The Mageseeker was provided by Riot Forge for review. Thank you!
From the creators of Moonlighter comes a new tale set within the League of Legends universe! The Mageseeker is an action RPG where you play as Sylas, a mage that is on a revenge quest to kill the ones that enslaved you. Using the chains that wielded you and magic abilities that you can either steal or learn, you will face your enemies in epic combat. Raise your rebellion and liberate Demacia from the oppressive tyrannical rule of the Mageseekers to save your people and get the revenge you deserve.
League of Legends' studio, Riot Games, has been taking the opportunity to expand the lore behind their flagship game and I have been loving it. From Arcane to Ruined King, I have been enjoying seeing the champion's origin stories flushed out with full experiences that feel unique and engaging. The Mageseeker continues that, telling the origins of the champion Sylas, and I did enjoy the experience overall. The story is alright, telling a decent story while setting up Sylas as a hero, which can feel a little out of character at times, but with this game, the gameplay stole the show.
Running around, dodging, whacking enemies, stealing magic, and switching spells for elemental effects are a really enjoyable gameplay loop that I liked to take part in. On top of that, the base building aspect, which is a bit simple, is still a nice touch as you build up the resistance and get passive perks to make your magic stronger and upgrade the spots at your base so you can further increase health, attack, spell slots, and get new spells. The boss battles are also a blast here that are accentuated by the great-looking setting and animations. This is also all made better by how well it runs on the Steam Deck!
The Mageseeker runs like a charm, churning out 60 FPS with an average 8W battery to get around 5 - 5.5 hours of battery life. It does dip slightly to 59 every now and then, but this is quick and unless you're watching the framerate graph, you won't really feel it. This is a clear Best on Deck game, but there is one setting I changed to play and that is resolution.
For whatever reason, the resolution defaults to 960x540, which is well under the 1280x720 resolution the Deck supports. While this is usually something I would consider a change and disqualify it from being Best on Deck, the actual visual changes were not really visible. After looking multiple times between the two, it didn't feel like resolution actually changed.
Since the change isn't necessary, and the game runs around the same, I would consider it a Best on Deck game regardless.
While The Mageseeker doesn't support 16:10 resolutions, it does have full controller support and cloud saves, so you can continue on a different device!
The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story is a great looking game with a passable story and enjoyable gameplay elements. While some narrative beats can be a hit or miss, the core gameplay loop is one that I felt was a fun experience that I would go back to have again. I still love the ability to steal magic, which can change up your strategy a bit, and the combat itself. It was all a joy to play on the Steam Deck as well, feeling fantastic with the controller and keeping a great battery life. If you're looking for the best way to enjoy this game, the Deck will be the way to go!
Our review is based on the PC version of this game.
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The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story is a passable origin story for champion Sylas that might feel weird at a couple turns, but the gameplay definitely makes up for it! And luckily, the game runs wonderfully on the Steam Deck without any chances!
