Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes
Labyrinth Legend is a neat Roguelite action adventure title brought to us by our friends at NIS, courtesy of the developer Regista. A sort of hack and slash adventure set in a cursed kingdom, will you be able to find your way out? Or will the curse claim another victim?
In Labyrinth Legend, you take on the role of an adventurer, aiming to reap the riches and treasures that are said to lurk somewhere in the kingdom of Kanata. Once you arrive, provided you talk to the townspeople, you discover that the curse on the kingdom prevents anyone from leaving. What good is treasure if you can't boast to others about it? So your new objective is to find the treasure, and break the curse so you can leave.
One thing I would like to point out at the start of this review is that Labyrinth Legend is rather basic in its presentation and gameplay. For a Roguelite type game, this isn't a bad thing, as it allows you to be comfortable during challenge or more randomized runs. As an adventurer, you are adept in a number of different weapons, such as: bows, swords, and magic, to name a few. As you explore different areas of the kingdom, all randomly generated with an exit door requiring a key on each floor, you will pick up equipment that you can use to help yourself make your way through the monsters that stand in your way. This is pretty much done by simply holding down the attack button, and then moving or dodging out of the way when an attack is coming your way. For standard mob enemies, this is plainly telegraphed by an exclamation mark above the enemy. Bosses you do need to learn what their tells are.
You can equip two weapons at once, and two skills associated with your equipped weapons. I prefer to have one melee and one ranged weapon, although you could double up on melee or ranged, or even go the mage route instead. Once you decide to return to the village, you can purchase upgrades/skills/useful improvements at the general store, something I highly suggest you do as soon as possible, visit the store and blacksmith, search for a monster companion, or pay a miner to get rocks for you in order to improve your equipment.
Equipment itself comes in different types and qualities, with the number of stars generally determining how good a certain type of equipment is, and how many bonus enchantments are on it. After hitting a certain point, tougher versions of previous areas will become available, and better equipment will start dropping. Unfortunately, the game seems to have decided that better equipment is still "new" equipment, despite looking the same. Basically I'm saying you'll start getting 1 star equipment again that looks the same as the old equipment. Yes, it's better.
In terms of graphic and sound quality, I'll be honest, when I first saw a trailer for the game, I thought it was going to be a little disappointing. In terms of graphic quality, yeah, it isn't winning any prizes, and feels closer to some one-off game developed for a highschool programming class. I say this because I had to make a basic game in my highschool programming class. It's not awful, but it certainly isn't winning any prizes either. The music on the other hand? That is a job really well done. The soundtrack really fits each stage, and the boss theme is also really good.
Labyrinth Legacy also features a drop in/out co-op option, where you can visit the tavern to have another character join you on your quest, great for couch co-op if you have any friends! The game does feel a little sluggish at times though, and I don't mean in terms of framerate. Your character moves really slow compared to their attack speed, resulting in a weird dissonance between the speed you expect the game to progress at, and how fast it's actually going. The combat is also a little…unrefined, perhaps I should say.
While holding the attack button, you can't really dodge cancel out of it, so you need to time releasing the attack button with pressing the dodge button in order to get away from attacks or enemies that get too close. Rooms are basically just mini monster houses with the occasional chest, so stages don't really have that draw that I'd like to see in a game like this. Add to this that some of the boss attacks feel like they aren't lined up properly, and Labyrinth Legend can feel like a slog if you're playing for awhile. On the plus side, each instance field tends to be short enough to not get on your nerves, so you can easily pick it up for a stage or two and then put down.
Labyrinth Legend is a lot longer than I thought it would be, with a number of interesting stages and bosses, different character classes to try out, as well as different weapons to test and monster companions to train. The story is told through interacting with the townsfolk after clearing a stage, and I appreciate the self-reliant story, which makes it easy to hop into the action for a new game or player. Additionally, there is both the standard mode as well as an "extra mode", that functions more like a roguelike the main game mode, where your equipment and level reset when you die, but you can purchase upgrades as you go that will carry over.
Overall, I have to say that Labyrinth Legacy is well worth its cost. While gameplay isn't particularly innovative, it is pretty consistent and easy to get used to. It can feel sluggish and awkward at times, but never does it tip over to that "uncomfortable" range. Labyrinth Legacy is easy to pick up and has a good soundtrack to complement its stages. If you're looking for a title to play with a partner, or if you're looking for some decent roguelite action, be sure to give Labyrinth Legend a try!
Score: 7.5 / 10
