The classic dungeon-crawling RPG has been around for a long time. From the Ultima games right through to the Wizardry series, we’ve been treated to a genre that’s remained very niche, but still incredibly compelling when in the hands of the right developer. So when Nippon Ichi - the Japanese studio most commonly known for tactics-style games such as Disgaea - revealed it was working on a modern reimaging, we were intrigued to see what it could come up with.
The result - Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk - is a strange little curio that manages to doff its cap to the games that paved the way (including the brilliant Etrian Odyssey series) while sprinkling in a little of that quintessential Nippon Ichi magic that has made Disgaea such an enduring franchise. Designer and composer team Takehito Harada and Tenpei Sato bring with them a soundtrack and art style that’ll have you saying, “Dood!” out of sheer familiarity. But make no mistake, this is no sickly-sweet adventure. It’s a very adult approach to storytelling, with swearing, sexual themes and one incredibly uncomfortable scene only a few hours in. One for the kids, this is not.
The opening cutscenes of Labyrinth of Refrain might lead you to think you’re playing as Dronya, a foul-mouthed and cantankerous witch travelling to the town of Refrain. With her ward Luca in tow, the mean magic user has been tasked with entering the maze-like tunnels beneath the city and ridding them of the monsters that emerge from below. Said dungeon is full of a green substance called miasma that just happens to be deadly to humans, so Dronya can’t head down and deal with it herself. Boasting the Tractatus de Monstrum - a fabled book written by the only man to survive a trip to the labyrinth - Dronya sends the tome down with a series of magically-powered marionettes to do the work for her.
The only problem is that said book has its own soul and you soon realise you’re actually seeing this strange and fantastical story from the POV of this dusty volume. It’s certainly an odd narrative angle to take, but it does provide a neat way to both explore the dungeons below and watch Dronya and Luca’s unfolding adventure in Refrain. The game does get a little too self-indulgent when it comes to the length of its cutscenes; you can skip them, but considering most of the black humoured dialogue is delivered with just the right amount of scene-chewing enthusiasm, it feels like a crime to brush past it.
Story aside, the real meat here is the dungeon crawling, and it makes for Labyrinth of Refrain’s most enjoyable moments. You build a team to tackle the labyrinth by taking a wooden puppet and infusing it with a soul. You can choose from 12 character types divided into six different classes (known as Facets). These puppets can be damaged in battle too, so when you do return to the safety of Dronya’s caravan you can repair them, transfer a soul to a new body or completely destroy your wooden minion.
You can then assign your puppets to a team, or 'Coven' as it's known in the game’s parlance. You can have up to three of these in one Brigade (your overall team) and it enables you to build and customise the composition of each Coven. A pair of Theatrical Stars is perfect for supporting the dual-blade attacks of an Aster Knight or the tank-like defences of the Peer Fortresses. It takes a little while to really appreciate the nuances between each character and how well one Coven works with another but once cracked, you can really get stuck into its turn-based battles with confidence. And while the dungeons aren't procedurally generated, battles are random, so your periodic trips into the labyrinth are almost always different every time.
The game runs relatively smooth on Nintendo Switch and looks noticeably crisper than it did on PS Vita. Art assets are captivating for the most part, but there are some noticeable jaggy edges when exploring the dungeon in docked mode. The design of the dungeon is meant to be a throwback to the simple presentation of Wizardry and the like, but it can be a little too crude compared to the quality of its sprites and cutscenes. We find playing in handheld mode offers a far smoother experience.
Conclusion
The first-person dungeon-crawling RPG genre has produced its fair share of obtuse and needlessly difficult titles over the years, but Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk remedies this by offering an easy-to-master battle system, silly characters and the ability to modify the difficulty of its dungeons. While its cutscenes are a little too self-indulgent in length, the voiceover work is surprisingly decent and although some story moments take the occasional questionable turn, Nippon Ichi has conjured an intriguing world to inhabit. The design of the dungeons can be a little repetitive, but Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk is still a great way for newcomers to try out this age-old genre.
Comments 33
Not a fan of that kind of static "1st-person" PoV in Dungeon Crawlers. Works for actual 1st-person games, like The Quest or Orcs&Elves with enemies actually moving on tiles, but this is a group RPG with a classic encounter system afaik.
One of those things I definitely prefer in recent Persona games (as well as TMS#FE) over the recent 3DS SMT games.
I might give it a look if I run out of RPGs to play.
I've been playing a TON of Etrian Odyssey, so I might have to check this out!
Was a huge fan of Shining in the Darkness and Phantasy Star 1 (unplayable by modern standards^^). I maybe give it a try
I love Jrpgs so much but the first person dungeon crawling style is just so off putting to me.
already pre-ordered it! strategic games from nippon ichi software are always fun to play and on top I really like their typical characters design! I loved Etrian series on the 3DS so I am excited for this one!
So, what's better, this or the very similar The Lost Child?
I want this. I will get this down the road. This will cure my EO itch. EO is great but I played all of them and I feel it has gotten stale. Hopefully, this will be good. Maybe the adult theme will be a breath of fresh air. Wait, I know the adult theme will be a breath of fresh air.
