Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk on Steam - User reviews, Price & Information
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Beneath a small town lies an endless maze known as the Labyrinth of Refrain. Dusk Witch Dronya arrives, and with her puppet soldiers, endeavors to find something buried deep within. Embark on an adventure as you discover the secrets underground.
Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk is a dungeon crawler, rpg and anime game
developed by Nippon Ichi Software and Inc.
and published by NIS America and Inc..
Released on September 18th 2018 is available only on Windows
in 3 languages: English, Japanese and French.
It has received 1,303 reviews of which 1,048 were positive and 255 were negative resulting in a rating of 7.7 out of 10. 😊
The game is currently priced at 49.99€ on Steam.
The Steam community has classified Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk into these genres:
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System requirements
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Windows
- OS *: Windows 7/8.1/10 64bit
- Processor: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: Intel HD 520
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 20 GB available space
- Sound Card: Onboard
User reviews & Ratings
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
Nice little beginner first-person dungeon crawler RPG. I couldn't get into similar games like Etrian Odyssey for some reason, but found some time to stick with this one (6 years after I bought it lol). Characters are very well-written and voiced(I played with dub, but there is a JP option). Probably the biggest reason i was able to stick around. Dronya is a mean bastard at first, but her story gets revealed as the game goes on and she becomes very sympathizable. Luca is adorable and must be protected. You're gonna be rooting for her every time she's on screen. The supporting cast is a good mix of weird and slimy folk. Something's going on under the surface with every one of them. The art is also gorgeous. Very coloorful and striking. Like the Disgaea games but more "adult". I don't know what to say about the story except that it was hella dark and I was invested. You play as a book and your party members are a bunch of puppets that have dope art. Your master is that hot milf Dronya and you gotta dungeon the shit outta that dungeon for her. And, most importantly, you have to go through the post-game and see the true ending, otherwise, the story feels incomplete. The game isn't that hard but if you need help, there's a guide in excel sheet form in the Steam Guide page that has everything you need to know to break the game. Which brings me to the one thing that separates this game from all the other first-person dungeon crawlers I've played (which isn't a lot, mind you), Covens. Other games like this usually have a set amount of party members you can use in battle. 5, for example. You tell each of those individual dudes to do something and that's it. Labyrinth of Refrain adds another layer. Instead of a single party member, it uses a Coven (it's a game about witches, they have to call it that), which is like a Party in itself . You can have, at maximum, 8 puppets in a coven, so imagine each party member slot to be a party of 8 and so your dungeoneering crew becomes 40 dudes! That's pretty insane, but it's not actually that crazy. Each coven can actually fit 8, but only 3 are in active battle, the other 5 are in support roles and are needed because they do things like, unlock certain spells or increase the stats of the active members. And speaking of spells, it's a big choice to make because using a spell uses the turn of all the puppets in the coven, whereas each of them can use a basic attack separately. So that spell you're gonna use better be worth it. There are a lot of different covens to unlock as well. Covens for tanking, spell casting, healing, gaining experience. Ones that magnify a certain stat. Jokey ones that are related to the story. etc. Overall, I really like the addition of Covens as opposed to the usual way of doing things. You can destroy walls to create shortcuts when you're exploring dungeons too. Which is neat. Seems like that kind of thing isn't common in similar games. Grind-focused gameplay mechanics that are common in other NIS games are here as well, but they're not important enough for me to explain here. You just need to use them if you want to get stronger. Music's good. Never got tired of it. Each dungeon stage has its own theme. They all sound very Disgaea-esque. The game uses a leitmotif in big emotional points in the story. Almost got me teary-eyed. Anyway, I like this game. The high-ish presentation values really got me to stick with it. The shadow-play in the intro, good voice acting, the music, and the gameplay all come together to form a sick little game. The grinding is pretty comfy too. Spent a little too much time on youtube doing it... I would recommend it to anybody looking to play a easy-going dungeon explorer.
