Magic is everywhere if you know where to look, look no further than Digital Sun’s The Mageseeker. This is a worthy addition to the ever-growing list of League of Legends spin-offs. This time, in a pixel-art action-RPG, you take on the role of Sylas The Unshackled, who has escaped from prison and seeks revenge on those who held him back since childhood. It stays true to League of Legends lore and expands on it in exciting new ways, showing us even more spell-stealing rebels. I wish I had taken a different path.
Following in the footsteps of other League of Legends spin-offs such as Ruined King and Hextech Mayhem, The Mageseeker brings another batch of characters from a roster of over 160 champions to life in new ways. Cyrus is portrayed in a bigger way than ever before as he helps lead a rebellion against the tyrannical kingdom of Demacia where mages are being hunted. It bears a slight resemblance to a moment in real-world history that has been persecuted by
It took me about 18 hours to not only complete The Mageseeker on Hard difficulty, but to complete everything required for the Platinum trophy on PlayStation 5. , and a handful of reboots against a few bosses that gave me a bit of trouble.
You only play as Cyrus, but the Mageseeker has a few other fan-favorite characters like Morgana, Garen, Lux, Jarvan IV, Shyvana, and a few I won’t spoil for the ride. It was a lot of fun to see how Digital Sun envisioned how strong these champions would be if they weren’t constrained by the need to balance them in competitive situations Morgana’s Dark Binding lasts longer, Lux’s laser is larger than life, and Shyvana shows true scale when transforming into dragon form. There are also plenty of Easter eggs and other fun nods throughout the story that will delight League of Legends fans.
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In addition to familiar faces, Sylas is joined by an amusing original cast of characters who play a variety of supporting roles throughout a tale of revenge, growth and rebellion. Leilani forms a strong bond with Cyrus early on and acts as a guiding light for the Rebellion, but Cyrus does what he has to do on the journey in hopes of freeing himself from the mageseeker’s persecution. those seeking to imprison or eliminate them.
Mageseeker begins with a literal bang, with Cyrus borrowing the magic of young Lux to escape from a Demacian prison and upcoming execution. The first mission seems significant, but it slows down a bit early on when Sylas takes on the role of leader of the rebellion, and Mageseeker completely nails the feel of playing Sylas. How to dash repeatedly, how to use chains to pull you in on enemies and surroundings, all the spells you can borrow and use for your own ends. You’ll get used to it pretty quickly in combat, though, and the mechanics are intuitive enough that even those who aren’t should be able to pick it up easily.
As Cyrus, you have the ability to sense and borrow the magical abilities of others and use them against those who stand in your way. Now Most of it fell into six different elemental trees, almost all of which played a useful role at different moments as we progressed. Early spells included elemental projectiles to counter enemies with opposite affinities, while later spells included wide-effect versions or spells that granted my melee Attacks healed, shielded, or infiltrated with elemental buffs. Spells stolen from enemies are single-use, but as you progress, you gain the ability to create borrowed spells and use them as needed, as long as you have mana. can be chanted.
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Combat starts simple, but in later levels, when faced with larger groups of enemies and their numerous projectiles, if you don’t move and dash or pull yourself onto the enemy, you’ll gain a large amount of health. I mostly focused on using spells that restore health or grant shields, but it was more about my playstyle than it should be. There are many options, and the ability to trade spells at any of the generously placed checkpoints. Across stages, you get even more flexibility.
In addition to his standard spells, Sylas gains access to powerful ultimate abilities, most of which allow him to temporarily increase his power as well as deal massive amounts of damage. Lux’s ultimate, using his Final Spark to fire a large, focused beam of light and dismantle a large group of enemies, is usually multiple using the same ability in his League of Legends game. It’s just as fun as securing a kill for
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Enemies are diverse, ranging from elemental mages hired by the Magseekers to cast spells and hurl ice shards, heal other enemies, and create damaging wind cyclones. Creature-based foes, from fiery frogs named Lava Gromp, who League fans can create a field of fire to, to other large beasts that summon a homing beam of lightning, like the gorilla-lizard hybrid Thunderbeast The levels constantly mixed up enemy placement and added a nice level of depth that was plaguing me when deciding which enemy to prioritize.
Most stages are very straightforward, following a similar pattern of simple platforms using Cyrus’ chains or dashes to cross short gaps. A few enemy encounters that must be cleared before the door or gate unlocks, and usually the rest of the level. I would have liked to see some additions to the levels, such as light puzzles and optional platforming challenges to allow you to earn rewards that are not only given as exploration rewards, but are placed throughout the map. There are a number of unlit braziers and other objects in the background that could have been used to trigger something magical like revealing hidden passages or chests, but fire spells on them I was always disappointed that nothing happened when I cast .
However, bosses are one of Mageseeker’s biggest highlights. Thanks to Cyrus’ great mobility, in some battles he could get away with any spell loadout, while in others he swapped the spells he had equipped to give him an elemental advantage, heal or shield. Spells boosting my survivability and such have benefitted me greatly. On the hard difficulty level many of the early bosses wiped me out in 4-6 hits depending on the attack. Getting health and defense upgrades in the middle of the campaign made it a little more forgiving, but the steeper challenge returned in the final hours of the campaign with more and more powerful enemy amounts. Thankfully, this is balanced by adding more ways to heal or mitigate damage. , created a new dynamic where you had to decide how best to use your mana.
In addition to the main mission, there are two chains of side quests. For one, using uniquely enhanced versions of spells to attack mageseeker bases makes for some of the most fun of the entire campaign, despite the way the side missions reuse the same bosses. Another mission chain is a series of basic arenas ending with some more exciting bosses that League of Legends fans will want to see. Levels are also filled with various collectibles, such as adorable Silverwings, mages to recruit, and notes dropped by characters that help provide more background information about the state of the world and life.
The musical score is often filled with fast tempos to match the chaotic combat, combined with relaxed rhythms during the time on the base between levels. Each location has its own style and the music evolves as you progress, culminating in exhilarating melodies during boss fights. The Mage Seeker stays true to Source his material by using various League of Legends voice lines and sounds his effects for the character to activate his abilities. The voice acting is limited, but overall it’s still fun to hear familiar elements outside of their normal surroundings.
I ran into some bugs during my playthrough. Enemies and bosses can no longer be defeated, and abilities cannot be grabbed or borrowed using chains. There was also one weird bug where falling rocks followed me everywhere I went, including the main menu. Quitting and reloading or rebooting wasn’t something that couldn’t be fixed, but it popped up enough times to mention it.
