MeiQ: Labyrinth of Death

MeiQ hits all of the right marks of a dungeon crawling RPG but fails to capture that sense of challenge, instead opting for light fan service as a substitute.

Competent, yet forgettable.

If IDEAFactory wanted to ramp up the replay-ability factor of MeiQ, a DLC in the future which allowed for multi-player races against one another, or co-operative raids would be a welcome idea. Or a randomly generated dungeon, since the dungeons themselves are fantastic and simply having new ones to go through would help its longevity. Patches with the occasional new monster/monster mechanic couldn’t hurt, nor could personal or online goals to complete such as time-limit/damage dealt/survival mode.

MeiQ: Labyrinth of Death is a serviceable dungeon crawler that newcomers to the dungeon crawler craze can pour dozens of hours into. The appeal to genre veterans is going to be far lower due to the lack of a substantial plot and the underutilised battle system, but the game functions wonderfully as addictive comfort food.

The thing is, it all gets old fast. There are only so many times you can grind your way through battle after battle in a quest to level up so you can beat each dungeon's end boss before it starts feeling like you're just doing the same thing over and over again with little reward.

MeiQ is a dungeon crawler with a fun battle system and tonnes of customising options for your party. The poor story, large amount of backtracking and lack of fulfilling side quests really let the game down though. It's fun but there are better dungeon crawlers out there.

Far from being a bad game, MeiQ: Labyrinth of Death doesn't really try to be much more than simply competent. Its systems and ideas are all strong, but they're tackled fairly gracelessly and just end up feeling rote after a while. I didn't have a bad time with the game, but it's hard to not just recommend playing something like 'Demon Gaze' or even Idea Factory's own 'Trillion' instead for those looking for a great Dungeon Crawler or JRPG on Vita.

MeiQ: Labyrinth of Death isn't a bad game, it's half-assed. There are a couple of interesting ideas here that, applied to a competent dungeon crawler, could have made for something great. Instead, it's just passable. But I still had fun.

MeiQ: Labyrinth of Death is a good though unremarkable game. There are better dungeon crawlers available for the Vita, but fans of the genre will likely enjoy MeiQ in spite of its flaws. Being able to build up the Guardians and the elemental system are good ideas, but because of the simplistic nature of combat, neither idea lives up to its potential.

Feels like it wanted to be a genre epic but had to settle for merely ‘alright’.

MeiQ: Labyrinth of Death is evidence that Compile Heart and Idea Factory can make mistakes too. In recent years, the two Japanese companies produced a long series of little titles, innovative and exquisitely witty. The new product has only touched the target, showing many flaws in the most important aspects of the structure and gameplay.

A repetitive game that has a boring story and pointless with a horrible characters. Only for fans of this genre.

An acceptable title dotting the grievous past of Compile Heart. A dungeon crawler with maze style gameplay, and a fairly unique and customizable battle system, MeiQ does a good job of providing some fun and interesting moments. Falling short overall in the battles, and leaving very much to desire with story, characters, dialogue, and respect for human dignity, MeiQ is a title only for the most dedicated RPG player.

While it manages to offer decent characters and an interesting battle system, MeiQ: Labyrinth Of Death is a disappointment overall. With so many strong entries in the dungeon-crawl genre already, one that only goes half the distance is impossible to recommend.

If only the mechanics or the content were as rich or voluptuous as the curves of the leading ladies, this could have been something.

MeiQ doesn't lack depth. Unfortunately, what it does lack, is just about everything else.

A prime example of a below par dungeon crawling RPG. Kinda fun in parts, if not a bit basic and simple, the title has nothing that offers a real challenge and nothing that demands your attention. While the game starts off well enough, very little is added throughout to hold your interest, and it's a struggle to remain enthused about the lacklustre plot and the title's repetitive nature.

Interest can be found within MeiQ: Labyrinth of Death’s story premise and customizable Guardians. Unfortunately, however, the positives fall flat much too quickly, as there isn’t enough depth to keep them from getting stale.

Unless you’re really desperate for some anime girls and mechs, you can find much better dungeon crawling experiences elsewhere.