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Playing on the Steamdeck to test if this is actually playable or not. I have around 120 hours on the Switch version of this game, and 90 hours on its sequel on the Switch. It automatically sets the resolution correctly. The text is the same size as on the Switch, which I had no issues with. I love DRPGs. They are a rare breed of games that seem to be relegated to softcore porn ala Mary Skelter, Tokyo Clanpool, MeiQ, and many, many others, or they are old, outdated designs, stuck on DOS-box, ala Eye of the Beholder, Wizardry series (until recently), or just very dated designs like Phantasy Star, etc. So when a DRPG comes along that has a story that is a little bit less tame, but with really strong dungeon crawling (in the actual sense, not Steam's weird as fuck sense), I need to get the word out there. So what is a DRPG? A DRPG is a grid-based game that is in the first person, usually involving parties, sometimes called a blobber. Some are in realtime (Grimrock) while most are turn based. The game either maps for you (modern games) or relies on you making a mental map, or its a whole system in the game (Etrian Odyssey). This is a modern turn-based DRPG, both in combat and in the maps. The game has a lot of depth to it with its soul system, its equipment system, its coven system, the gore critical system for the puppets you control. And as for the dungeon aspects, it has some unique bits and bobs, including breaking walls because you can. Its really hard to emphasise how much more content there is in Labyrinth of Refrain, and its sequel, Labyrinth of Galleria. I believe this is in part because these games are Nippon Ichi Software games, which are known to be a bit...extra. Labyrinth of Refrain is the better of the two games. While Labyrinth of Galleria has quality of life features including not losing items on party wipe (yes, this can fuck you over in Refrain! Save often!), its story is a lot weaker, as is the dungeon crawling. I would recommend this game if you enjoyed DRPG games such as: Labyrinth of Galleria Legend of Grimrock I & II Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey/Redux Etrian Odyssey series Eye of the Beholder series Mary Skelter 2 (haven't played the others) Saviour of Sapphire Wings Kowloon High School Chronicles I would not recommend it if you're sensitive to anime tropes. There are things I really dislike in Labyrinth of Refrain that include the constant abuse of Luca and Fitz (children) by their parental figure that's done in a way that I can only describe as "anime", or Marietta's "comically anime" advances on the main character, Dronya with her massive "potatoes" (normal people would call these melons, real badonkadonks, and many other nonsensical terms for breasts, but she calls them potatoes and that's just weird). Its hard to recommend as a first DRPG not because its the best out there but because of the aforementioned anime tropes, but if you know you like this kind of game, I think its worth it. Its got some really interesting bosses, its environments are unique and tell individual stories alongside the main one, and I just really liked this game.
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A solid dungeon crawler and one of the best stories I've read. It was an extremely dark and emotional journey but I'm glad I saw it through to the end. 9/10
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Bloodier and hornier Etrian Odyssey. Relative to those: + Strong emphasis on story from the get-go. + Team construction is an interesting, well-developed system in its own right. - Non-boss fights offer uninteresting turn-to-turn gameplay. - Several mechanics are opaque or obscure. - Some translation issues.
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Refrain is a critically flawed, but beautifully executed game that had me hooked from the start. I haven't played that many turn-based first-person dungeon crawlers like this, but that will certainly change now. The game starts out with some superb voice-acting and interesting characters. It's a bit edgy at times but the memorable characters with a variety of moral compasses/motivations and the fact that you are an enslaved book instead of some dude motivated me to keep playing. You aren't in a cast of adventurers who are looking to explore the world or some shit like that. There is a witch, her apprentice/"niece", the townsfolk with their unique blend of virtues and sins, etc. that are all there for specific but unique reasons that get revealed over time. The main story is fed to you as you progress through the labyrinth and pass some checkpoints that prompt you to resurface, creating a satisfying loop of exploration and story. Each labyrinth itself also has its own characters and stories, tied to the mobs you fight, the environment, encounters etc. that is separate from (though, later on, somewhat connected to) the main story. There is a lot of optional secrets, bosses, loot etc. (gating the true ending post-game that really develops on the story) , and so, every dialogue and VN cutscene was a joy regardless of it being a part of the main or the labyrinth one. Of course, since its from Japan, there are 1000 plot twists, time travel, etc but it was executed quite well with a lot of hints from the beginning, so I found it to be well-written . The cutscenes sometimes being really important, but sometimes just being daily events/meetings to develop the characters got me attached to the cast, though some people could see it as a drag before the tone shifts/the real plot develops. And well, the story being good was really necessary to keep me motivated since the game can really be a grind. 