Was Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk Worth It?

You probably know NIS from the Disgaea games. This is a departure from the easygoing tone of those games, and is a rather dark dungeon crawling RPG. Was Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk Worth It? Maybe we’ll find out once the puppets get back from exploring the dungeon.

Content warning

There is some heavy subject matter in this game. Child abuse, murder, rape, torture, lobotomization, the list goes on. Unfortunately, you also can’t avoid some of these parts, as it’s integral to the plot. Consider yourself warned.

Background

I saw this game on NIS’ website. I was surprised that there was an RPG on the Switch that I hadn’t even heard of, especially from a relatively large company like that. I took a chance and ordered it. What I got was a competent, though depressing DRPG.

The premise from a surface perspective: you are a sentient book that uses puppets to explore the labyrinth under the town of Refrain at the behest of the witch Dronya. There’s a lot more to it than that, but it’s very easy to spoil elements of the plot. The game uses the artstyle of more cheerful games like Disgaea, but don’t be fooled, this is grim.

What does it do well?

You can avoid encounters on the map, and progression feels good, though I had a tendency to end up somewhat overleveled when fully exploring areas. The game mechanics are actually pretty simple – they just do a terrible job of explaining them. One thing I really laud this game for is gradually introducing mechanics. There are ways to min-max your puppet stats and you get more options as you progress.

While I can’t name any of the songs, I did enjoy the music. If you enjoy the sounds of Disgaea or Phantom Brave, then this is more of the same, as it’s the same composer. I also like the character art and designs, even if this plot is a little darker than my usual fare.

What could it do better?

In its zeal to stand out, they use a lot of different ways to say the same thing. For example – covens and pacts. Just say squads. Don’t make it needlessly complicated. The same goes for character classes. What is a “Marginal Maze”?

The same goes for character (puppet) creation. There are so many superfluous elements that just present the illusion of choice. Anyone who understands or researches the game mechanics is going to build their eventual puppet army optimally.

I also had issues with some of the gameplay choices, or rather the lack thereof. In one dungeon, you can avoid killing certain enemies. However, you can’t really traverse the area without eliminating them. If you choose to kill them, you gain a currency called Karma which causes you to incur damage on certain tiles or other penalties. Another example? You go to an event square on the map…but it forces you to fight a boss enemy that you aren’t supposed to be able to defeat. When you die, because you can’t escape, you lose the currency you had been earning and you need to repair your puppets that just got wrecked.

Another big issue I had was the puppets. This doesn’t have to do with the gore/part breaking mechanic. For reference, I received a gore hit on my head in my very first battle. After that, it never happened again, and I only had to repair puppet parts 3-5 times over the next forty hours of gameplay. My issue is that I had zero attachment to the puppet characters that I had been using. This game isn’t like Disgaea, where you’re leveling Laharl or Etna. My party literally felt like disposable puppets, which sucks when you’re spending 99% of the game in the dungeon with them.

Is it fun?

I did have fun, up to a point. Eventually what wore me down was the fact that I had no attachment to the characters that I was spending all my time with, the puppets. They were disposable and replaceable. I was interested in Dronya and Luca’s story, but they were simply in town waiting for me to get to plot checkpoints in the dungeons.

Value?

I put about 40 hours into the game before hitting burnout. If you stick with it, you’ll definitely get your money’s worth.

Was Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk Worth It?

Do you want a very bleak, mature story? Do you enjoy dungeon crawlers? If it’s not a hard yes to both of these, then Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk may not be for you. The game has good reviews and is certainly playable. I do think the asking price of 49.99 on the eShop is a bit steep for a game that’s three years old, but you can find a physical Switch copy on Amazon for about $35. Alternatively, you can find a new or used PS4 copy at Gamestop for 9-10 bucks. I paid full price for mine and I do feel that I got my money’s worth.

Buy this game on sale (or get a cheaper physical copy) for the Switch. You can’t beat less than $10 for a physical disc on the PS4. My verdict is you’ll probably get enough bang for your buck, but this is an unsettling game that might upset some players.

There is a sequel out, Labyrinth of Galleria, that’s apparently very interesting. However, it hasn’t been localized. NIS is about to drop Disgaea 6 practically any minute now, and is rereleasing Phantom Brave and Soul Eater soon. Any new titles will likely be Q3 or Q4 of 2021 at the very earliest.

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