Metascore
78 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 36 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 36
  2. Negative: 0 out of 36
  1. Free to play and addictive as hell, League of Legends delivers a really entertaining, competitive environment for RTS twitch players.
  2. 91
    The biggest change to the formula, however, is the persistence of your player as a "Summoner," not to be confused with the 30-odd in-game characters, which get a clean slate at the start of every match.
  3. League of Legends has replayability in spades for anyone who loves romps in real-time strategy format. It's attractive, accessible, and above all else, League of Legends delivers heaps of fun.
  4. Getting hooked up with players in the lobby is about as easy as it gets. The matches are short enough and challenging enough to suit virtually all skill levels. The time I spent with this game has been fun, and with a good community base, it can only get better with time.
  5. There are always some people online you can fight with! If you liked the mod GOTA for Warcraft III, you will definitely love this game!
  6. The fact remains that if you're looking for a fast, smart and fun fantasy themed team-based strategy game, you can't go wrong here.
  7. The most accessible, rewarding and endearing of DotA's offspring yet. [Jan 2010, p.72]
  8. Nov 15, 2011
    85
    League of Legends handles well the worst problem DOTA has: its autistic n00b-hating elite players. Thanks to match making, now we weaklings dare to play. [Nov 2011]
  9. When it comes to actually playing the game, something that's obviously very important, LoL provides an addictive experience that should feel reminiscent of any other game in the genre.
  10. Demanding, addictive, fun and free to play, League of Legends provides intense and absorbing moments.
  11. LoL is a great, free alternative to DotA that caters both to newbies, and the hardcore.
  12. The game largely succeeds more than it falters, and anyone with a soft spot for deep, team-based strategy should not pass up this substantial gem.
  13. League of Legends bring back the classic DotA gameplay and graphic style adding new heroes and a better battle system. Hundreds of combination of Heroes and abilities make the game suitable for old DotA players and new ones that want to try the game for free. Pretty good matchmaking system and nice server support from GOA actually make this game the best of his genre. Let's wait only for some new maps and new game options.
  14. Ultimately, LoL's minor disadvantages are pretty damn redundant – we could complain about the details if it actually cost anything. Well, it doesn't. The main pro and con of the game is the same feature – the concept of a slow, simple DotA.
  15. More time, heart and money has gone into this than any other free game I can remember playing, and I think Riot Games is going to make good on its promise of post-release development. Until further notice, this is the DOTA game you should be playing.
  16. This is what Demigod should have been. An addictive experience with a great multiplayer mode.
  17. 80
    But sometimes it feels like League of Legends throws too much at the player, both in terms of the number of champions and the general confusion of the larger battles. While that's not enough to dampen your enthusiasm of the game, the vague status of the launch and the more-than-occasional hostility of the community just might.
  18. You can certainly play this game offline, but you'll find that the artificial intelligence leaves a bit to be desired (as is often the case) meaning that the minions you face up against are pretty easy to defeat. The online play works well and is easy to get into with the matchmaking abilities built in.
  19. Despite being released probably a bit earlier than optimal, League of Legends is still a very solid game that combines many of the fun elements found in RTS, RPG, and online multiplayer PvP games.
  20. Warcraft's mod DotA revives in this free to play mix between a strategy and a role playing game. Worth a try.
  21. 80
    The best game of its kind I've played. If nothing else, it definitely takes careful measures to ease in new players (meaning the non-Defense of the Ancients elite).
  22. It's too bad that Riot Games didn't take more chances with League of Legends, because the basic premise is good enough to have made Defense of the Ancients a subgenre unto itself. [Jan 2010, p.89]
  23. But, If you have ever wondered what it would be like to play multiplayer Warcraft III without the base building and minion control then I think you should definitely give League of Legends a shot. The fact that there are only three maps to play sucks, but the developer is committed to constantly updating and adding to the game.
  24. League of Legends is an intelligent and shocking remake of the Defense of the Ancients concept.
  25. Less adventurous heroes might be scared off, but if more is merrier, LoL is perfect for your advanced tower defending fix. [Christmas 2009, p.112]
  26. The game is finished and at least sometimes it' even possible to buy additional content. As far as the shop problems go, it almost seems fitting that the game is called LoL. Still, the fast battles between the heroes are highly motivating.
  27. Graphically dated. [Feb 2010, p.76]
  28. Feb 1, 2011
    70
    Improvements are constantly being updated and although team mates make or break many matches, there is genuine fun to be found.
  29. Does little wrong, but efforts made to broaden its appeal may prove largely fruitless. [Issue#28, p.52]
  30. It has the potential to be marvellous, and it's still a cracking, deep strategy that deserves your attention, but until some new content is chucked into the mix it's best to leave this for a while and let it pack itself out with new stuff to make your online adventures that little more worthy of your money.
  31. A solid and promising free-to-play multiplayer RTS that seems to have been released a bit too early. Even so, there's a lot of fun in the content that is available.