80-90% of combat encounters are extremely quick with very little thought. It can be quite satisfying to grind through these since your build, which has a lot of systems you have to interact with to create, is put to the test. However, it can get tiring and the game does drag on and on sometimes with mundane encounters, especially in the mid to early late game. Umbra is a common complaint, which is the largest labyrinth by far. I ended up dropping the game for months at times, but I always came back and 100%'d it. When the fights are actually a bit more difficult, the fact that things like the game's initiative system is not predictable and, outside of HP and resistances, the only [[Damage Complexity]] (outside of damage elements) comes from hit chance and crit chance makes the fights once again a test of your build rather than mid-combat strategy. Things simply are not very reliable, and there are a lot of one-shots either from your or from the other side. Tanks can choose to fortify before enemy attacks, and are most of the time more likely to get hit, but the boss-fights feature far too many board-wide attacks, which makes them less reliable unless they randomly proc their guarding abilities. So, a lot of fights boil down to your build, and a pinch of chance, but at the very least the builds themselves are pretty varied and interesting, at least for the individual units. The builds being the focus is a bigger strength than one might think, since most combat takes 10-15 seconds as you grind through the levels anyway (if you have a good enough build). Through rebirth, your puppets can take skills/passives with them as they take on a new class. Each class also has different stat growths and weapon preferences. The game is just kind of weird and interesting when it comes to builds. There is a luck stat that increases hit etc, but some skills actually benefit from luck being the lowest category possible, but only that category (or some highest category). Some skills give ATK whenever you dodge, others survive with 1HP, and some either give large boosts on full or very low HP. Chance to attack multiple times, stat % boosts, mana cost modification, etc. etc., there is a variety of skills dispersed through multiple classes which can create good synergies. Combine that with a variety of item slots, trinkets etc. that each can have some very different buffs/debuffs AND can be synthesized, and you have a lot of systems to interact with when doing your builds. However, build synergy is largely limited to the unit itself. Unfortunately, there is very little synergy between units, and the best "coven", which are collections that hold your units with certain buffs, are always those that just enhance your personal builds with a % buff. In other words, there isn't that much synergy between units, other than the guard rate of the tanks. There is a lot of active abilities that can be cast to enhance other units, but units don't really aid each other by existing together that much. I guess this might be a general weakness of turn-based games without positioning in general. I hope that Nippon Ichi uses such build variety / imaginativeness in a game with more complex combat some day to take it to its full potential. At the very least, the gore mechanic is interesting because it leads to dramatic fights. You can have puppets that specifically have builds that cripple the parts of a boss, and by the end when the cycle of one-shots and revivals end, you can often end up in situations where it doesn't make sense to revive anymore and your carry has to 1v1 the weakened boss. It often ends in some "defend before big attack" and attack cycle, but since chance is most important in a 1v1, it can be dramatic at least, if not strategic. Outside of combat, the level design definitely carries a lot of the gameplay. The fact that the labyrinth itself is a joy to map out/complete, "coloring the map", with treasures, and aforementioned stories/NPCs, helps as well. Mechanically, the levels have wall-breaking, verticality between labyrinth levels, etc. that form interesting challenges, and in some cases, traps. In a sense, you are fighting against the environment as much as the trash mobs, and up until you unlock "Mud Exit" getting out of the labyrinth can be a challenge. The enemy designs are very well made and varied too, so that adds to the joy as you progress and unlock new areas. This game could have been perfect if not for the combat, which sounds pretty bad but combat is relatively fast and you interact with the great story and exploration aspects much more often than you might think. Combined with how building your party itself can at least be quite involved, which alleviated some of the boredom of the combat, as well as the superb art, it becomes pretty hard to not recommend Refrain. Looking forward to playing Galleria to see what has changed.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk is currently priced at 49.99€ on Steam.
Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk is currently not on sale. You can purchase it for 49.99€ on Steam.
Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk received 1,048 positive votes out of a total of 1,303 achieving a rating of 7.69.
😊
Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk was developed by Nippon Ichi Software and Inc. and published by NIS America and Inc..
Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk is playable and fully supported on Windows.
Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk is not playable on MacOS.
Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk is not playable on Linux.
Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk is a single-player game.
There are 6 DLCs available for Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk. Explore additional content available for Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk on Steam.
Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk does not support mods via Steam Workshop.
Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk supports Remote Play on TV. Discover more about Steam Remote Play.
Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.
You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk.
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Last Updates| Steam data | 03 June 2025 15:33 |
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| SteamSpy data | 09 June 2025 03:45 |
| Steam price | 15 June 2025 04:41 |
| Steam reviews | 12 June 2025 15:54 |
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Game modes
Features
Online players
23
Developer
Nippon Ichi Software, Inc.
Publisher
NIS America, Inc.
Release
18 Sep 2018
Platforms
Remote Play