Song of Nunu first on Switch "not an afterthought, it was the platform since day one"

Both during yesterday's Nintendo Direct and via the consequent press release Riot Forge and Tequila Works announced that Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story will release on November 1 on the Switch and digitally on PC, with the PlayStation and Xbox releases to be dated further down the line.

In a recent Gamereactor interview with creative directors Rowan "Nunu" Parker and Raúl "Willump" Rubio, from the publisher and the studio respectively, we learned more about how the Nintendo Switch version pretty much led the project:

"No, I don't think porting is the right word", says Parker when asked about Nunu on Nintendo's platform. "It is one of the crispiest games that I've played on the Switch".

"No, I mean, we put so much work into it. It is butter smooth on the Switch", Rubio adds. "For real, I would say that we haven't spent years on the Nintendo Switch version. It's not a port because since day one, that's the secret. Since day one, basically, Nintendo Switch was the platform. And of course, that doesn't mean that obviously all the other games look like the Switch version. It's that the Switch version is super polished, super smooth, because it was not an afterthought. It was designed like that from scratch. It's not just a matter of technology or visual style. It's that everything had to work on the Switch. In terms of gameplay, in terms of UI, in terms of experience. It fits the vibe as well. It's a cozy game. It's a warm hug for a game. So being on the Switch, you can just sit on the couch and you can curl up with a blanket or something like that."

Here's a few additional excerpts on other aspects of the game:

On Song of Nunu's deliberate Pixar-like approach for both kids and adults

"I would say that the style of Tequila Works is stabbing in the heart, and Riot is going to smash you because that's what you do in League of Legends, right? But no, it's not about that. I mean, I think it's exactly how life works. I mean, basically, life can be as simple or as complicated as you see it. For a child, it's going to be very simple, right?
Because you are always nurtured and in a safe haven."

"As you grow up, you start to notice that there are concepts that you never had to deal with before, like loss, for example, right? So, yes, it's true. When we say that the Song of Nunu was about friendship, and hope, and family, that's something that you can see in the game."

The bond between Nunu and Willump is not unbreakable...

"But this also is how these characters, basically, well, they are together and they have this super strong unbreakable bond. They are like one entity. But as the game progresses, you're going to see that sometimes that's not as unbreakable as you thought."

"Also, there is a hug button in the game. You can just walk up to Willump and you press a button and he gives you a hug. You can hug the yeti"

How long to beat Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story?

"It's about 10 hours, probably, to get through for the whole game. But if you want to go and get every single secret, find all of the poros, go and find all of the secret lore bits, it might be close to like 11 or 12. Yeah, the game is full of poros. There's poros everywhere".

More LoL champions yet to be unveiled

Other than Nunu and Willump, Braum, Ornn, Volibear, and Lissandra have been confirmed so far. However...

"We revealed Braum already. But, yeah, there's more champions in the game to meet as well. I think something that League fans enjoy about Forge games is being able to meet champions and having champions interact with each other. We don't really get to see them do that in Summoner's Rift or in regular League. So, Forge games are a great chance for us to really let the characters breathe and explore their backstory and explore the world of Runeterra and take you to the world in a way that we can't in the regular game".

The magical flute to play the Song of Nunu is a modern version of Zelda's Ocarina of Time

"The thing is, playing music can feel magical because that's literally the language of the Notai. They have no written culture. I mean, they have no written tradition. Basically, they are all stories and songs and they are very good at that. So, yes, playing the flute is not just very satisfying and a way for players to express".

"You can play any song. As you saw, you can create your own combinations of notes.
It can be pretty complex.There's an actual flute in the game. There's octaves of a flute in there and you can build compound notes and build through."

If you want to learn a ton more about the game, including topics such as combat, cognitive puzzles, colour harmony, magic, platforming, or Willump's own, ehm, will, check out the full 20-mniute interview with the two directors above.

On November 1, Song of Nunu will come localised to many regions including "11 or 12 languages for voice acting" and using "same actors for champions as much as we can".