League of Legends and Stardew Valley are two games that I thought I'd never put in a sentence. But Bandle Tale, an upcoming life sim set in a mystical pocket of Riot's universe, marries these two very different worlds far better than I expected. Developed by the team behind cult hit Graveyard Keeper as part of the publishing label Riot has used to develop a growing suite of indie spinoffs, it's clear that Bandle Tale has a close eye on what makes its genre tick.
"Farming first," says Nikita Kulaga, creative director at Lazy Bear Games. "Every crafting RPG has farming, and we have farming as well." The crops we farm become the food we cook for the NPCs we meet throughout the game, but that's only one part of a bafflingly intricate gameplay loop. Just one of Bandle Tale's multiple research trees features dozens of recipes and skills to unlock, and different characters have their own specialisms that you'll unlock as you explore more of the game's mysterious world.
