Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk Logo
Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk Icon
Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk

Developer: Nippon Ichi Software

Publisher: NIS America

Role-Playing
  • Price: $49.99
  • Release Date: Sep 18, 2018
  • Number of Players: 1
  • Last on Sale: -
  • Lowest Historic Price: -
  • ESRB Rating: M [Mature]
Videos
Reviews:
  • Since this is somewhat a tale of two games we’ll start with the actual gameplay itself. Adhering to pretty traditional fare you’ll command a party of puppets who’ll explore the dungeons under the town of Refrain. The conceit for this has to do with green miasma that’s dangerous to humans being down there, so the buxom and pretty ill-tempered witch Dronya instead uses the power of the Tractatus de Monstrum to enchant your puppet party to do the dirty work. You’ll be able to define and build your party, working with a selection of 6 different classes (male or pretty scantily-clad females) and a number of traits you can play with to tweak things a bit more to your liking. Combat is pretty standard turn-based fare, though you’ll need to try to avoid leaving any of your party vulnerable to strikes that will cripple your puppets or even destroy them. As you make progress in the dungeon you’ll move back into the world above the dungeons following the pretty wordy (beware of very little gameplay and a LOT of text in the first hour alone) and at times positively unsettlingly mature exploits of Dronya and her helper Luca. In particular a relatively early scene comes to mind where Dronya is sexually assaulted by a nun (don’t ask), which very much earns the game’s mature rating, though on the whole I’m a bit baffled by the need for the inclusion of these elements aside from pure shock value. All the same as the story progresses some of the dialogue, though at times very wordy and a bit dull, has its moments and can be funny at least. For the most part I see Labyrinth of Refrain as a take it or leave it proposition mostly resting on your interest in genre or at least the methodical style of play. It’s not terribly dynamic or exciting given that it is turn-based, but there can be a sense of satisfaction when you get into new territory and discover new things. On the narrative side perhaps there’s a crowd who is into the sometimes bizarrely adult elements but at the same time the game could have obviously gone further all in on that thread and didn’t. The result is a narrative that can be long-winded but surprising and amusing sitting on top of rock-solid turn-based RPG elements that you can tailor to your tastes reasonably well. Not a bad deal if you’re looking for something a bit different on several levels.


    Justin Nation, Score:
    Good [7.0]
2025

Nindie Spotlight

. All rights reserved