Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk

 PlayStation 4
User Score
7.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 25 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 25
  3. Negative: 4 out of 25
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  1. Awanka
    Oct 22, 2020
    8
    This is a very good blobber who's closest analog would be the Etrian Odyssey games, because of the cute anime artstyle, concept of worlds that resemble strata, elite purple enemies that are like Etrian's FOEs, the homebase/hub that you return to after excursions, and many other things. There are many differences to the EO series as well though. For better or worse this game doesn't haveThis is a very good blobber who's closest analog would be the Etrian Odyssey games, because of the cute anime artstyle, concept of worlds that resemble strata, elite purple enemies that are like Etrian's FOEs, the homebase/hub that you return to after excursions, and many other things. There are many differences to the EO series as well though. For better or worse this game doesn't have the brutal difficulty and finely tuned game balance of EO. That's mostly because of how open ended LoR is. There are many more options to advance your characters other than grinding out levels or farming for rare high end equipment. LoR has a job class system that allows you to keep good skills and increase your stats, similar to FF14 or the Wizardry series, and you can make some overpowered builds here. They also have an alchemy system that allows you to combine equipment into higher level items, and this allows you to create some really overpowered gear. The combination of these 2 abilities allows you to become quite OP in the game. Although on the other side, the game is pretty difficult. There are purple FOE enemies and some nasty bosses that can ruin your day. Worst of all are randomly appearing elite enemies that can appear in any random battle, similar to the elites in Diablo 3. These enemies can have a variety of modifiers that make them far stronger than normal enemies. Like very difficult to hit and 1 shot members of your party strong. Buyer beware, but I rather like them; they make life interesting.

    As a whole, the gameplay is more and less than EO. There's much more variety, but I feel something is lost as well. I love EO's finely tuned challenge, where I have to use the best builds and equipment just to barely be on par with the bosses and elite enemies. I felt LoR became faceroll easy towards the last 1/3 of the game. There is an option to increase difficulty to a nightmare mode though, so lack of challenge might not actually be a factor. There is also something kind of goofy and over the top to how many character you need to create in LoR. You can eventually field a full brigade of 15 active combatants, and 25ish support. These are all characters that you need to create and maintain with gear. I found it kind of silly and tedious. I'd rather just maintain 4-6 characters I can focus on.

    By far my favorite thing about this game though was the story. It was dark and twisted. The main character, Dronya, is spiteful, manipulative, mean-spirited, and hilarious. I loved following her story. Bonus: This game has an incredible post-game dungeon that was pretty tough and a lot of fun.    … Expand
  2. Chaoslegion187
    Jun 12, 2022
    10
    Absolutely loved this game! The quirky storyline, dungeon crawling, and character customization are all great.

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. Eurogamer Italy
    Oct 30, 2018
    70
    Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk deserved a second chance, especially for a deep and rich turn-based combat system. Unfortunately the plot is not told with the right rhythm, and the technical department is backward. Recommended for old-fashioned dungeon crawler and GDR fans.
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  2. RPG Fan
    Oct 10, 2018
    79
    While breaking all of the typical conventions of the genre, Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk somehow manages to stay true to the spirit of a JRPG. Although it's held back by repetitive combat and some disturbing cutscenes, the game has a lot to offer for hard-core fans of turn-based, dungeon exploration games, especially those with a darker sense of humor.
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  3. GameOver.gr
    Sep 28, 2018
    80
    For those who seek a well crafted, hardcore dungeon crawler, Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk is a decent choice since it offers all the familiar and best features (rich content, high challenge etc.) of the genre.
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