Break the Bonds of Injustice

There are very few, if any video game rosters that are as packed full of personalities as Riot’s League of Legends. With champion characters from across the whole of Runeterra, it must be difficult for the team to figure out who to give a solo project too. And while my man Darius from the Noxus Empire still awaits his turn in the spotlight with the latest game Mageseeker, developer Digital Sun has made ex-captive Sylas the main character.

$29.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $29.99

Though I spent a lot of years playing LoL; Sylas is a character that must have come after my time with the main game; I still play the mobile Wild Rift version. Sylas is from the nation of Demcia where those who use magic are hunted down by the titular Mageseekers. Sylas was found to possess the ability to detect magic and thus was indoctrinated by the order as a child and used to hunt down mages. One day he took pity on a mage and realized he could borrow the magic of others, but as a child he was unable to control it and was imprisoned due to the death of two fellow mageseeker and the mage he pitied. After 15 years Sylas befriends the younger sister of Garen, one of the Knights of Demcia; as it happens his sister Lux just so happens to be a mage.

Without spoiling too much Sylas escapes and earns the ire of Garen in the process, where is here the game begins. With Sylas out for revenge against the Mageseekers no matter the cost.
The Mageseeker is an action RPG game, which means players will control Sylas while using his chains and magical abilities to pummel those responsible for imprisoning him for so many years. Combat is simplistic at first ranging from light and heavy combos using fists and chains; topped off with the use of magic attacks that can be absorbed from enemy mages. Once Sylas meets the resistance fighters, he will be able to do a lot more, like create magic spells that he has absorbed so that they can be used at will, or if the player has mana.

There are other characters that Sylas meets along the way who all help him on his quest, all of whom have their on grievances with the Mageseekers. Combat is fast and fluid in The Mageseekers, almost too fast for its own good. While Sylas can dash around levels and aim spells with the right analog stick, putting to use his whole repertoire of moves can be difficult when multiple enemies fill the screen. When the action heats up and things are flying around it can be difficult to keep track of Sylas and easy to get hung up on a bit of level geometry which just further upsets things.

The Mageseekers certainly has an audience, especially with LoL having over 152 million monthly players. And while I wasn’t aware of Sylas before this game, I did find his story interesting but for as much as I liked him, I loved all the cameos. Being able to see Shyvana in her full-size dragon form was a treat and I could really appreciate the size and majesty of her in that form. Something that just isn’t possible with the top-down perspective of matches in Summoners Rift. Which is why I am all for these games starring the champs from LoL; it allows those personalities to really shine and garner some new fans of the series and its deep lore. While I didn’t love The Mageseekers mainly due to my issues with the overly fast combat and my difficulty keeping track of Sylas when things really got going. However, as a fan of the lore, I enjoyed his heartbreaking story of revenge and redemption. I am looking forward to the next few releases from Riot Forge that are featuring Ekko and Nunu, but can we please get a project featuring the Noxus Empire…please?

Review copy of game provided by publisher.