Premise and Atmosphere: A Chilling Success
Labyrinthine’s console edition delivers a genuinely unnerving experience, with a premise that echoes the tense, choice-driven horror of Until Dawn. The game’s eerie maze-like environments and supernatural threats create heart-pounding moments, perfect for horror fans. The atmosphere is thick with dread, amplified by well-acted dialogue found on scattered cassette tapes. These snippets of lore are very interesting, offering backstory that adds backstory to the creepy setting. I had more than my share of jump scares from both monsters and fake “BOO” signs that jump out randomly throughout the maze.
Gameplay and Modes: Decent Variety, Poor Execution
Labyrinthine offers multiple game modes, including solo and multiplayer options. Solo play lets you brave the mazes alone, while cooperative multiplayer (up to four players) encourages teamwork to survive. A case file mode provides puzzle-focused challenges, adding variety. However, the console port fumbles the execution. Controls are fine but prompts like “press X” continuously pops up, but in fact 95% of the time “press X”, is not in fact the button needed.
Multiplayer Woes: Connectivity Nightmares
Multiplayer is a core draw, but it’s has its fair share of technical issues. Connecting through the Epic Games Store is required, yet the integration frequently failed for me. While this is likely from Epic’s servers rather than the game itself, it severely hampers the cooperative experience. I gave up after multiple attempts and moved to solo play.
Final Thoughts: Potential Buried in Flaws
Labyrinthine’s console edition has a captivating horror premise and solid voice acting, but its potential is buried under a poor port. The multiplayer connectivity issues overshadow the scares, making it hard to recommend. For a smoother experience, the PC version might be a better bet, but console players deserve a patch to fix these glaring issues.
I really believe this game could be one of the next big co-op horror games but it needs much more work.
5.5/10
