Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk (ルフランの地下迷宮と魔女ノ旅団) is a dungeon crawler RPG developed by Nippon Ichi Software and released in 2017. It follows a gameplay formula reminiscent of the classic Wizardry series, which is quite popular in Japan. It also has a sequel set in the same universe (but with different characters) that I am currently playing.

The story follows a witch called Madame Dronya who arrives at a city called Refrain along with her extremely cute assistant, Luca. This city holds the only connection to a special underground labyrinth that seems to hold something important Dronya is searching for.

Unfortunately, the dungeon is filled with miasma that is lethal to humans, making normal exploration impossible. Dronya uses a legendary book called the Tractatus de Monstrum. This book holds a soul (the player) and can control puppets to explore the deep below and bring treasure back to Dronya.

You can notice almost immediately that the city of Refrain is not normal; there is something "off" about most of the citizens. To add to the suspicion, the Mayor asks Dronya to never go out at night after the bells ring because monsters appear and take people away.

Dronya has her own share of trouble, too. She is there in secret, faking being the legendary witch Baba Yaga (who is actually her master). She only has a limited amount of time before her real identity is discovered by the city officials and the real Baba Yaga gets informed.

Keep an eye out for every story hint because things aren't as straightforward as they look, and there is a lot to discover in this game. The story takes an extremely interesting turn in the final stages, revealing the truth behind the past of Dronya and everyone else involved.

HEAVY SPOILERS IN THIS SECTION

The reveal that Dronya was dead all along since before the beginning of the story was shocking. She was a puppet herself, built by Luca (who was indirectly the cause of her death). That was really damning. We went through the story learning of Dronya's past and her regret over the death of her partner, and I honestly really connected with her character. It was so hard to let her go in the True Ending as she refuses to be born again through that magic.

The city of Refrain being some sort of purgatory was also quite surprising, I was expecting something to be off, but not literally everyone in the city being just dead souls from long ago. The scenes when the citizens start to go mad were genuinely scary and thank god for the time rewinds.

Luca herself also holds tons of surprises. Her future version was the one giving our soul to the Tractatus de Monstrum to prevent the monstrosity that took control of Baba Yaga from becoming too strong and destroying the entire world. This splits the world into two branches: the one where the past is safe with small Luca, and her own future where she is all alone as the only human survivor.

I am not fully sure as the game is cryptic about it, but apparently she managed to become pregnant in the future through the use of magic. I am guessing the kids are supposed to be Dronya and her partner reborn in that world. But well, it was just a small scene at the very end so...

END OF SPOILERS

Gameplay is pretty straightforward. The player walks through a dungeon using a first-person view, step-by-step clearing the map and fighting in turn-based combat against the monsters within. It is similar to Dungeon Travelers 2, which we reviewed recently.

There are six different classes (Facets) you can create puppets for that have different roles in battle. Aster Knights are the classic warrior class balanced around offense and defense. Shinobushi focus on speed and can dual-wield weapons effectively. Theatrical Stars use "bells" to fight and provide support effects. Peer Fortresses are the tanks with heavy defense. Marginal Mazes (unlocked later) focus on using special spells called Donam and are basically "boss nukers." Finally, Mad Raptors use crossbows and status effects.

You can technically take up to 40 puppets with you into battle, even if only 15 are directly involved in the fight itself. The remaining 25 are used in support slots to provide buffs to the main fighters or simply sit there to gain experience passively as you explore.

The story is narrated through small visual novel segments unlocked as you explore the dungeon freely and level up your puppets. Usually, these are triggered by discovering something in the dungeon that allows the plot in the city to progress or requires Dronya's intervention.

The game is LONG. The main story will take you 40-ish hours to complete, but if you want the complete ending that reveals all the secrets, you need to go into the Post-Game. This will significantly increase the time needed depending on how well you can build your team.

Regardless of the length, if you are a fan of dungeon crawler games, this is a must-play as it is an extremely polished experience. I suggest this even for people new to the genre, as the story will keep you entertained while you get used to all the systems.