountain, Nunu and Willump take advantage of their environment to have enjoyable, even when, nonetheless, there isn’t a complete lot there.

The sport is extremely linear, which is rarely a nasty factor if it’s full of loads to do. Sadly, the Freljord nonetheless feels empty, regardless of there being a smattering of collectibles to seek out – these don’t require a lot looking, as there are only a few paths to divert down all through. Contemplating how nicely the sport’s forged meshes inside it, I might have liked to see deepened exploration alternatives for Nunu, in addition to extra methods to examine and work together with the world round him to see and listen to how he perceives his homeland.

This shallowness turns into extra pronounced with regards to lots of Music of Nunu’s puzzles. Whereas I loved juggling controller inputs whereas enjoying Svellsongur on Willump’s again, that was maybe the largest mechanical problem I confronted – positively go for a controller over a keyboard and mouse in the event you can. The presentation for the extra advanced conundrums has stable ideation driving them, however their visible semantics may be complicated, and timing checks typically dictate their problem. Play a observe to open a door right here, a number of extra to attraction a Krug into following you there, the bread and butter of exploration is all very threadbare. I even encountered a few irritating, game-breaking bugs that necessitated restarting my recreation mid-puzzle.

Platforming can be a blended bag. Right here we are able to see Tango implementing methods by which Nunu and Willump can really bend the surroundings to their will, granting the Freljord a way of being greater than only a backdrop that they occur to exist inside. However, with regards to navigating ledges and different obstacles, all of it feels awkward. Bounce at a shelf and also you would possibly simply latch onto it, or swiftly fall to your loss of life relying on how fiendish the hitbox feels. Rapidly spamming the leap button once more as quickly as you really join will grant you a small pace increase, which as a mechanic is completely superfluous.

Maybe the largest query mark that hangs over Music of Nunu is the pacing of mechanics being launched. That is most outstanding within the recreation’s closing act when Nunu is made to do his finest Stable Snake impression. The best way by which stealth is dropped in out of nowhere feels incongruent with all the things that preceded it, and will have simply featured in brief bursts all through – Nunu might sneak previous a pack of sleeping Murk Wolves to achieve a collectible, maybe. It’s, as soon as once more, jarring, and exhibits a scarcity of care when synthesizing Nunu’s gameplay that contradicts the take care of its characters and storytelling.

The snowball of missed alternatives continues once we get into Music of Nunu’s fight. I’ve to commend Tango on implementing a wide range of artistic finishers when coping with the Freljord’s most unruly denizens that when once more amplify the connection between Nunu and Willump. With that stated, enemy selection is extremely restricted outdoors a few considerably difficult boss encounters, and fight is decreased to easy button mixtures. The saving grace is that Willump doesn’t battle solo, and there’s a means for the back-bound Nunu to get entangled that provides a skinny veneer of dynamism to the proceedings, but it surely finally lacks the identical sophistication of these takedowns. Once more, I want there have been extra methods by which Tango was capable of make the most of the surroundings in giving the pair some additional instruments within the warmth of battle.

If I haven’t already scared you into ready for Music of Nunu to go on sale – I might advocate doing so taking a look at its $30 price ticket – then it’s definitely price staving off till Tango has rectified its body drops and micro jittering – my PC has a Ryzen 5 3600 and an RTX 3070, for reference. Efficiency hasn’t been the studio’s sturdy go well with traditionally – RiME suffered equally – and it’s disappointing to see that, a number of years later, it nonetheless can’t fairly get it proper.

As an exploration of among the Freljord’s most necessary faces Music of Nunu excels, but it surely’s hamstrung by banal gameplay design and a litany of bugs and efficiency points. The result’s a recreation that I really feel like I’ve performed 100 instances on antiquated consoles, and fails to spark the creativeness in the identical means its characters and narrative handle to. Whereas I’m glad Riot gave Tango an additional 12 months to shine the expertise, the consequence remains to be very a lot hit-and-miss.