Ekko is a bit of a problem for game designers. Honestly, he's a nightmare. How do you take a character whose entire identity revolves around "oops, let me try that again" and put him in a 2D action platformer without making the player feel like an invincible god? That was the big question hanging over Double Stallion Games when they took on Convergence: A League of Legends Story. Most people expected a simple cash-in on the Arcane hype, but what we actually got was a mechanically dense exploration of regret, time-travel paradoxes, and the gritty reality of Zaun.
It’s fast. Like, really fast. If you’ve played League, you know Ekko’s Z-Drive is his heart and soul. In Convergence, it isn't just a flashy ultimate move you hit once every two minutes. It is the core of every jump, every swing of his bat, and every missed platform. You mess up? Rewind. You get hit by a Chemtech thug? Rewind. But there’s a catch—you only have so many charges. This turns the game into a weird, beautiful dance of trial and error that feels more like Katana ZERO than a traditional Metroidvania.
The story doesn't just play it safe, either.
What Convergence: A League of Legends Story Gets Right About Zaun
Most media depicts Zaun as just "the sewer under Piltover." It’s usually just green goo and sad people. Convergence: A League of Legends Story actually lets you breathe in the smog. You aren't just passing through; you're a local. Ekko’s relationship with his parents—which is one of the most grounded and touching parts of League lore—is front and center here. It adds a layer of stakes that isn't just "save the world." It’s "don't let my neighborhood fall apart while my parents are just trying to have dinner."
The game introduces a future version of Ekko, and without spoiling the big pivots, it handles the "corrupted future self" trope with surprising nuance. It’s not just about a hero turned villain. It’s about the exhaustion of someone who has rewound time ten thousand times and still couldn't fix everything. It asks a heavy question: at what point does "doing it over" become a curse?
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Combat and the Flow State
If you're coming from League, you’ll recognize the kit immediately. Timewinder (the Q) works exactly like you’d expect—throw it out, it slows enemies, and you have to position yourself to catch it on the way back for maximum damage. Parallel Convergence (the W) creates that familiar slow-down zone. But in a 2D space, these abilities take on a totally different life. You’re not just clicking on a champion; you’re managing momentum.
Double Stallion opted for a "hit and run" style. Ekko is squishy. He’s a kid with a glowing stick, not a tank. This means you spend a lot of time dashing, wall-running, and using "Phase Dive" to blink through projectiles. The bosses are the real standout here. Each one, from Camille to Warwick, feels like a puzzle. Camille, specifically, is a lesson in frustration and triumph. Her precision and hook-shot movement force you to use your rewind charges defensively rather than just for fixing mistakes.
Why the "Metroidvania" Label is Kinda Misleading
People love to slap the Metroidvania tag on any 2D game with a map, but Convergence: A League of Legends Story leans way harder into the action-platformer side of the spectrum. Yes, there is backtracking. Yes, there are upgrades. But the "flow" is much more linear and focused than something like Hollow Knight. This isn't about getting lost in a labyrinth for three hours. It’s about mastery of movement.
The upgrade system is actually pretty deep. You collect "Cogs" and materials to craft gadgets that change how your abilities work. Maybe you want your Timewinder to trail a slowing field, or maybe you want your basic attacks to generate more resonance. It allows for a bit of "build" expression, though by the end of the game, you'll likely feel like a Swiss Army knife anyway.
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- The Parkour: It’s snappy. Wall-running feels heavy but responsive.
- The Art Style: It’s colorful, comic-book inspired, and pops way more than the muted tones of Arcane.
- The Music: Very lo-fi, synth-heavy, perfectly matching the "scrappy genius" vibe of Ekko’s workshop.
The Problem With Perfection
One thing that might bug some players is the lack of "true" stakes in the platforming because of the rewind mechanic. If you can just undo every fall, does the platforming actually matter? Well, yes and no. The game counters this by making the platforming sections increasingly complex, requiring you to chain five or six different moves together. If you run out of charges, you go back to the last checkpoint. It’s a generous system, but on higher difficulties, you’ll find yourself sweating those last few bars of Z-Drive energy.
Another point of contention is the length. You can blast through the main story in about 10 hours. For some, that’s a "wait for a sale" duration. But honestly? It’s refreshing. In an era of 100-hour open-world bloat, a game that knows what it wants to do, does it, and then gets out of the way is a blessing. It doesn't overstay its welcome.
Characters You Didn’t Expect to See
We have to talk about the cameos. Riot Forge (the publishing arm that handled these games before it was sadly scaled back) was great at letting developers play with the toy box. Seeing Camille in this art style is a treat. She’s terrifying. She moves with a mechanical lethality that justifies her "Steel Shadow" moniker. Then there’s Jinx. Her inclusion feels earned, not forced. It highlights the tragedy of her and Ekko’s fractured friendship without leaning too hard on what the Netflix show already established. This is its own canon, its own flavor.
Technical Performance and Accessibility
On PC and consoles, it runs like a dream. You want high frame rates for a game this fast, and Double Stallion delivered. They also included a ton of accessibility options. You can tune the combat difficulty and the platforming difficulty separately. That’s huge. If you’re a lore nerd who sucks at wall-jumping, you can make the game more forgiving. If you’re a platforming god who wants to get one-shot by bosses, you can do that too.
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The map design is also worth a shout-out. Zaun is layered. You go from the "Sump" at the very bottom, which is dark and claustrophobic, up to the more vibrant, neon-soaked middle layers. Each zone feels distinct, and the shortcuts you unlock actually make sense within the world's architecture. It’s not just random doors opening; it’s Ekko fixing an elevator or blowing a hole through a wall he couldn't bypass before.
The Reality of Riot Forge’s Legacy
It’s a bit bittersweet talking about Convergence: A League of Legends Story now. With the restructuring at Riot, the "A League of Legends Story" series is essentially on ice. This game, along with Song of Nunu and The Mageseeker, represented a really cool experiment: letting indie devs take massive IPs and make something weird with them.
Convergence feels like the most "complete" of the bunch in terms of mechanics matching the character. Ekko was the perfect choice for a time-manipulation platformer. It’s the kind of game that reminds you why we liked these characters in the first place, before they became icons on a balance sheet.
Actionable Tips for New Players
If you’re just starting out, don’t hoard your Z-Drive charges. The game is designed for you to use them. Seriously. Also, prioritize the "Trailblazer" upgrades early on; they make exploring for collectibles much less of a chore. Most importantly, pay attention to the environment. Double Stallion hid a lot of "show, don't tell" storytelling in the backgrounds of the shops and homes in Zaun.
- Master the Parry: It’s not just for show. Parrying projectiles is the fastest way to build up your resonance and take down shielded enemies.
- Explore Verticality: Many of the best upgrades are hidden behind platforming challenges that aren't on the main path. If you see a pipe you think you can reach, you probably can.
- Talk to Everyone: The NPCs in the hub area change their dialogue frequently. It’s where most of the world-building happens.
Convergence: A League of Legends Story is a rare licensed game that stands on its own legs. You don't need to know the difference between an Item Shop and a Dragon Pit to enjoy it. It’s just a damn good action game about a kid trying to save his home, one second at a time. Go play it if you want a tight, responsive platformer that actually respects your time.
To get the most out of your experience, start on "Hard" difficulty if you have any history with platformers like Mega Man or Hollow Knight. The rewind mechanic makes "Normal" feel a bit too easy, and the tension of running low on charges is where the game truly shines. Once you finish the story, check out the "Chronobreak" challenges to really test your mastery of Ekko’s movement kit.