League of Legends Wild Rift, The Most Comprehensive Review: Not enough thumbs!
League of Legends Wild Rift Review
I Need more thumbs
However, my ever so slight addiction to playing League of Legends was always curbed by my need for things like, oh, I don't know, Going to sleep. Until now...
Truthfully, the only time I have found Wild Rift useful is when I am sick and unable to be on my computer out of fear that I will pass out on my keyboard. In this circumstance it has been a really great way to pass time when I am feeling the urge to play League but can't get up to do so.
As a portable way to play League of Legends it does the job, it does genuinely feel like I am playing League of Legends. However, the fact that it is a mobile game still has its limits and while it is a nice alternative when on the go, or if you don't have a PC, it is still very lacking in depth.
I do like how intuitive playing feels. It doesn't necessarily feel difficult to get into, but it does feel like it might take some practice to get used to. Especially if you're not an avid mobile player in general.
However, one of the key reasons I dislike the game is quite simple: Using my thumbs to do everything feels awful.
Using my left thumb for movement feels horrible and makes it sore. I often find myself feeling like I need to press down harder than I probably should. Using my right thumb for moving across the map, casting and cancelling spells also sucks. But hey, at least both of my thumbs will be equally screwed in the process.
The UI is extremely clunky and kind of nasty, using crucial summoner spells like Flash is very awkward, especially when trying to time it effectively.
Cancelling spells is possibly one of the worst parts of gameplay. Being able to cancel spells in a fast paced game such as League is important, especially with Wild Rift, as it is a much quicker game than regular League.
When playing, I often found myself trying to concentrate on the game and cancel a spell, ending up missing where the button was entirely and casting the spell anyway. Having an ability available to you can be the difference between life and death. In the game, not literally.
It can also be majorly embarrassing trying to land a Lux ultimate across the map, trying to cancel, and just casting it in some random spot I didn't intend to.
The photo above is an example of the UI.
You can see that it is quite cluttered with many things as League is the type of game where there is a lot going on, information and communication is essential.
Speaking about communication, you might know League of Legends has a bit of a reputation for having a pretty horrible community. Well, if you thought it stopped at the PC game you'd be wrong! Can you believe people take the time to type on that god awful horizontal phone keyboard just to tell you to go die? I can't even be bothered using the stupid keyboard to say something as simple as 'Hi', let alone tell someone they're a moron. Imagine if people put that much effort into playing the game instead of yelling at random strangers.
As you can see in this image above:
The blue "( x )" button located in the top right hand corner is how you cancel a spell. Now, this could be an issue for me as my phone is a Samsung Note 9, it's a big boy, so when I need to quickly switch from casting to cancelling spells it feels like my thumb has to really stretch a lot. This is probably just an issue with me having a big ass phone and small hands but I doubt I am the only one with this issue.
Navigating through the map is also a bit challenging, you are able to do so with either thumb. However, if you want to play the game you will usually use your right thumb to navigate. In order to actually do this I have to move my thumb all the way across my phone every time I want to see the other side of the map. Like I said before, not easy on a big phone. I am going to need an insanely good hand massage after binging this game. If you want to look around with your left thumb then you may as well do that when dead, as your left thumb is meant for maneuvering!
Getting into the more perhaps controversial parts of Wild Rift is of course, the reward system and micro transactions. Now, I completely understand micro transactions and Riot kind of go together like strawberries and cream. Wild Rift, I have to say, has really found a way to make it even worse. Sure, they offer heaps of events and plenty of opportunities to receive rewards. But the actual rewards you get are complete crap. I would equate them to episodes of filler in an anime that is way too long to watch.
We are all familiar with the loot box concept in these games. It is unknown what is in them and sometimes you can even get rare, really cool stuff. In Wild Rift however, they somehow managed to make rewards boring and unimaginative. It's actually unbelievable.
Chests only seem to contain things to boost your team and yourself in XP and 'Blue Motes'. Blue motes are the peasant currency used by the disgusting free players, like myself.
If I have learned anything from my time playing these games it's that I definitely don't need to buy skins that I already own on the original game. The original game that is far more enjoyable than this, and that I would like to play instead of this but my thumbs might be too crippled by the time I am done here.
Coming back to the rewards that you can get, there are lots of opportunities. One of them is completing missions to earn weekly chests. You are able to earn 3 chests in a week, the third one having the best rewards. Well, I say 'best' but it's just higher quantities, the rewards don't change. In these chests you receive 'Blue motes', XP, and 'Poro Coins'. The Poro coins are the most important reward here.
Poro coins are a currency that allow you to consistently get the chance to receive skins. But, it isn't easy. You need to spend Poro Coins to charge up your "Poro Energy Meter". Once the meter is full (5000/5000 energy) then you get a 'Poro Store Random Skin Chest'. God, I am so tired of writing and thinking 'Poro'.
Then there is stuff like the 'Wild Pass'. The Wild Pass is just another way to earn stuff by playing the game. You can purchase a premium pass to earn additional sexier rewards. Or, you can just stay with the filthy commoner 'free' pass where you get essentially nothing of value. Hey, if you dedicate enough of your time though you can always get something mildly better than the rewards at the beginning of the pass, but it still won't even come close to the premium rewards.
The Wild Pass in question
Of course if you want to skip all the labour and just get what you want, you can buy Wild Core's, the premium currency. For reference, most skins cost '990', '725', or rarely, '525' Cores. If you spend $15 you can get 2050 Wild Core's in total. You buy a flat rate of 1,025 and get 984 + 41 bonus. That is just enough for two 990 skins. You can also buy champions with Wild Core's but why would you waste your dollars on that when you can earn them with 5,500 Blue Motes, the poor people currency.
Although there is a lot I don't care for in Wild Rift, I am extremely jealous of the updated visuals. Wild Rift was developed based on the Unity Engine and looks a lot nicer than PC League of Legends. All the characters get updated graphics and visuals and look super nice. It's unfortunate that it can't be translated to the PC game, as it was built around 2009 using C++, Lua, and C#.
However, it seems that Wild Rift might not be just Mobile exclusive, but Console players can get excited too! Not much has been revealed about a Console version except that it won't be released until the Mobile version is fully complete. At first it was scheduled to release simultaneously in 2020 but due to Covid-19 it was delayed.
If you are looking for a beautiful but watered down experience of League of Legends, then Wild Rift is a good introduction. However, that is just about all you're going to get. Being a mobile game limits it from having any of the depth that the PC game has to offer. At the end of the day it is like any other Free to Play mobile game, and if that's what you like then I would definitely recommend trying it.
Comments
Post a Comment