Lore being "Grimdark"

GenoXx·10/27/2015, 10:08:03 PM·43 votes·3,182 views

Everyone who is thinking that the ore for the Shadow Isles and Bilgewater is "Grimdark." Like I said in another thread: It is the HARROWING what are you expecting??? Stop complaining that it's too scary and dark. This is what the Harrowing is suppose to be. Omg, I have seen like 20 ppl already referencing "grimdark." Grow up. Undead isn't suppose to comfort you. This lore thats in Shadow and Fortunes?It is exactly how it should be. It gives you the sense of Terror and suspense. I don;t know how you guys honestly expect this to be a children's story. No Rioter ever confirmed all of League's lore will be told the same way. Because why would they for Demacia or Targon?

Please stop complaining "It's too dark." That's like ordering a cheeseburger from McDonalds and saying "It's too greasy" or "It's too fatty." This is not a pg-13 game.

45 Comments

Sharjo10/27/2015, 10:29:19 PM10 votes

One thing that baffles me is that people make this conclusion after seeing the two main stories of "Burning Tides: Reckoning" and "Shadows and Fortune", which in currently included a grand total of eleven champions and one soon to be champion.

Out of 128 including Illaoi.

We have yet to see what the Yordles are like or what half of the world looks like. Chill guys; this isn't an indication that all of a sudden League is grimdark as sod. It's just that the two main stories we've had have both been set in a seedy underbelly of pirates and criminals, with the second also including lots of undead.

Take a minute to chill, and remember how many yordles are cheerful and bright. Remember Braum. Remember Tristana. Remember Zac.

KING OF MASKS10/28/2015, 1:53:30 AM7 votes

THAT'S NOT WHAT GRIMDARK MEANS

"Grimdark" implies a setting of intense nihilism and/or casual violence, where civilization is Hobbesian and life is nasty, brutish, and short. That did not describe League of Legends in the past, that doesn't describe League of Legends now and will almost certainly never describe League of Legends in the future. Stop exaggerating by misusing words.

terkmc10/28/2015, 11:50:14 AM5 votes

Undead isn't suppose to comfort you

Karthus neat.

Hellioning10/28/2015, 6:09:48 PM3 votes

This game is rated T.

So yeah, it kinda is a PG-13 game.

BeatinWarDrumz10/27/2015, 11:28:08 PM3 votes

Grimdark is good

In a game where they can't permanently kill off characters, some sense of dread is a plus.

Merxamers10/28/2015, 4:09:28 PM3 votes

Over the last two years, Riot has done everything they can to replace anything lighthearted or fun with Hot Topic-esque 'grimdark' content.

Trundle Once the funniest and most loved VO, now the most bland, anti-funny, and personality-less champ not named Kalista Gangplank Once a fun pirate, now sociopathic ganglord who skins people alive MissFortune Once a shallow 'dock wench' cliche, now a revenge-obsessed femme fatale cliche (who also acts like the wench cliche sometimes) Graves Blasts dozens of people in half with his shotgun, in graphic detail (can't have him smoke, though) Bard Lets villages die to save a trinket Ekko Friend is murdered for no reason DrMundo Riot has been quoted saying they want to remake him into a serious serial killer Kalista Steals an ally's soul as her passive; has no personality beyond VENGENZZZ Kindred Is literally death. Literally. Sion Once a campy mess, now a SUPER SERIAL zombie who never shuts up about how he CAN"T FEEL PAIN!!!! TahmKench Is literally the devil. Thresh Good lord, just read the lore and listen to his VO Velkoz Determines gender by dissecting people

My point isn't that all of these changes are bad, per se. It makes perfect sense for the Shadow Isles champs to have grim lores; Sion's VU was an overall improvement; Tahm has a great VO; Thresh got me interested in playing support. The problem is that there is nothing BUT the joyless grimdark content anymore.

Throw Braum and Gnar at me if you like as counterexamples, but finding only 2 examples of recent champs that aren't monsters or joyless personalities is pretty damning. Each of the above examples are fine in a vacuum, but they have been the exclusive pattern. Nothing is allowed to be happy, joyful, or fun anymore. Everything has to be super serious and violent. In this, Riot reminds me of a 12 year old who dyes his hair black, starts to wear Slipknot t-shirts, and uses all the swear words he knows to show he's "not a kid anymore". It comes off as trying WAY too hard, and kind of pathetic, especially when we see things like Gangplank tattooing his name on a living person's skinned leg bone.

As well written as the new lore has been (and after two years of waiting, good thing they are), seeing yet another tale of people being hanged by their jawbones, bisected by the ostensible good guy, etc. just adds to the joyless tedium this game's story has become. Riot has claimed that they don't want yordles to be the only 'fun' personalities in the game, but who exactly CAN be now? Certainly not racist and fascist (don't throw that 'meritocracy' junk at me, in practice they are the 'evil empire' trope) Noxus, the equally fascist Demacia, the horrid death filled slum of Zaun, the psychopath infested Piltover, or the constantly invaded Ionia. Maybe the Freljord because you have a chance of seeing Braum once in a while, but that's it.

Maybe the Taric and Poppy reworks will help things, but i'm not optimistic based on past results. This game is turning into a joyless mess of grimdark 'personalities' and infinitely kiting, super-mobile assassin/carries. Some people like that, I guess, for some reason, but it just makes me feel depressed.

KangtheKnight10/27/2015, 11:49:45 PM2 votes

Grimdark? No, this isn't Grimdark. This is wonderfully dark, but it's not close to what could come.

Boomerangbro10/27/2015, 11:04:55 PM2 votes

We very well may get different story Arcs. They may not even happen at the same time of the Harrowing.

Right now we are dealing with Bilgewater and it's connection with the Harrowing.

Next we could get Zaun or Piltover set a couple years in the future, or a couple years back with it's own story and plot.

Also, Bandle City. Nami and the Moonstone. Mount Targon. Shurima. Demacia and Noxus Arc. Celestial Arc. We may get an arc that deals with the stories of Taric and newer champions to be released such as Ao Shin.

Also, there are still the stories of the Freljord, Ionia, the jungles, the Voodoo lands, Icathia. The Rune Wars and Urtistan....etc...etc.

We still have a long ways to go.

Nublord10/29/2015, 11:35:18 AM1 votes

So the Bilgwater event was grimdark, cause well... you know - pirates stuff, new bad GP hurr durr. Fine. But Harrowing? Shouldn't that be focused on being SCARY and not just being plain gore?

Sorry, but I am not impressed by such shamefur display.

MetalGearTeemu10/28/2015, 5:22:56 PM1 votes

Success boys! The Lore tastes just like Dota!

Star Guardían10/28/2015, 6:49:23 PM1 votes

"This is not a pg-13"

Technically it is rated T for 13 and up. So it is technically rated PG-13. Having said that, the lore i feel shouldn't feel restricted cause of the game's rating.

Ethereal31110/28/2015, 11:19:19 PM1 votes

Grimdark can be good, but not when it's being stupidly edgy and just a matter of fanservicing. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DarkerAndEdgier?from=Main.GrimDark If you actually know what the term 'Grimdark' means, then Shadow and Fortunes is exactly that. I think it's being super lazy about only wanting the fights and is just desperately trying to get from fight to fight with unnecessary comments from the characters.

Earl Eulrich10/27/2015, 11:34:03 PM1 votes

really depends on the context...

i think complains that the old lore had a good mix of darkness and somewhat lighthearted humour while the new one is maybe a tad too serious are pretty legitimate. complaining that the harrowing story is more on the darkside though is a little silly (also, it´s really not grimdark - just serious).