At first I thought that this was a game based on a setting that one and a half nerds, including me, remembered. And why did the guys from the Team LADYBUG studio decide to take on this?? Out of great love or something? Well, as it turns out, yes.
Wikipedia minute: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth is a game in the world of “Record of Lodoss War”. It was invented in Japan and was originally used for tabletop role-playing games like D&D. Then came novels, manga, computer games and animated adaptations. The latter are also known among us. This is an OVA series from 1990 and a TV series from 1998.
And it seemed to me that that was all, the setting bent and sunk into oblivion. But no! It just doesn’t appear anywhere in our information field. If you dig a little, you can find out that literary works come out more or less steadily, and starting from the 88th, every couple of years (well, maybe not quite every couple) some kind of interactive entertainment appears. This time Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth appeared.
What you need to know about Didlit?
In general, if you want a more complete emotional experience from the game, then it’s a good idea to at least read the OVA of 90. From now on I will call it “original” because it’s more convenient for me. A group of adventurers is operating there, which includes the main character of this game – the high elf Deedlit.
In general, in the original work the protagonist is the boy Parn, shown below in the illustrations. And it seems logical to make him the player’s avatar. But he’s kind of homely in that armor of his… He lacks individuality or something? Naturally, I’m also an expert in character design, so I’ll say: among the entire group, Deedlit stands out with the most striking appearance. I think for a reason. On most official promotional materials it takes up quite a lot of space. Your attention is focused on her. Apparently the idea is that a female character sells the product better. Considering that his target audience is mainly male. Because of this, the elf has become something of a mascot for the brand. You can also add that Deedlit turned into an anime elf image template for many titles for many years. In short: the young lady, at one time, left a good legacy in popular culture.
My complaint is more about the colors used in Parn’s design. It always seemed to me that his armor was rusty and that it didn’t look very heroic. It turned out even better in black and white sketches. But Deedlit, on the contrary, is perceived much better than the “colored” one.
My complaint is more about the colors used in Parn’s design. It always seemed to me that his armor was rusty and that it didn’t look very heroic. It turned out even better in black and white sketches. But Deedlit, on the contrary, is perceived much better than the “colored” one.
My complaint is more about the colors used in Parn’s design. It always seemed to me that his armor was rusty and that it didn’t look very heroic. It turned out even better in black and white sketches. But Deedlit, on the contrary, is perceived much better than the “colored” one.
My complaint is more about the colors used in Parn’s design. It always seemed to me that his armor was rusty and that it didn’t look very heroic. It turned out even better in black and white sketches. But Deedlit, on the contrary, is perceived much better than the “colored” one.
My complaint is more about the colors used in Parn’s design. It always seemed to me that his armor was rusty and that it didn’t look very heroic. It turned out even better in black and white sketches. But Deedlit, on the contrary, is perceived much better than the “colored” one.
My complaint is more about the colors used in Parn’s design. It always seemed to me that his armor was rusty and that it didn’t look very heroic. It turned out even better in black and white sketches. But Deedlit, on the contrary, is perceived much better than the “colored” one.
In the game itself, its character is well conveyed through a pixel sprite due to the correct animations. She acts within the game world exactly as you would expect her to: with the right degree of ease and grace. And the raincoat gives additional dynamism and airiness. The whole image of Didlit creates an additional fabulousness. She also calls on all sorts of fairies to explode on enemies. In general: they guessed well with the protagonist and implemented his idea well.
Plot, visuals and a little about sauna design
The story in the game begins with Deedlit waking up in a circle of stones – this is clearly some kind of place for a ritual or something similar. Why she ended up here is unknown. The same applies to the reality of what is happening in general. Absolutely nothing is unclear, but everything is played out quite interestingly.
The exposition at the beginning https://neonbingocasino.co.uk/mobile-app/ is not very informative, through a couple of windows with text. Because of this, a proper attachment is not formed to the characters appearing during the game and there is no clear understanding of who they are. This does not affect the gameplay in any way, of course, but after completing the puzzle the story may not work out in your head. Myself the plot is not without intrigue By the way, what a pleasant surprise. I think ladies and gentlemen familiar with the original should appreciate.
The visual style as a whole is designed in such a way that you can easily draw parallels with the art of the series. Otherwise, it is pleasant, without anime pretentiousness and acidic colors. The same monsters fit well into the setting and don’t look foreign. This impression is further enhanced by the creatures and characters that moved here from the anime.
