Martin JørgensenDownload Ruined King: A League of Legends Story
Ruined King is a turn-based, narrative-driven RPG set in Riot’s League of Legends universe. The game isn’t free and, to everyone’s surprise, was released in mid-November during one of Riot’s livestreams without prior notice.
The studios behind Ruined King
The game is developed by Airship Syndicate, which is immediately apparent—Ruined King looks and almost feels like a spiritual twin to Airship Syndicate’s other title, Battle Chasers: Nightwar.
It’s published by Riot Games (more specifically Riot Forge, a Riot label focused on publishing games from third-party studios), which is why the LoL universe is used in the game, including some of the most iconic League of Legends champions.
There’s clearly solid budget behind the project—visible in the cutscenes and parts of the visuals—though that’s one of the few areas where Ruined King truly differs from Airship Syndicate’s other game.
Platforms you can play on
Beyond PC, you can also get Ruined King on several of your other devices.
If you own a Nintendo Switch, you can now get Ruined King for it as well.
PlayStation players can also play the game by purchasing it through PlayStation Store. For now, it’s available on PlayStation 4, but those who buy the PS4 version will receive a free upgrade to the PS5 version when it releases in 2022.
Xbox players can likewise purchase the game for their platform.
The positives
Ruined King appeals to longtime franchise fans who already know much of the lore from Riot’s website, while also standing on its own as a welcoming entry point for newcomers.
In other words, you don’t need to have played League of Legends or watched any of its lore videos on YouTube to understand what’s going on. The game does a great job introducing the backstory. You can choose from six iconic LoL characters (Miss Fortune, Illaoi, Braum, Ahri, Yasuo, and Pyke), who help drive the narrative forward.
Overall, the gameplay is satisfying, focusing less on luck and more on strategy. It also lets you explore Runeterra in ways that haven’t been possible before—and you’re playing single-player instead of dealing with the sometimes (almost always) toxic online community found in League of Legends. We dive deeper into the combat system later in the article.
Audio and visuals are great, shifting between a comic-book look and a more ‘fantasy‑realistic’ style familiar from League of Legends.
The battles—despite their length, which we mention under ‘the negatives’—are actually very engaging and exciting for a long stretch, largely thanks to the strategic layer the game implements.
The negatives
Ruined King is a bit more superficial than we expected. While the narrative angle lets Riot breathe life into its world—something League has only scratched the surface of—the game feels like the beginning (and only the beginning) of something larger. In other words, the story isn’t as rich or fleshed out as we’d hoped.
There are also a few rough edges that can slightly hamper the experience. At times you need to talk to NPCs you can’t reach (either because they’re standing in an awkward spot or simply don’t respond when you click them).
Fights can also drag on, especially when characters use their ultimate abilities, which trigger cutscenes that make already slightly long battles even longer—and not in a good way.
A bit about combat mechanics and strategies
While encounters can run long, combat is otherwise designed in an exciting way. The two studios teamed up to create a new form of turn-based combat inspired by League of Legends’ three rows/lanes. The three lanes are named Speed, Balance, and Power—each affecting how your abilities and attacks are executed.
The Speed lane lets you use your abilities and attacks faster, at the cost of some effectiveness. The Power lane lets you act more slowly but much more powerfully. As the name implies, the Balance lane sits in between.
On top of this system, you also have so‑called ‘hazard zones’ to watch for. These appear as squares across the three lanes. Hazards can be positive, negative, or both at once. Both you and the enemy can place attacks or defenses within these squares to create stronger or weaker outcomes, depending on how you play your cards.
Conclusion
If you’re a fan of the LoL universe or think Ruined King’s combat system sounds compelling, we’re confident you’ll enjoy this game. If you’re expecting a sequel to League of Legends, however, this is not the right game for you—you’ll almost certainly be disappointed.
The graphics are attractive, and it’s interesting how the style shifts between two distinct looks. On the other hand, battles can feel ‘too long,’ and the story is a bit more superficial than we anticipated.
Download Ruined King: A League of Legends Story
