Hextech Mayhem: A League of Legends Story is a 2½D auto-running Platform Rhythm Game developed by Choice Provisions (known for the BIT.TRIP series) and published by Riot Games. In it, you control resident Mad Bomber Ziggs as he throws bombs, jumps and Ground Pounds through various levels while Hero Antagonist Heimerdinger tries to stop him using his Humongous Mecha.
Gameplay wise, the game is very similar to Choice Provisions' earlier game Bit.Trip Runner, though it has enough differences to count as its own game. The main difference is that the gameplay is more about rhythm and collecting than platforming and Le Parkour, with various arrows shown on screen indicating if you're supposed to jump, Double Jump, Ground Pound or throw a bomb. Doing so at the right time awards points. However, the game encourages you to go out of your way to grab the various gears scattered across the stage, with yellow gears (the most common variant) being used to unlock levels, blue gears (of which there are 3 in each level) being used to build Whammer Jammer mechas to take on Heimerdinger in boss fights, and white gears (of which there's one per level) being an optional collectable required for 100% Completion. Upon bumping into a wall or getting hit by an enemy, Ziggs doesn't die, but instead gets sent flying forward, tossing away every gear he touches until you successfully perform another arrow prompt. Thus, the main difficulty in the game lies in getting all the gears, rather than completing the stages themselves.
Just try to trope me, Heimerdinger!
- 2½D: The game has a cartoony Super-Deformed 3D artstyle, but movement is restricted to a 2D plane.
- Animal Mecha: Heimerdinger eventually upgrades his Humongous Mecha into a giant talking robot t-rex called the T-Hex for use in the Final Boss fight.
- Autobots, Rock Out!: The music adds more rock instruments when you obtain a high enough arrow combo to show how well you're doing.
- Black Comedy: Ziggs' mass destruction and bombings are Played for Laughs.
- Collectathon Platformer: Mixed with Rhythm Game. Every single collectable except for the white gears is required for progression. The yellow ones to unlock levels, and the blue ones to fight bosses.
- Damn You, Muscle Memory!: Going from this game to Bit.Trip Runner or the reverse can result in some accidental mishaps. For example, playing this game and then playing Runner can lead to you trying to kick enemies or Double Jump over an enemy, resulting in your death.
- A Day in the Limelight: Ziggs, a regular champion in League of Legends, becomes the main character here.
- Death Is a Slap on the Wrist: Getting hit simply results in you being unable to collect any gears until you perform an arrow move. However, since you need the gears to progress, it could still signify your doom.
- Denser and Wackier: Far goofier than any previous League of Legends spinoff, to the point where it has a similar vibe to a Saturday-Morning Cartoon.
- Double Jump: Ziggs can jump in midair. Justified, as it's a Rocket Jump like his regular jump.
- Downloadable Content: The game has 3 DLC packs that add 3 levels and a costume for Ziggs each.
- Final Boss: Heimerdinger, as usual. Piloting the T-Hex.
- Genre Mashup: The game is equal parts platformer, autorunner and rhythm game.
- Goomba Stomp: You can jump on enemies to kill them, though it's recommended that you Ground Pound them instead due to the game's autorunner nature.
- Ground Pound: Ziggs can slam into the ground, which serves as a way to kill enemies, as well as a way to reach the ground fast.
- Hero Antagonist: Heimerdinger is the game's main antagonist, but his motivation is to stop Ziggs from causing destruction.
- Humongous Mecha: Heimerdinger fights Ziggs using one of these. It starts out as a simple pair of legs. In the second fight it gains arms, and in the Final Boss fight, It gets converted into a giant mechanical Talking Animal t-rex known as the T-Hex.
- Large Ham: Absolutely everyone. Both Ziggs and Heimerdinger can be extremely theatrical in their speech, especially the latter.
- Mad Bomber: Ziggs, as usual. His main motivation for causing all the destruction in-game is For the Evulz, and he's shown to consider his explosions a form of art.
- Mickey Mousing: Following the directions of the arrows causes your moves to sync up with the music.
- Minimalist Cast: The only characters are Ziggs, Heimerdinger, the wardens and the T-Hex.
- Mythology Gag: At several points, Ziggs refers to himself as “The Dean of Demolitions”, a reference to outdated lore of him. It's even the name of the Final Boss level!
- No Plot? No Problem!: The plot can accurately be summarized as Ziggs going on an explosion spree, with Heimerdinger trying to stop him. Though there are plenty of character interactions.
- Recurring Boss: Heimerdinger is the only boss in the game and is fought three times.
- Recurring Riff: The title screen theme pops up in some of the level themes.
- Rocket Jump: Ziggs “jumps” by exploding a bomb underneath him. This also allows him to Double Jump. It later gains the ability to be charged when coming in contact with certain arrows, which lets you jump higher.
- Slasher Smile: Ziggs sports a demented grin 99% of the time.
- Super-Deformed: The game's artstyle. Most characters have heads the size of their bodies, which is combined with stylized cartoony 3D models.
- Throw Down the Bomblet: Ziggs' main attack is to chuck bombs. It later gains a charged attack that can cause even more destruction.
- Variable Mix: Successfully performing several arrows' moves in a row causes the music to gain extra guitars in the background. This disappears after you miss one.
- We Can Rule Together: After his first boss fight, Ziggs suggests Heimerdinger become his sidekick, which he obviously declines. Ziggs responds by blowing up a bomb in his face. At the end of the game, Heimerdinger requests the same to Ziggs, albeit this time with Ziggs as his apprentice. Ziggs declines the offer due to him considering explosions a form of art, rather than science.