The game generally looks very juicy, and some stylistic decisions of the original helped it become more original.
The game generally looks very juicy, and some stylistic decisions of the original helped it become more original.
Individual elements such as lights or air flows may seem simple, but that’s the point. They are read quickly when they fly at you. The purpose of such a decision is to signal danger. And it works. You almost immediately get used to the visual marker and have enough time to react properly. Simplicity, in this case, isolates information.
The music here is… unusual. I can’t say that I like it, but it fits the style and atmosphere very accurately. And in its sound it tries to resemble games from the nineties. As a result you get a product with greater artistic integrity, which only has a positive effect on his overall perception.
But of course there’s not enough voice acting for the dialogues. There are only windows with text. This could be compensated for by different sound effects for the appearance of subtitles for different characters. For example, in dragons this sound could be made lower rumbling. The way it turned out on release is not bad, but the version I gave would have worked better for the atmosphere.
There is one aspect that makes the gameplay dissonant with the narrative. Attention: now there will be fierce subjectivity! Deedlit’s adventure lacks a sense of loneliness. Lost in the Labyrinth, friendless, she is almost constantly surrounded by crowds of enemies. And as if everything is correct, action games are about this! But here, appropriately placed accents are important, revealing the story more emotionally, giving a sense of belonging and involving you more strongly. I’m not saying this out of nowhere, there are staged moments in the game where you have to wander alone through just such surreal locations. But there are literally a couple of them. That’s a cool idea! But they didn’t put the pressure on.
In one of the staged episodes you will have to run through a location with high-level enemies, while being at the first level.
General information on gameplay
As I already said: the game takes place in the Labyrinth, which is why Metroidvania became a suitable genre for it. Here you’ll spend most of your time exploring the world. Of course, modest by the standards of representatives of the genre, but it won’t make anyone worse. There will be a lot of backtracking here, which will stretch out the passage. But it’s not annoying in any way, there’s even something meditative about it. Briefly speaking: you can relax while playing, and this is kind of an achievement.
There will be many locations, the locations will be varied. Each with its own design and set of opponents. Due to the magical nature of the Labyrinth, it mixes the usual fantasy forest with the ruins of a temple in the desert. Progressing through the game you constantly get new impressions. The scenery does not get boring, and the eye is pleased even though Deedlit will find himself in places that are quite typical for a fantasy setting.
It’s quite convenient to navigate on the map. There are not many types of key marks, which helps to keep all the information you need in your head.
The metroidvania formula has been worked out with due diligence. Feel like a researcher during the passage. The significance of the objects and spells that you find in the secret corners of the Labyrinth is obvious to you. You will have time to play enough and get used to the new abilities that open up (if you study the game world with enough enthusiasm). In addition, you can also find out details of past events. In other words: if you are inquisitive, you will be rewarded with a more complete picture of what is happening in the end. But it’s still better to know the original!
More specifically about the gameplay
Much attention in interaction with the game world is paid to switching two elements – fire and air. Depending on which familiar spirit Deedlit is accompanying, she will gain immunity to that element. Sylph – from air, Salamander – respectively from fire. Regardless of how the element manifests itself: a wall of air, lava in the depths underground, or enemy attacks. At the same time, the familiar is able to absorb energy from its element and convert it into mana. And you can already spend mana on spells and long-range weapons. That is, bring down a shower of arrows on the boss while standing in a wall of fire created by him. The game even encourages this approach.
This is also indicated by the levels that each of the spirits has in the amount of three pieces. They increase when you hit enemies. Upon reaching the mark with the number “3”, Deedlit’s HP will gradually recover. And the weapon in her hands receives the power of an active elemental element. If you take damage, the level drops by one unit and you have to refill it. So you are forced to play more carefully and control your character better. I won’t say that it’s difficult to learn this, but you will have to make an effort. In return, you get the opportunity to completely avoid damage, arrange spectacular fights with bosses and sweep through locations in a deadly whirlwind.
Elemental attacks are very actively used by bosses, forcing you to constantly switch between familiars, carefully monitor the situation in battle, and feel the rhythm in attack patterns. AND this is all normal, it’s so taxing on the brain, which is a definite plus for an action game. Familiar levels can only be increased when they are in an inactive state. That is, when air is active, fire increases and vice versa. This mechanic introduces an additional stress factor and adds another variable to keep track of.