I always thought it was bad form to put a bunch of new information in the conclusion of an article. Well, I guess I'm not the journalist here.
This looks great, hopefully the difficulty isn't too high.
Is this a first-person dungeon crawler along the lines of Etrian Odyssey? The screen shots accompanying the review are really poorly chosen, because they don't show what the game looks like during gameplay. And even the written text doesn't do much to clear things up.
What is so awkward about the scene a few hours in?? Wouldn't mind a heads up pre purchase in case it is something I feel really uncomfortable about being in a game.
If you like Etrian Odyssey, this series is similar to it.
Love Etrian Odyssey so I'm curious about this. How annoying are the characters? I can't play any of the Disgaea games because the characters irritate me so much.
This looks good, but there is no chance I'm spending £50 on it.
@bluemage1989 @Dom I agree it seems like explaining what that scene was might be appreciated by some.
Do I pick this game or wait for an Etrian Odyssey entry on the Switch?
Classic Dom review, a 8/10 game getting the 7/10 score with text and score being completely out of sync - I appreciate the review itself, but the score just doesn't match it.
Either way, can't wait to dive into Labyrinth of Refrain, I'm a huge Etrian Odyssey fan so I have a feeling this will be right up my alley as well.
@lmello Why not pick this up and have it tide you over until we get the Etrian Odyssey entry
@Blizzia limited budget
@Ralek85 Hold on, I'm pretty sure the two SMT IV on 3DS are third person. Did I forget something?
Edit: Oh of course I did. You're talking about the battles themselves being first person.
@lmello Can't be limited enough to not be able to afford this game because there's a game probably arriving in 2020 that you want If it is, my condolences, so many games coming to Switch I can't imagine the horror of not being able to buy a whole lot of them :/
@Rubbercookie Yes, but not just 1st-person as such, but really static displays at that. I dunno, I'm not at all opposed to turn-based combat, but it's necessarily the most exciting from of combat as it is and its presentation is also rather on the subdued and dull side ... it ends not making for the most engaging exprience.
@Blizzia I'm in a 'delicate' situation right now but soon I hope to fix it. My backlog from 2017 is considerable: I haven't properly played BoTW yet!
@lmello Ah ok. Hope you come out on the other side unscathed! And you better set aside some time then, because BotW alone is HUGE and takes FOREVER to complete xD
A tiny question btw: Do you know what/where your avatar is from? It looks pretty cool.
@Blizzia have a look: https://www.redbubble.com/people/katieclarkart/works/15395162-shyguy-with-a-turnip-earring
@lmello Thanks!
@bluemage1989 I played the demo over the weekend, and if it's the scene I'm thinking of, it involves a female character forcing herself onto another female character and groping her against her will.
The scenario played out for far too long and it seemed really unnecessary. Perhaps this will serve a purpose later on in the story. I'm definitely getting the game, so we'll see.
@Ralek85 : <3 Orcs and Elves was so great. I would kill for a port/sequel. Incidentally, that was the last iD Software game on a Nintendo system until the release of DOOM on Switch.
@Silly_G A port of both games for the Switch would be amazeballs. I'd definitely be all over that. One has to wonder why so few games make the jump from the 3DS to the Switch and also why iD apparently entirely abandoned the O&E IP ...
Funnily enough, I just now picked up Dragon FangZ on the Switch (it's on sale right now) and mechancially speaking, it employs a very similar system, though most similarities end there.
Have you ever checked out 'The Quest' (on PC and mobile)? It's extremely similar to Orcs & Elves and a truly brilliant game in its own right. I highly recommend it!
@Ralek85 : I'm guessing that Orcs and Elves was somewhat of a flop on DS, which is so unfortunate as it is easily one of my favourite games.
I no longer game on PC (or mobile for that matter) but I'll give The Quest a look. Thanks for the recommendation.
Unfortunately, the demo for Labyrinth of Refrain is not yet available in the Australian/Japanese eShops, so I have been unable to give this a try. Turn-based dungeon crawlers, at least in my experience, is a genre with a lot of misses, so I wouldn't splurge on it if I'm not certain that I'll enjoy it.
Having played the demo, I'm leaning towards skipping it.
It is very similar to Disgaea 5 in its tone/story/gameplay, but it is presented as a dungeon crawler as opposed to a tactical RPG. In practice, the gameplay is virtually identical in most respects, and those who enjoyed Disgaea will most likely enjoy this too.
Also, like Disgaea 5, the cutscenes drag on, and on, and on, to the point of putting me to sleep. I can't stand the overwhelming quantity of unnecessary (nonsensical) exposition and pointless banter.
I really wanted to enjoy this, but I'm reminded of why I skipped Disgaea 5 in the first place. I didn't see much point in pouring countless hours into Disgaea 5 when Fire Emblem will eventually come along and do everything that Disgaea 5 (and this) does, but better.
An hour into the demo and I really like it. I might try to wait for a while to get a better bargain but I will certainly get this one. It’s fun!
Felt the need to add a comment a year later. You really just have to try it for yourself. Game is very addicting and robust. Witch Report (narration) is out there and a welcome addition. Definitely a mature theme here. I am at 80 hours in the 5th dungeon, probably will end around 100+.
Tap here to load 33 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...