Platform(s): PC (Version reviewed), Xbox Series, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch
Genre: Top-down action RPG with chains and magic

Riot Games’ spin-off publishing house Riot Forge is positioned to create more winners by the year if the new action RPG The Mageseeker is of any indication.

Developed by Digital Sun (who made Moonlighter), the game pits you as formerly-incarcerated mage Sylas as he attempts to form a mage rebellion against his oppressors of the Demacia Kingdom. With your literal shackles as weapons, you pound and fight your way through the Demacia army and other monstrosities in the League of Legends universe.

Chain Gang

Just from the screenshots and the feature image alone, Mageseeker revels in its 2D pixel art and animation. It’s detailed, it’s lovely to look at in motion, and you’ll get a ton of eye candy from the colourful spells and action that’s happening on-screen. The Gareth Coker-composed soundtrack is also dramatic when taken in context with the rebellion storyline that’s going on. And if you’re a League of Legends follower/player, you get a lot of bonuses in terms of lore and character interactions in the course of Sylas’ story.

Thankfully, the game does match the presentation. Basically, you control Sylas like a top-down action hero: he has melee attacks, has mana for his spells, and can dash effortlessly ala Zagreus from Hades. However, his petricite chains allow him to steal magic from enemies and use them once for free. For example, stealing from a red battlemage means you get access to a free one-time use fireball spell, which you should use on enemies attuned to the Ice element. Conversely, you can steal from an Ice magic user and use their spells on a Fire user. There are six elements with strengths and weaknesses, along with a ton of spells for you to steal. Best of all, you can craft previously-stolen spells and use them as your own, though these spells require your own mana to use. As you only have a few mana points to spend, you are required to constantly steal and use magic on your foes, especially when your physical chain attacks aren’t effective.

Recruiting rebels to your cause not only means a more populated home base on your end, but also upgrades and extra skills that Sylas can use. Recruiting a Nature mage and getting more followers for her means buffed-up Nature spells, a buffed-up special move Sylas can use with no mana required, and an upgraded Potions facility. The latter means I get more health potion charges and some permanent health/defense buffs. Everything here ties in really well with the game’s main plot of standing up against “the man”, and it’ll keep you engrossed with Sylas’ story for 10 hours straight.

You can finish it in a shorter time, but taking on optional missions means more powers and some more backstory. However, these stages take a hit quality-wise; they’re repeats of past stages and feature repeat boss fights from the story. These feel more like extra work than actual unique adventures, but at least they aren’t without their rewards. You may also want to mind some bugs; I had to restart certain boss fights because I ended up getting stuck and the appropriate cutscene states aren’t triggering. Hopefully, that’s all fixed in the launch version.

Shackled Up & Raring To Go

Mageseeker is an enjoyable action RPG experience if you’re into 2D pixel art, fun-if-simple action mechanics where you take magic & sling it back, and everything in-between. The League of Legends lore expanding of Demacia and its cast are also a treat, but I’m honestly in it for the simple gameplay loop and the challenges it poses along the way.

Pros

• Great combat and action RPG controls.
• Loads of magic spells to steal/experiment with.
• Fun story that fleshes out an aspect of League of Legends lore.

Cons

• Optional stages are repetitive.
• Some bugs require boss fight restarts.

Final Score: 80/100