The active familiar changes the color of Didlit’s cloak. This makes it easier to make the right decisions both in battle and in interaction with the game world.
The active familiar changes the color of Didlit’s cloak. This makes it easier to make the right decisions both in battle and in interaction with the game world.
Thanks to the above Boss battles become the main attraction. They are complex, intense, often demanding and balanced. The game is small and there will be quite a normal number of them here. Yes, some of them can be repeated, but when this happens, you have to learn an expanded set of attacks and adapt to it. By the way, the bosses could have added more numbers to the damage value, otherwise some of them feel somehow skinny. This would stimulate you to play better even more, since all the necessary tools for this are given to the player.
They will meet periodically and puzzles. Basically, everything is tied to archery at gears in order to set some mechanism in motion. Or ricochet an arrow along a certain trajectory, knocking down the desired target. You’re unlikely to spend hours racking your brains on these types of puzzles, but they add variety to the gameplay. And change the dynamics, switching your attention from other gameplay tasks.
Are there any downsides to the game??
Wandering through the Labyrinth, Didlit collects a bunch of junk. Mostly different types of weapons. Each differs in damage, speed and attack animation. What will allow you to find your playing style. The easiest way, of course, is to use a bow and destroy enemies from a safe distance. And behind this there is a certain imbalance, because enemies die before they have time to respond. The problem could be partially solved by adding maximum resist to arrows to some of them. Or the damage would only occur when the elemental level reached “3” and the weapon was strengthened.
There is one more disadvantage to archery, namely Shooting animation cannot be canceled crouching or dodging. And this doesn’t look like a conscious decision for the sake of balance, rather a flaw. Moreover, everything goes well with melee attacks. I think this is due to the aiming mechanics, which, for some reason, does not allow certain actions to be interwoven. AND you’re snatching out such nonsense frustration, when one movement should obviously cancel another, but this does not happen!
If we analyze Deedlit’s other abilities (moving in the air, double jump, tackle, et cetera), we can understand that the set of gameplay situations you encounter could be much more complex and demanding. For example, you can come up with some staged stages where you need to quickly overcome obstacles and, at the same time, run away from something. Let’s say from a cave collapse. Most often you have to juggle abilities in boss battles. And this is a great way to encourage you to study the game character, but it is better to hone your skills in different circumstances with different conditions. And such moments are usually well remembered and form a more vivid emotional picture from the passage.
At the same time there are interesting enemies that could serve some purpose. Here, for example, are dudes who become vulnerable only when you turn your back to them and you need to seize the moment when he gets close enough to you to have time to turn around and hit. Or look for a place where an arrow can ricochet and hit it. Or use a boomerang that can fly behind your back. In short, the idea is cool, and so is the implementation, but these opponents are placed in such a way that your life is not complicated in any way by being close to them. This doesn’t directly apply to all enemies in the game, but this one left you without any inventive challenges.
The game doesn’t seem to want to punish mistakes at all. Afraid of creating unnecessary inconvenience or something?? There are a lot of checkpoints, you don’t need much imagination to outwit a strong monster. And negative effects like poisoning quickly subside without spoiling your nerves. Because of this, you don’t feel like you’ve mastered the game, overcome it, adapted. You just passed it. This will be enough for some, but I don’t think this approach is good for action games. After all, they focus on the player’s self-improvement. Otherwise, progress is felt worse and hits engagement hard.
You can calmly stand under the belly of a basilisk and it won’t do anything to you. At least add a front paw attack to him.
The result and who is the game suitable for?
Fortunately, these individual details do not affect the overall impression. Playing Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth is still interesting. But who exactly is interested is another question. First of all, it is designed for fans of the “Record of Lodoss War” universe. It doesn’t matter in what form: tabletop role-playing game, novels or anime series. Besides, if for some reason you have never played a metroidvania, this is a pretty good starting point. Using her example, you can study the basic elements of the genre and understand how they work.
The game has a huge number of pleasant little things, and little things form the overall picture, which remains in memory. Also in Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth there is some kind of good fantasy fairytale quality, for which I appreciate such settings. The guys from Team LADYBUG managed to capture this important feature of the original and transfer it to their creation. And in general, the people working there are clearly not without talent. Let’s see what successes await them in the future.