Thanks to CIRCLE for the review code

Title: Puzzle Labyrinth
System: 3DS (eShop)
Price: $5.00
Release date: 06/09/2016

Story

Outside of the general premise of “You’re trapped in a labyrinth, go escape”, this game has no story, and therefore nothing for me to judge.

Graphics

Outside of a rather simple level select screen, the majority of the time spent in the game will be in a first person perspective, using a layout almost exactly like the Etrian Odyssey series, including a bottom screen map that maps itself out as you move around. Sometimes during the puzzles you’ll be required to engage in a “battle” which is also in a first person perspective similar to the game I mentioned earlier. When it comes to the dungeon designs, however there’s not much to say outside of there being a ton of white and grey walls.

Music and Sound

The soundtrack for this game contains a simplistic main menu theme, a simplistic battle theme and a dull exploration theme, and that’s pretty much the entire soundtrack for the game, unfortunately. It never changes the further along you get in the game, and the techno nature of these songs tends to make them even more irritating after a while. You’d be better off muting the game after a while to focus on the puzzles more.

Gameplay

In an assortment of 60 levels to go through, you must open the exit by solving a wide variety of puzzles in each maze. Whether it’s putting out flames in a certain order, defeating enemies at the right time, or making careful movements around dangerous pits, this game really gets your brain thinking, which I appreciate. The early puzzles are rather simple, with the option to choose between multiple levels to unlock using the keys you gain after each stage, but after clearing the first batch of 20 levels, you move onto the next set, which take more of a thought process to solve, rinse and repeat, with a few new ideas along the way. It gets harder along the way, but the creative ideas start to fade away as well, making it drag out longer than it should.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Puzzle Labyrinth is an OK game at best. It has a few clever ideas with some of the puzzles, but overall the game feels like a drag to play, and after the first third of the game I found myself getting bored with the game rather quickly. Still, if you’re a fan of brainteasers and don’t mind the barebones variety, then this may be a game that’s worth picking up on sale. I give Puzzle Labyrinth a 6 out of 10.