This review contains spoilers
I originally got this game on Switch around 2019, I remember bouncing off of it due to being stuck on a specific story section (don't remember what exactly). Now here I am giving this a positive review after finishing the post-game labyrinth on PC. What gives? Well, I bought the sequel (Labyrinth of Galleria) a few months after it came out west last year and LOVED that one, though I never finished it due to burnout. I then got the urge to play through Labyrinth of Refrain again and saw it on sale for $15. These are my thoughts about it after just finishing the post-game labyrinth and getting the true ending.
Pros
- The visuals for the dungeons are quite nice and distinct from each other, this is one of the big draws that Refrain has over Galleria for me. Refrain's dungeons are alternate worlds all connected to the main story in some way, while Galleria's are more so One Big Dungeon with the exact same tiles except now blue/red/yellow-tinged. The standouts for me were: Verdant Phenom, The Astrom Kingdom, and Dusken Tanis.
- The voice acting and general story/characters are compelling, it kept me going through some of the cryptic bits that the game has. I found that Neldo and Madam Dronya/Velnya were my favourite characters during my playthrough. Neldo because I found him generally intriguing while with Madam Dronya/Velnya, I found her asshole-ness charming and gave me a big reason to continue through those cryptic parts. I wanted to see where she went and how her actions would steer the plot.
- You can do a lot with the upgrade systems of this game. There's the ability to transfer your existing puppet soldier souls into a new body, these reset their level to 1 but it increases the stats gained on level ups. You can also transfer into a different Facet (think a Job from FF) to get their passives for a build you're planning out. You can also upgrade weapons/armor/accessories with other gear pieces you're not using. This can get very number-crunchy!
Cons
- This game can be very cryptic at times on how to progress in the main story. I got lost and turned around repeatedly in the main story, Amadeus Necropolis and the Three Towers of Umbra are the big offenders here. I had no idea I had to interact with Porte on a "daily" basis in Amadeus, by daily I mean "interact with her 3 times and leave, repeat". I had to get that pointed out by the friend I was playing the game with. Getting to the third tower in Umbra was also a massive pain in the ass, it's behind a dark room maze that I had to google a map for because I kept getting turned around by the constant walls I was breaking down.
- Some of the story scenes might be too much for some, there's 2 scenes of sexual assault in the main story. I was able to get past these, others might be repulsed by them. I thought they (the writing staff) handled the subject matter well personally, I thought I should mention it as this can be a massive negative for some.
Overall, I think I can recommend Labyrinth of Refrain if you're looking for a good DRPG to start with. With a twisty dark narrative and satisfactory dungeon exploration. It regularly goes on sale on PC for about $12-15 USD. At that pricepoint, it is a very easy recommendation for me to make.
Pros
- The visuals for the dungeons are quite nice and distinct from each other, this is one of the big draws that Refrain has over Galleria for me. Refrain's dungeons are alternate worlds all connected to the main story in some way, while Galleria's are more so One Big Dungeon with the exact same tiles except now blue/red/yellow-tinged. The standouts for me were: Verdant Phenom, The Astrom Kingdom, and Dusken Tanis.
- The voice acting and general story/characters are compelling, it kept me going through some of the cryptic bits that the game has. I found that Neldo and Madam Dronya/Velnya were my favourite characters during my playthrough. Neldo because I found him generally intriguing while with Madam Dronya/Velnya, I found her asshole-ness charming and gave me a big reason to continue through those cryptic parts. I wanted to see where she went and how her actions would steer the plot.
- You can do a lot with the upgrade systems of this game. There's the ability to transfer your existing puppet soldier souls into a new body, these reset their level to 1 but it increases the stats gained on level ups. You can also transfer into a different Facet (think a Job from FF) to get their passives for a build you're planning out. You can also upgrade weapons/armor/accessories with other gear pieces you're not using. This can get very number-crunchy!
Cons
- This game can be very cryptic at times on how to progress in the main story. I got lost and turned around repeatedly in the main story, Amadeus Necropolis and the Three Towers of Umbra are the big offenders here. I had no idea I had to interact with Porte on a "daily" basis in Amadeus, by daily I mean "interact with her 3 times and leave, repeat". I had to get that pointed out by the friend I was playing the game with. Getting to the third tower in Umbra was also a massive pain in the ass, it's behind a dark room maze that I had to google a map for because I kept getting turned around by the constant walls I was breaking down.
- Some of the story scenes might be too much for some, there's 2 scenes of sexual assault in the main story. I was able to get past these, others might be repulsed by them. I thought they (the writing staff) handled the subject matter well personally, I thought I should mention it as this can be a massive negative for some.
Overall, I think I can recommend Labyrinth of Refrain if you're looking for a good DRPG to start with. With a twisty dark narrative and satisfactory dungeon exploration. It regularly goes on sale on PC for about $12-15 USD. At that pricepoint, it is a very easy recommendation for me to make.