RPG maker Gacha simulation game sure sounds fresh, but does it actually function well?
Labirynth Hearts sounds like an ambitious project, or at least attempting to be one. What we have here is a linear story, numerous characters to recruit, raids, treasure hunting, exploration, shop upgrades, level grinding, etc. On paper, there are more than plenty of things to do and try. However, upon closer scrutiny, everything seems underwhelming, incomplete, or broken.
First, after a brief introduction you end up in a secret hideout comprising of a few buildings situated on one map, and the only exit opens a window with several options. Yes, there is only one location other than dungeons to see here.
The aforementioned options when you try to exit present you with six choices: story, treasure hunt, skirmishes, the labyrinth, raid, and nevermind(cancel).
The story and enemy encounters are delivered through the line of dots. When stepped on, the green dots trigger a brief story event, and the red ones equal a fight. There are no story forks, so the adventure is linear.
Also, all scenes are short and badly written/translated. Only the main characters have some backstories, but they're all very bland and underdeveloped. I can barely recall anything as pointless and uninteresting as the story sections present in this title. A big MEH from me.
The treasure hunt option consists of one medium-sized map with several chests prancing around. The chests need to be caught and they offer either a stat-boosting item or a boot to the main map. You can re-enter as many times as you want and when you find all the treasures, the map resets to its initial form. You can re-do the hunt as many times as you wish. This one gets a small meh from me.
The skirmishes offer you five small maps filled with monsters eliminated simply by touching them. This is a simple and quick exp grinding system. Once all monsters are eliminated (which takes maybe 10-15 seconds), you can step on a pentagram to repopulate the map. Just be careful since every reset costs you some gold.
The labyrinth option gives you access to several elemental dungeons. Each dungeon contains a few small maps with a door blocked by a boss. Beating the bosses earns you crystals used to upgrade weapons.
Finally, the raid selection sends you to a challenging boss dropping high-end items.
All of the choices explained above contain small, uninteresting maps. Still, those systems are functional so at least you won't waste time on exploration.
Next, let's move to the main map where you can visit a weapon/armor shop, a bar, an item shop, the guild, the main mansion, or challenge a special boss.
Both the weapon/armor and the item shops can be upgraded with gold. Every upgrade improves the selection of items to purchase. The guild is where you can unlock raids and skirmishes, and find gacha crystals. The crystals allow you to recruit characters randomly. There is a good selection of characters to summon and, similarly to gacha games, they all arrive with 1-to-5 star rankings. Alternatively, you can purchase characters from the NPCs found around. The purchased characters cannot be upgraded, so there is a downside. Not a horrible idea, but the execution is rather uninspired. Moreover, most characters have useless skills and some have none at all making them even more useless. Meh from me.
At the bar, you can find some of the recruited characters and have a chat with them, or offer a present to improve their rank. However, the character upgrade system does not work since there are no presents to offer. Meh.
The main mansion is where you can find some tutorials and a way to recover.
Finally, the special boss unlocks the marriage option that can only be used once. The married characters earn a special 6-star ranking. Again, this is how it was supposed to work, but the system was not implemented so you can't marry at all.
Additionally, the weapon/armor upgrade system is broken as well. All upgrades improve stats permanently even when removed, so after a few times, your weapon/armor possesses crazy stats making all battles trivial. Even the hardest bosses die after a few hits and deal you no damage. This eliminates any challenge.
From this, you can clearly tell that this game is not finished, as quite a few systems were not implemented, and some are plain broken. I had some fun maybe for an hour or two, but that's about it. Not the worst game I've played but it's among the most broken ones.
The art and overall design can be described as 90% generic. All of the characters are from stock assets. Maps are small and bland. Everything screams low budget. Also, there is no adult content here, so the Adult Only label is akin to false advertisement.
There are several tracks you can hear during various events and in different locations. Similarly to the art, all tracks a from free assets. I've heard most, if not all of the tracks in some other RPG maker games. Budget quality, low effort.
The game has several broken, unfinished, or unimplemented systems; froze a few times, and one of the characters crashed my game whenever I tried to remove it(Wrynn).
Overall, The game presents some original ideas but the execution and presentation are pretty bad. Additionally, there are several game-breaking issues. It is simply an unfinished product. It is a wasted potential, and I don't feel like I can recommend it to others: 3.3/10
