In a matter of days, the League of Legends boyband “HEARTSTEEL” has garnered a massive and devoted fanbase, owing to their breakout single “PARANOIA”. However, their triumphant arrival at the global music scene doesn't seem to translate to in-game content. Many fans have expressed disappointment in the design of their outfits as well as the skin splash art.
For some, the HEARTSTEEL splash art comes across as cluttered and unimaginative. The individual splash art, they argue, feels like a 'lazy' rearrangement of the group splash art.
While some commend Riot for HEARTSTEEL’s elaborate group splash art, others argue that it falls short of their KD/A and True Damage counterparts, where each member was given a standalone splash art to showcase their individuality.
League of Legends fans complain that HEARTSTEEL splash art is “lazy”
In 2018, the virtual K-pop-inspired girl group KD/A made their way to the top of global music charts, proving to the world that Riot Games is not just a gaming company. While their individual skin splash art drew from their group splash art, each member took centre stage with a spotlight focused on them. A year later, the hip-hop group True Damage burst onto the scene with standalone splash art for each member.
Fans of Heartsteel are left wanting as each member’s individual splash art is derived from group splash art, with only a slight shift to place the member in the centre. The rest of the members can be seen faintly in the background of each individual version.
To many, this reshuffling feels hasty, lazy, and somewhat of an afterthought. They have expressed that Riot Games could do better to highlight each individual member.
Another concern for the group splash art is that the lighting is too dim and muddled, coupled with the “cluttered placement of props and characters, each member seems to blend into the background. And since the group splash art acts as the base for the individual versions, these issues are carried over.
These concerns resonate on the League of Legends sub-Reddit, with one user expressing, “It's a group splash, they just lazily move the member to the front with the same pose. Disappointing that they won't have individual splashes, granted KDA didn't have it in their first iteration but MORE and True Damage both did so there's no reason not to.”
However, some fans counter these criticisms by pointing out that each individual version places every member in the spotlight in the same way as KD/A. Additionally, extra characters have been included for some, like Alune in Aphelios’s splash art, and the inclusion of both his Darkin (Rhaast) and Shadow Assassin forms in Kayn’s.
Some acknowledge the effort required to create a cohesive group splash art that can be adapted into individual ones, commenting “The fact that they had to think ahead and draw the truck in its entirety and make sure no matter where they put the characters on it, it'll match up. That's a lot of work”
For many, the appeal of HEARTSTEEL lies in the endearing interactions between members and the convergence of modern music collectives. Perhaps it was Riot’s intention to emphasise group identity over individuality.
You can find all six Heartsteel splash art on the official League of Legends Twitter account here!
Interested in learning more about Heartsteel? We've got you covered. Learn everything you need to know in our Heartsteel skin guide, which includes information regarding the release date, price, and more!