  32. This competitive strategy game is fun, though it offers only a fraction of what you should expect from a retail product.
  33. Underneath the tough exterior is an enjoyable game, but it's impossible to ignore the miserable, unaided struggle to get there and persistent balancing issues throughout.
  34. 50
    Overall, League of Legends holds a lot of promise, but comes up short as a retail product.
User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 323 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 99 out of 131
  2. Negative: 24 out of 131
  1. I have played this game extensivly and can honestly say this is possible one of the worst excuses for a game i have ever seen. A few things you should know before i continue, i only got the game due to dota having a no way to easily find games, it was the first game of this type i came across after playing dota. Gameplay A game of this type is based entierly on balance, it is to a game like this what guns are to COD. So if the balance is out then the game is instantly terrible. No surprise here the game is about as balanced as a one legged spider. 2 game modes are available 3v3 and 5v5. the problem here is that the game is made for 5v5, so the 3v3 suffers horribly. The champs are normally split into 3 arch-types Nuke, DPS, Tank. This is all well and good but riot games decided to give some tanks more damage output than a nuke or dps, or give a mage the ability to tank without any ill effects.ect. The concept of a hybrid is these kind of games means they sacrifice a bit of each type to creat a hybrid for instance a Tank/Nuke should not be as tough as a tank and not deal as much damage and a pure nuke. try telling this to the devlopers of lol Vladimir a champion in the game has more damage output that 90% of the other nukes yet can tank extremly well this is bad balance. Then there is the combat which becomes a massive mess on screen in the big battles. Graphics The only thing i liked about the game and then nothing special. Cost I have spent a fortune on this game and still have only about half of the content, my current spend is £81 so basically COD Black OPs twice. The game can be free but the time required to get anything without paying is crazy for intance IP the free in game money is earned from playing games a win will give you about 90 a newly released champion is normally 6300IP a game last 25 mins on average so doing the math it comes to 29.1 hours to unlock 1 champion and there are 50+ in the game. Player base Full of ( .......................................................................censored.........................................................................) in conclusion the worst player base i have ever seen. The words kind, considerate, friendly, helpful, understanding, are to the players of LOL non existant. Conclusion I have played this game lots and as anybody reading this review will guess i despise it to the core. Many people ask me why i played it so much if i hate it, well the answer is i wanted to like it i really did, its like when u go to see a movie about something you like or a francise your a fan of u can fogive it some minor mishaps. i tried this with LOL and found no matter how you look at it, it is a very bad game. DOTA was better for the simple reason that the more patches they released the closer the game go to being a well balanced game, on the other hand with every patch LOL bring out the game becomes yet more of a waste of space. Some of the people from DOTA actually make LOL which is why i do not understand why its so bad. Although 1 has left to make DOTA 2 :) and according to all the LOL forums hate being thrown at him this is true, i just recon its becouse he realised he was working with morons. Full Review »
  2. This game is flat out awful. It's imbalanced, has horribly graphics, frequent lag and server downtime, and the developers don't seem to care about their game in general. Stay well clear of this one. Full Review »
  3. For a game that was touted as the successor of the "DotA-style" genre when it was first released, League of Legends has absolutely failed to remain relevant due in large part to poor balance, poor community, and poor support. Champions, the player-controlled units that fight for dominance in every battle, have an array of abilities that can be broken down into two major categories: Those that can kill enemy champions, and those that can't. Team selections are often based on poor decisions, with every player in the matchmaking queue looking to play the biggest, baddest guy with little thought to actual execution, and the game suffers for it. Despite the fact that the game has a relatively sound competitive scene at higher levels of player, most players are not a part of that tier, as the game uses level-based rewards to determine who wins or loses. Out-of-battle bonuses earned by the player, called the "summoner" in-game, apply to their champions in-battle, and those who have not put in the hundreds of hours of gameplay to achieve sufficient level cannot compete. As a result, most of the grinding is painful, low-level stomp-fests where you simply lose your way through 90% of the content. Once you have hit the maximum level you can then begin to enjoy the game as it was intended, with everyone on theoretically even playing fields. Even then, most of the in-game champions are locked unless you pay to unlock them, either through earning in-game "Influence Points" or paying real world money for "Riot Points." Most champions are tagged at ridiculously high price in terms of IP so that you must grind dozens of games with the free-to-play selection of champions (which are notoriously weak and ill-suited to new players who are trying to learn the game) in order to accumulate IP. Failing that, you can opt to pay roughly the price of a used video game (with prices upwards of $35-$50) for Riot Points to spend on champions you want. After this grueling experience you still have to pay in-game IP for things such as runes that enhances your champions' in-battle performance (which also must be unlocked by leveling up) and plan out World of WarCraft-esque talent trees that are absolutely mandatory if you want to compete with anyone else who plays the game. In the end, League of Legends is a time- and money-sink, requiring you to pay for every action you perform, whether in currency or your valuable time. Full Review »