It’s 2025 and League of Legends is still alive, still kicking, and still Riot Games’ unpredictable sandbox of nostalgia, visual reworks, and odd but charming side games that somehow make you want to romance Thresh. If things have seemed a little stale lately especially after the Ionia/Spirit Blossom aesthetic overstayed its welcome, Riot is betting on Season 2 Act 2 to wake up the players with a one-two punch of throwbacks and experimental features, and they might be onto something. So what’s coming back? Pretty much everything short of old-school runes and Dominion.
Butcher’s Bridge Returns in League of Legends Along with a Lot More
Let’s start with the main highlight inclusion: Butcher’s Bridge. The gritty, rain-soaked Bilgewater-themed ARAM map you forgot you missed is reappearing after a long rest. First introduced during the Burning Tides event in 2015 (the one where Riot killed Gangplank in-universe and removed him from the game for a hot minute), Butcher’s Bridge is a fan-favorite, mostly because it wasn’t just a reskin; it felt different.
The reappearance of Butcher’s Bridge is a nostalgic nuke, but Riot isn’t stopping there. It’s now part of a rotating ARAM map pool, joined by the standard Howling Abyss and a brand-new Spirit Blossom-themed map called Koeshin’s Crossing—a peaceful, lavender-hued forest bridge that looks like someone airbrushed Howling Abyss into a Studio Ghibli landscape. You’ll now queue into a randomly selected one of these three, adding some visual freshness to your endless 5v5 clown fiestas.
Riot is also playing around with ARAM’s long-standing reroll system. Enter: Champion Cards. Instead of being force-fed one random champ like Yuumi, you’ll now choose between two options. The one you don’t pick gets dropped onto a shared bench for teammates to claim. It’s a smart quality-of-life change I am happy to see that doesn’t blow up ARAM’s casual system but offers more agency and maybe less mid-game surrender spam because someone got stuck with Udyr and gave up mentally by minute two.
Remember pre-rework Viktor, the mechanical madman who looked belonged in a PS2-era Deus Ex spin-off? Some players do, and they’ve been asking for his old look back ever since Riot “Arcane-ified” him. They’re finally getting it. Riot confirmed that a new Viktor skin based on his original model will come later this year but no word yet on whether it’ll be free, paid, or locked behind an arcane event pass system. But for old heads who miss the glory of Hex Core upgrades and clunky robo-limbs, it’s a genuine win for them.
Speaking of Arcane-era glow-ups, League is also reviving Spirit Bonds, the dating sim minigame from the original Spirit Blossom event now reimagined. Riot hasn’t said much beyond “you can befriend champions,” but to be honest, we all know exactly what they mean. If you’re chasing wholesome friendship arcs or trying to unlock spicy lore with your favorite character again, it’s back, and we’re here for it.
Side-Scroller Mini-Game with ADC Yunara and Xin Zhao
In another callback to Soul Fighter’s Tournament of Souls, there’s a new side-scrolling beat ’em up mini-game on the way, starring upcoming ADC Yunara and long-suffering spear guy Xin Zhao. You don’t even have to play League itself to enjoy it, just button mash your way through for some bonus content, and learn something about these champions in the process. It’s completely separate from the core game, which is good if you like the idea of LoL more than you like playing solo queue.
League of Legends has been flat lately. Season 2 Act 2 isn’t reinventing the wheel, but it’s a clever mix of old and new that’s designed to jolt players out of the mid-season slump. Whether it’s the return of Butcher’s Bridge, giving ARAM players more choice, or allowing longtime fans to see Viktor with his weird old shoulder pads again, it’s a solid move. So if you’ve been AFK from League for a while, this can be a decent time to make a comeback.
