Review – Puzzle Labyrinth (3DS eShop)

Puzzle Labyrinth has the looks of a dated dungeon crawler, but the mechanics of one of those “Room Escape” games that are available for free online.  I’m all for blending different styles if the end results turn out satisfying.  In Puzzle Labyrinth’s case however, the results are average at best.

There’s no story for the game, which makes me question the presentation focus, or what little there is.  With repeating grey walls, white floors, and foggy draw-in, this really is one dull looking game.  The only area it manages to do fine with is the character models.  With only a few of them though (color swapped) and with no plot, they definitely feel out of place.  As for music, there’s just one main track through the sixty levels.

As far as the puzzles go, they’ve actually managed to pack a good amount of content, in spite of limited ideas.  Many of the puzzles end up feeling quite similar, with minor variations on tasks finished prior.  All involve opening a door by finding items in a certain order, defeating enemies in a certain order, etc.  Some were decent, but I’m hard pressed to think of any puzzles I’d call memorable.  The individual mazes in which the puzzles take place aren’t very large, but there is a helpful map on the touchscreen.  The layouts are similar enough that it made me question at times if I’d already beaten a particular stage.

The games is largely linear, so it’s a tossup how much content you’ll get to see.  You can temporarily bypass a few puzzles, but not many.  The publisher’s are not active on Miiverse to the best of my knowledge, so hints might be harder to come by in the community.  I’ve finished approximately 30 stages, or half the game.  With the in-game tips being cryptic (and sometimes poorly translated) I’ve limited desire to finish right now.  I feel I’ve seen enough to share my impressions, but take this review with an extra pinch of salt.

Puzzle Labyrinth is selling for $5.00 which will net you 10 My Nintendo gold coins.  But it has poor aesthetics, a linear nature, and no evident replay incentives.  I found it to be only moderately interesting and (at times) a frustrating experience.  If a sequel ever comes, perhaps more focus can be put on the diversity, and quality of the actual puzzles?  Trying to shoehorn them all into a dungeon crawler type atmosphere seems like a waste of resources to me.