Hextech Mayhem hands-on: An unrefined rhythm runner set in the League of Legends universe
Riot Games (of League of Legends fame)has a new release on Android. It’s calledHextech Mayhem, and it was recently ported to Netflix’s gaming platform. It’s a stylized rhythm runner that’s well-reviewed on Steam, but some of you may be wondering how the transition from consoles/PC to mobile has turned out. Is it one of thebest games on Android, or is it filler for Netflix’s gaming catalog? Well, it’s a bit of a mixed bag, which is why I’ve gone hands-on with the title to report my findings, and I’ve evenrecorded a 20+ minute gameplay videoso everyone can see with their own eyes how the game performs. So if you were on the fence about whether or not Netflix’s latest game is worth playing, this hands-on is for you.
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The above gameplay video was recorded at 1080p at 60FPS. For the most part, performance is satisfactory at 60FPS, with only slight stutter and a few dropped frames to be seen.
The game supports three graphic settings that range from Max Performance (unlocked framerate, I was able to hit 144FPS consistently on a ROG 5), High Performance (capped at 60FPS, what my gameplay video was recorded at), and High Fidelity (capped at 30FPS, but offers higher-quality graphics than the other two settings). But here’s the thing, even though the game doesn’t warn you, you can’t switch these settings on the fly. You have to restart the game for the settings to take effect. So even though I changed to each of the three graphics settings in my gameplay video, High Performance is what the game was stuck on the entire recording.
Now, High Performance is pretty good at 60FPS. I noticed a few dropped frames every once in a while, but the game is very playable at this framerate. Changing over to the High Fidelity setting may look good, but being capped at 30FPS makes it that much more difficult to time your taps. Worse yet, the game is pretty demanding, so even with the fancy graphics capped at 30FPS, there was a lot of stutter (even on a high-end device). This problem worsens if you don’t own a device that can go beyond 30FPS in any game’s three modes, hence thelacklusterreviewson the Play Store complaining about missing frames and incorrect button timing. Worst of all, Hextech Mayhem does not offer any way to adjust button timing to account for different screens and their inherent latency. This is a feature many rhythm games offer, and Hextech Mayhem is worse for wear for not including such a setting.
Playing at the highest framerate possible on the Max Performance setting is the best way to experience Hextech Mayhem. At 120FPS or even 144FPS, the game is smooth as silk, with no dropped frames and no noticeable latency. This, of course, requires a high framerate phone, something I doubt most people own. But if you have one on hand, make sure to change the game’s settings to Max Performance as it’s the optimal way to play.
Moving beyond the game’s performance brings us to its controls. Since Hextech Mayhem was ported to mobile, it now offers touch controls. These controls aren’t great. There are eight options at your disposal to move them around to different positions on the screen (four for right handers, four for left handers), but it’s possible to’t customize placement beyond these defaults, and the defaults all stink. Worse than that, it looks like controllers don’t work. You can use a controller in the menus just fine, but gameplay requires the touchscreen (at least with the controllers I tested over bluetooth and USB-C). Ultimately the touch controls are frustrating, especially if you’re also experiencing latency and dropped frames. While the game does offer a few accessibility settings, you’d think the most important accessibility feature would be polished controls.
The inadequately designed touch controls aren’t even the worst problem. You can tell the game is a port, as it was not designed to be played on small screens. Your character is tiny, and the environments are hectic while also being filled with tiny objects and NPCs, which makes it difficult to see anything that’s going on. Since you have to perfectly time taps with cues on the screen, making out what the hell is happening is a trial in frustration. The game is too busy and too small to play comfortably on a phone.
While there is still a fun game underneath all these issues, more polish is needed, and this brings up an interesting question. Seeing that Netflix appears to be dedicated to its new foray into gaming, why is it not ensuring the games on its platform run well? Even the CEO has publicly statedNetflix is dedicated to offering the “best gaming service available"and yet one of the highest-profile releases to grace the platform since its inception, a title from Riot Games that’swell-reviewed on Steam, winds up as a sloppy port on mobile. Perhaps Riot will fix the mobile port soon enough, but this is another interesting point. Will Netflix ensure devs keep their games up to date and running smoothly? Only time will tell.
For now, it would seem both Netflix and Riot have some work to do, as the current state of Hextech Mayhem on Android leaves a lot to be desired. Sure, the game is stylish. It offers good music and slick graphics, but more optimization is needed when it comes to gameplay. The optimal experience for a casual rhythm game shouldn’t be exclusive to high framerate devices that cost an arm and a leg.
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