The dungeon-crawler genre gets another member added to its ranks today with the launch of Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk. Well, it’s not quite a dungeon crawler in the same way that a game Diablo III is. This is more like the JRPG version of a a dungeon crawling game. All the hallmarks are here: turn-based combat, exaggerated art style, character building, and all manner of odd enemies to fight. There’s plenty of actual dungeon, or rather labyrinth, crawling to do here too; just don’t expect the usual experience.
Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk sees the Great Witch Dronya and her apprentice arrive in the sleepy town of Refrain intending on exploring the vast and deadly labyrinth located directly beneath it. Neither can explore it directly due to a magical poison haze called “miasma,” so they send an inexplicably living book, known as the “Tractatus de Monstrum, and a small army of living puppets to do the job instead. These puppets are the book’s first and last line of defense, so it’ll have to become a master puppeteer quickly if it wants to finish its job before a monster gets to it first.
Aside from the actual exploring of the labyrinth, these puppets will be the player’s main focus. They can be assigned one of five main classes and can be further specialized according to the needs of their squad. The labyrinth beneath refrain is a demanding and dangerous place, so players can expect to be constantly improving their team and making substitutions if necessary. Combine this with an adequately engaging combat system and an eye-brow-raising story, and the result is a game that should hold one’s interest enough to reach the bottom of the labyrinth.
Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk is now available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PC. Switch owners who’d like to try before they buy have the option playing the demo first to see if it’s up their alley or not.
