Labyrinth Legend Review (NSW)

Written by Anthony L. Cuaycong

Title: Labyrinth Legend
Developer: Shinobi Games
Publisher: NIS America
Genre: ARPG
Price: $14.99

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Dungeon crawler games are a dime a dozen, but each of them has its own unique interpretation of how the genre goes. From the action-packed action RPGs of Diablo and Titan Quest, to the more restrained turn-based styles of such notables as Class of Heroes, Ultima, and Darkspire. Dungeon crawling can likewise range from hardcore lootgrinding to tough monster encounters that require quick thinking and strategy. Labyrinth Legend, however, opts for none of these. Instead, it goes for a simpler approach, combining the simplistic combat of a casual button masher with the mechanics of a loot based RPG system. It's enjoyable and actually entertaining enough to hold your attention before you move to something else.

Labyrinth Legend's story is simple; In Kanata Village rests a treasure lying deep within a monster filled labyrinth. You are one of the adventurers hoping to try their luck and their skill in acquiring it. While hordes of enemies bar your path, they can't stop you from your quest to riches and glory. With that begins your rampage.

Admittedly, there's not much story to keep you entertained in Labyrinth Legend. There's just enough of a plotline to give you a motivation before you're thrust into the action. Kanata Village isn't really a place you can explore, and while you do have some options in how to customize your characters, the biggest differences come in the form of your character's class, and whatever weapons and items you scavenge during your run.

While this setup is barebones, the actual adventure in Labyrinth Legend is not. The moment you set foot in the labyrinth, all bets are off, and it's up to you, using your own skill and equipment, to carry the day. Each level you run through is randomized and plays like a top-down hack-and-slash game where you smash your enemies to pieces. It's a simplistic design, sure, but it's done in a way that leaves it easy to approach. Each weapon you own has its own attack styles and patterns, and you can equip up to four different ones at any one time. From spells and weapons that launch projectiles, to swords and spears with different ranges and attack styles, it's the equipment that changes up how you attack, and that in turn dictates how you face each mob encounter. For instance, having a strong projectile weapon means you have range on your foes, giving you time to whittle them down before they get up close. However, once they get in, a melee weapon's superior area of effect swings might be more beneficial to you, especially once your enemies start surrounding you.

It's an intuitive little system to pick up, and it allows you to cater your playstyle to your favorite weapons as they come. While your older gear might eventually get phased out by stronger, newer equipment, you can always upgrade them to keep them relevant. Or you can spend all your upgrade materials on a different type of weapon and lean on that for most of your run. Either option works, really, and with the loot is the lifeblood of Labyrinth Legend; it's really up to you on what you keep and what you sell away for those all-important upgrades.

While you can't explore much around the village, the store owners there do have some benefits they can give you. From the ability to carry more potions during each dungeon dive, to having more inventory space so you can find and sell more items for profit, these upgrades can give you some long-term help when doing your runs. When things start looking tough, it's probably time to start upgrading your items, and while you may be doing some grind, the randomized levels and enemies you encounter in Labyrinth Legend do keep it from going completely stale.

There's a main story mode to be played, as well as an extra game mode to enjoy once you've had your fill of the main campaign, although this is more of a player-handicapped version of the main story mode than anything else. Much of your time, really, will be spent on your first playthrough, beating enemies, collecting their loot, and doing it all over again.

Is it simple? Very much so. Labyrinth Legend’s design was made to be simple, and it shows. The combat, while interesting, doesn't allow for too much depth. The gear variance could've been good, especially with how equipment functions, but it never changes up how you interact with your game like something a Diablo armor set would. Occasionally, a boss does come in, but these often proved to be more damage sponges than actual threats. The few times you’ll be low on health, all you need to do is dash away from your enemies and kite them with ranged weapons until they die. It's not a challenging game, but it’s fine for what it offers. It’s not meant to be challenging. It simply aims to be casual and fun.

Labyrinth Legend feels like a game you're made to run through and play a little each day. It won't captivate you like other hardcore RPGs would, but it does just enough good to keep you entertained to finish a stage or two, hammer out a few upgrades, and rinse and repeat. Its long-term staying power is derived from how approachable it is, and while other games might test your patience or wear down on you with their complex mechanics, Labyrinth Legend just asks you to go ham on monsters and watch their shiny loot drop. It's simple, effective, and enjoyable, and perfect for a Switch title enjoyed on the go.

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THE GOOD

• Fun combat with enough of a reward cycle to keep you playing
• Casual, enjoyable button mashing mechanics combined with a decent RPG grind
• Short-and-sweet stages meant to be breezed through for some light entertainment

THE BAD

• Repetitive at its core, with quite a bit of grinding if you want to level up all your items
• Not very challenging, with simplistic mechanics in place to keep things from getting overly complicated

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RATING: 7.5/10

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