[Review] Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk

Note: I played Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk exclusively with the 8BitDo F30 Pro.

I’m back with another dungeon crawler review, and his time it ’s something that I can play without hassle. I decided to give Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk a try, seeing it’s on consoles rather than on a handheld. This allowed me to not only play without restrictions but also to look at what I’m doing without tilting my head sideways. However, is the game good, or should it be locked in a labyrinth?

The official website states: “This is the story of a faraway world, where faint traces of magic still linger. A world called Tanis. The mysterious town of Refrain resides there. Deep beneath that isolated and forsaken town lies an unexplored underground labyrinth. Nobody knows who built it, or when it was built. Some say it holds treasures that could control the world, treasures that could make one immortal, and a slumbering demon king whose awakening could end the world. But no one knows for certain. What is known is that the labyrinth is filled with cursed miasma, a substance that brings death to any human it touches. One day, a witch arrived at Refrain with the intention of exploring this labyrinth. Her name was Dusk Witch Dronya. She had in her possession a legendary book, said to have been written by the only man to explore the labyrinth and survive. The Tractatus de Monstrum…”

Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk is a quest-based first-person dungeon-crawler with a heavy emphasis on exploring. You’re given quests and you have to go into the labyrinth’s dungeons and complete the quests. When you first go into a dungeon, there is no real map. You create the map by exploring the dungeon. You take on the role of the Tractatus de Monstrum. That’s right, you’re a book. That being said, a book can’t fight monsters, so you use what are known as Manania, or puppet soldiers with souls that come alive when exposed to high concentrations of magic.

You craft your puppet soldiers by choosing a class or “facet”. There are 6 starting facets for you to choose from. These facets are the Aster Knight, Shinobushi, Theatrical Star, Peer Fortress, Marginal Maze, and Mad Raptor. It is up to you decide who you want in your party, or “brigade”. Each facet also has a number of characters, each different in their own way. You can also rearrange your brigade at your base, using pacts to put puppet soldiers into covens which grant various buffs or even debuffs to those soldiers.

As you explore, you will encounter monsters. Disposing of these monsters will, as in other games, give you experience and items, both of which you need. Items can be sold in the shop in Refrain. If you grind in dungeons, not only will you get more money from the shop owner, but you’ll also help create better equipment, by bringing back more and more items. As in other games, the experience is used to level up your brigade. In the labyrinth, you can see enemies, which means it’s possible for you to avoid them.

Battles are your usual turn-based RPG fare. You can attack, use skills, defend, use items, and so on, like in every RPG. However, instead of MP, Labyrinth of Refrain uses Donum Points for skills and spells. Also, with the right combination of covens, it is possible that your brigade can go into battle using 15 puppet soldiers, all of whom get their own turn. Labyrinth of Refrain uses the Vanguard and Rearguard system. Some facets are suited for the frontline, and others the back. There are also different formations your brigade can take to maximize its potential. You can also press X to have your brigade just hit the enemy with their basic attacks,

The story plays out via the Witch Report option, which is available at your base. These scenes use 2D still portraits and voice acting to expand upon the story and to give you quests. The mouths on these portraits do not move for the most part, although there are instances where they do, for seemingly no reason. I find these instances to be jarring. The Witch Report is also how you receive and turn in quests. There are also times where you will have to go report back to Dronya after you get a specific item or reach a certain spot in the labyrinth, so it’s a lot of back and forth which can get tedious.

The game has dual language audio, so if you don’t like the English voice acting, you can change it to Japanese. I find this to be a very welcome option. The music was composed by Sato Tenpei, who has worked on various Nippon Ichi Software titles, such as Disgaea and Phantom Brave. The characters were illustrated by Harada Takehito, who has also worked on Disgaea and Phantom Brave, as well as Makai Kingdom.

Labyrinth of Refrain’s accessibility is quite good. The most complex button combinations are holding R and pressing any direction on the D-Pad or any of the face buttons. To move throughout the labyrinth, you just use the D-Pad. Battles are turn-based and use the D-Pad and the face buttons to issue commands.

I do have some issues with the game, however. You will cover the same ground multiple times over, which will help you level, but all the battles tend to feel monotonous after a while. I found myself just hitting X and holding A try speed up the battle while reading Discord servers. I also am not a fan of the English voice acting. It’s not bad, but it’s really not for me. The game can be really perverted at times as well.

Would I recommend Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk? It depends on whether or not you enjoy first-person dungeon crawlers. It’s not a difficult game, but all the exploration and battles make it tedious. The battle system really doesn’t offer anything more than what you’ve come to expect, unfortunately. However, if you’re looking for a game that you can play with one hand, then Labyrinth of Refrain is a solid choice.

Game Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
Accessibility Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk was developed by Nippon Ichi Software and published by NIS America. It was released on 2018.09.18 for Steam, PlayStation 4 and Switch, and is rated M for Mature. As of this writing, it retails for $49.99 USD. NIS America graciously gave me a copy of Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk for review, and I would like to sincerely thank them for doing so.