Does a couple things particularly well, but I think it's more of a base hit than a home run.

There's a lot that's worth praising - the animation, the attention to the environments, translating the core gameplay fantasy of champions between two different games, creating a Demacia where regular people can live their lives. Perhaps most praiseworthy through - since Riot themselves fuck this up constantly - is recognizing that Demacia is only capable of being an interesting setting if you dig into its fundamental contradictions as a genocidal anti-magic state whose most iconic symbols and heroes have their roots in that magic. My great fear upon first learning that this game was in development was that they would spend too much time on League's most popular boring-ass white bread champions but they've actually done a great job of drawing in characters who haven't traditionally been used to their fullest potential - Sylas is the primary beneficiary, of course (he's the main character after all), but tapping Morgana to play a big role in this story is a great choice as well.

The most important criticism I've got is that the game really assumes you're familiar with the setting. I am, because I'm a sick little freak who plays League of Legends and enjoys it, but I think most League players start and finish engaging with the lore by laughing at the loading screen tips. The Mageseeker kinda introduces its key figures and topics, but if you're coming into this because you watched Arcane (and don't want to pick up LoR or watch 200 Necrit videos) then you have some homework to do if you want the full experience. If you meet those requirements though, the game gives you a lot to chew on with tons of lore tidbits, a decent cast of side characters (despite some painfully on-the-nose dialogue on occasion), and champion cameos that feel consistent with their established histories and personalities.

The good news is failing to "do your homework" with the lore cannot stop you from enjoying the combat, which does a pretty good job of porting Sylas over into a different game - he still likes to linger at medium-ish range before flinging himself at enemies to begin brawling, and having a bunch of enemies to steal spells from allows you to feel like a genius during the fights even if it's a bit silly that they keep sending in enemies who have contradictory elements at the same time. The only thing that gets in the way of the gameplay mid-fight is the wonky lock-on for your chains, which is actually more important when you're not stealing spells. Flinging yourself towards an enemy is your most versatile tool and the game seems to get confused from time to time about which enemy you're actually trying to target (or if you're trying to target anyone at all) and it'll lead to a handful of moments across your time with the game that break your flow. The combat is still well-designed and is by far the best part of the game, but the fact that it feels so basic even at its best meant that I was never seeking out the side missions to extend my time with the game - by the time the game was done, so was I.

I suppose for a bottom line, I should make things clear: I think this is hard to recommend for the vast majority of people out there unless you already have a better than average understanding of League's lore, or if you're willing to donate some extra time so the game can educate you. The combat is good but this really is "a League of Legends story" with the emphasis on "story". Ultimately I'm happy with this, but I'm mostly happy because it means we have an official Riot-approved story that actually cares about giving Sylas the screentime he needs to be an actual character. I've heard dreadful things about some of the other Riot Forge titles and have been apprehensive about even the most well-regarded media set in Runeterra, but I had a decent time with this title and I think it's convinced me to relax and be a little less wary.