It’s a crowded world for retro-styled dungeon crawlers. Let’s delve into the Nintendo Switch version and see how these dungeons measure up. Was Labyrinth Legend worth it?
Full disclosure: We received a review code for this game. Rest assured that this will not affect the quality or candor of my review.
Table of Contents
Background
Labyrinth Legend is an indie dungeon crawler in the vein of Gauntlet or the older Legend of Zelda titles. You go through the procedurally generated dungeons, level up, and collect progressively better equipment. Dungeons are punctuated with bosses that are generally beatable on your 3rd or 4th attempt after you’ve memorized their patterns.
This was originally an iOS game, and was recently ported to the Switch. Try not to confuse this with any other similarly named games, such as Labyrinth Legends, which was a 2012 PS3 dungeon crawler, Labyrinth of the Witch, Labyrinth of Refrain, Lapis X Labyrinth, etc. This version comes with three character classes and an additional speedrun mode.
In this review, it was hard not to accidentally call this game the wrong name, and I’m clearly not alone, going by the videos on YouTube that call it Labyrinth Legends. This game could have definitely benefitted from a more unique title. Then again, they also named one of the bosses “Evil Tree”, so clearly creative naming wasn’t a priority here.
What does Labyrinth Legend do well?
The gameplay loop is functional and the levels are short enough to keep from getting tiresome. Being able to jump straight to a boss is a nice feature that honestly isn’t common enough. The equipment system and upgrades work well enough, though I’d like to see QoL features like sorting or selling items by rarity.
Boss Fights
They’re fun, though difficulty is a bit consistent. You’ll probably beat the Goblin King on your first try, but I was stuck at the Evil Tree for a bit. It’s smooth sailing after that, because the dungeons with ranged attacking mobs end up being harder to deal with than the bosses themselves.
Speedrun Mode
This is an interesting addition, though I couldn’t actually find any speedruns on YouTube.
What could Labyrinth Legend do better?
Pet Identification
Pet monsters will have a blue orb above their head, but this isn’t obvious enough. If you go into a dungeon with a pet that is a monster spawn in that dungeon, you will inevitably find yourself frantically trying to attack it every time, on every floor. I’m glad there’s no friendly fire, or my pet goblin would have died on his first outing.
Grind and Progression
Clearing a dungeon is less rewarding than you would think, and I was underleveled at each boss fight. Eventually, I was as many as 5 levels below the mobs in a dungeon. The EXP rates aren’t high enough to keep you on the same level, even if you are killing every mob, and the gear is underwhelming.
Enemy aggro
Enemies can aggro from off screen. Not a dealbreaker, but annoying.
Is Labyrinth Legend good value?
This game is literally free on the iOS store, with a $2.99 charge to remove ads.
Labyrinth Legend is $6.99 on Steam, currently on sale for 10% off.
This costs 14.99 on the eShop. That’s the same price as Hollow Knight, Knights of the Old Republic, or Loop Hero. There are scads of games, even big titles, that go on sale for much less than that. The $10-$30 price point is an incredibly crowded space, and you’ve got to stand out. For what it’s worth, 14.99 is what I paid for Steamworld Quest.
Was Labyrinth Legend fun?
It’s fun in brief spurts. However, after a couple runs it doesn’t feel as though there’s a reason to keep going. At one point when I set my controller down, I realized that it felt like the kind of low stakes game that I might play while in the checkout line.
Was Labyrinth Legend worth it?
This is still a mobile game at the end of the day, so adjust your expectations accordingly. The visuals are cute and hold up surprisingly well on a larger screen, but you’ll likely find that the simplicity, much like the generic title, keep it from standing out. The controls also feel much better on the Switch than on mobile.
Labyrinth Legend puts me in an awkward position. It’s not a bad game by any means, but if I show you the game and then give you the following price breakdown, which would you choose?
- iOS: Free (with ads), $2.99 to remove ads
- Steam: $6.99, currently on sale for $6.29 (10% off)
- Switch eShop: 14.99 (has not gone on sale since release)
Ultimately, this review is for the Nintendo Switch version, and there are other, better dungeon crawlers on the platform for the same price. Labyrinth Legend is not worth it at 14.99, buy it on sale, get it cheaper on Steam, or get it for free on iOS.
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