Do you wanna build a Snowman?
As a fan of the rich universe of Runeterra aka League of Legends, when I first saw the trailer for Song of Nunu I was already all in. The past few games that studio Riot Forge have delivered about the varied characters in their world have all been great. One of the reasons for this is it is allowing the team to expand on the lore of these characters that simply isn’t possible in the MOBA setting. So, did Song of Nunu deliver or did it melt like a snowman in the sun?
MSRP: $29.99
Platforms: Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $29.99
Song of Nunu begins with the titular boy telling his yeti friend Willump a story that his mother used to tell him. The Heart of the Blue, his mother told him is located in the Winged Mountains. Nunu and Willump being the adventurous sort of course set off to traverse the Freljord and trek to the Winged Mountains, which is where the journey begins. In what is the first of many cameo characters from LoL the main antagonist in Song of Nunu is Lissandra the ice witch. She will send her dark wolves to attack our heroic pair which leads to some basic combat. Nothing as technical as a Devil May Cry but simple attacks, dodges and rolls felt satisfying all the same.
At its core, Song of Nunu is a tried-and-true narrative-driven adventure title. While the focus is on the story, players will find some fun exploring the beautiful designed Freljord, platforming and puzzle-solving. Most of the puzzles involve using Nunu’s magical flute, Svellsongur which is a lot like an elven ocarina. Using the Svellsongur, Nunu can interact with different creatures for instance playing certain notes makes certain creatures follow you, which you can then climb to access harder to reach locations. The game is filled with interactions like this, I was smiling ear to ear; the relationship that is displayed between Nunu and Willump is simply –heartwarming.
Mixed in with the puzzles are some fun mini-games. At some points, Nunu will jump on Willump’s back as he belly-surfs down massive snowdrifts. You’ll break out into a snowball fight with Willump several times throughout the adventure as well, which is a nice break from the bleak and harsh landscape of the Freljord. But is also a wonderful way that developer Tequila Works shows the love and friendship between our heroic duo.
While I enjoyed my time with Song of Nunu, I did have a few small gripes. I wasn’t a fan of the stealth sequences; not that they were inherently bad I just am not a fan of forced stealth in games and wish it would go away. I would have liked some more time with a few of the side characters all of which come from LoL but that’s simply because I am a fan. What I really can’t wait for is the team to make a game on the Noxus Empire, specifically Darius. Oh man, he’s in the forthcoming fighting game but I really want a solo game to use ‘dunkmaster’ Darius. But I digress, as a fan of League of Legends this game is really a no brainer, but for non-fans looking for a fun, action-adventure title then you should look no further than The Song of Nunu.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
