MeiQ: Labyrinth of Death Reviews
MeiQ really isn’t that bad of a game. The beautiful artwork, fresh spin on combat, guardian building and elegant solution to power leveling are all strong elements. The environments are vast, though lacking in substance, and the shallow narrative is held up by likable characters with lots of… plot. However, with so little nuanced challenge, harshly repetitive gameplay, mindless combat, unexciting story progression, no class or otherwise deep customization systems, barren maps and unrewarding exploration, item creation and character building in general, it falls far short of the genre’s best and barely executes, much less improves upon a seemingly simple formula.
Interest can be found within MeiQ: Labyrinth of Death’s story premise and customisable Guardians. Unfortunately, the positives fall flat much too quickly, as there isn’t enough depth to keep them from getting stale.
MeiQ: Labyrinth of Death is evidence that Compile Heart and Idea Factory can make mistakes too. In recent years, the two Japanese companies produced a long series of little titles, innovative and exquisitely witty. The new product has only touched the target, showing many flaws in the most important aspects of the structure and gameplay.
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MeiQ: Labyrinth of Death is a prime example of a below par dungeon crawling RPG. Kinda fun in parts, if not a bit basic and simple, the title has nothing that offers a real challenge and nothing that demands your attention. While the game starts off well enough, very little is added throughout to hold your interest, and it's a struggle to remain enthused about the lacklustre plot and the title's repetitive nature.
MeiQ hits all of the right marks of a dungeon crawling RPG but fails to capture that sense of challenge, instead opting for light fan service as a substitute.
MeiQ: Labyrinth of Death is an acceptable title dotting the grievous past of Compile Heart. A dungeon crawler with maze style gameplay, and a fairly unique and customizable battle system, MeiQ does a good job of providing some fun and interesting moments. Falling short overall in the battles, and leaving very much to desire with story, characters, dialogue, and respect for human dignity, MeiQ is a title only for the most dedicated RPG player.
MeiQ: Labyrinth of Death isn't a bad game, it's half-assed. There are a couple of interesting ideas here that, applied to a competent dungeon crawler, could have made for something great. Instead, it's just passable. But I still had fun.
The battles hooked me right from the start, and only improved as I gained the ability to upgrade my Guardian.