[Video Game Review] Omega Labyrinth Life

A gaggle of school girls band together in order to save a beloved garden and explore the mystery of supernatural labyrinths in this dungeon RPG.

Information

Title: Omega Labyrinth Life
Genre: Dungeon RPG
Developer: Maxtrix Corp
System: PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch
Length: N/A

Review

Remembering the once draconian policies Nintendo held to years ago regarding the consoles and game selection under their name, with the Nintendo Switch, it does seem like a console where everything is welcome. Being a sentiment that is widely shared by many fans of the device, such an open invitation has the potential to bring along great offerings as well as less than “quality” ones. Then again, at the end of the day, more games is never a bad thing or the option for another console to play them on. Of course, with Nintendo being a little laxer there are some surprising and questionable titles springing up that are not necessarily “great” but welcome all the same. Omega Labyrinth Life is one such entry. Developed by Maxtrix Corp and published by D3, the 3rd entry in this roguelike dungeon crawler was actually set to have its predecessor Omega Labyrinth Z arrive westward before localization was scrubbed due to Sony’s new change in policies. With Omega Life (henceforth) containing more of the same amount of fanservice and returning to the same front alongside the Switch, I can’t say it is compelling or entertaining to play more than it being an odd spectacle of a dungeon RPG.

Taking on the role of Hinata Akatsuki, a student transferring to Belles Fleurs, a sweet school life seems to be ahead of her. Upon her arrival, the prized Belles Fleurs flower garden withers away and mysterious labyrinths begin to appear. Thought to be caused by Hinata’s arrival, she embarks on a quest through these dungeons to find a way to save the garden along with a few new friends at her side. A standard setup for any type of roguelike. I believe “standard” is a good summarization of the play experience Omega Life has in store. Compared to other similar offerings like Shiren or Mystery Dungeon the same challenges await. Traps to avoid, hunger to stave off, loot to collect, and plenty of monsters to contend with. However compared to the aforementioned, Omega Life isn’t going to throw everything including the kitchen sink at you. No, it is more like throwing a softball very slowly at an even softer mattress. In laymen terms without the weird analogy: the game is very easy. Thanks to the random generation you will never be too far from good loot starting off and never overwhelmed by tough enemies before you have the chance to get started. Even a nice companion to assist (read as: do all the work and become a meat shield) when things get out of hand. That and upon defeating foes every so often, the character you are controlling breast will grow – each size granting them a helpful stat boost that will persist until leaving the dungeon. Having 22 story dungeons in all, they are more of a warmup for the optional trial and special dungeons that open up part away through that are slightly more challenging and provide rewards like the challenges allowing collected items to be kept.

Where dungeons are none too taxing, proper preparation makes this even more so: Belles Fleurs Academy providing a list of activities and services. Purchasing items, strengthening equipment, and getting stat bonuses visiting the spa are all options. The most important option comes from managing the garden that allows you plant seeds to grow flowers that will produce different items depending on said seed. Where this will allow you to play landscape artist to customize the garden how you see fit (and boy, can you do some wild designs for this thing), the byproducts of gardening allows for slotting abilities during crafting as well as improving Hinata and pals personal skills. Needless to say that the latter involves a minigame where most of the fanservice comes into play. Trust me, it is about as weird and explicit as they come. Thankfully, it is skippable like many other elements such as the spa scenes and pseudo-rock-paper-scissors since they can be time-consuming after seeing them once. And don’t even get me started on the method to appraise unknown items known as “Size Up”. That one….yeah, might want to skip that process as many times as possible.

In relation to the hardware, the Nintendo Switch is actually a nice fit for Omega Life. There are some baffling design choices such as having touchscreen tools to interact with the ladies and nothing else, but overall easy to play title and smooth experience doing so awaits. The artwork and visuals (as one would expect) also translate nicely to the system: vivid and bright color palettes really selling the cheery tone of the game and also assisting in highlighting the characters. Everything else such as the in-game models for characters and monsters is of an affable chibi style and about as bland and generic as they can be cute. Music is another one-note and unremarkable area: a few tracks that will play ad-nauseam throughout the different areas and events. Trust me, after awhile, you will either want to mute the sound or go to the nearest playlist due to the sameness of it all.

Final Verdict: When it all comes down it, Omega Life is a really weird sell. If you are just in it for the pure spectacle and fanservice you could probably do much better and much better actually exist. Those that are in it for the gameplay and dungeon RPG elements, there are neat ideas and elements sprinkled here and there (being able to control the fairy characters is cool since they play differently), yet not enough to warrant picking it up or for those that want something on the more difficult side. Unless you are a diehard fan of the genre and have no serious reservations about the content, it is a curious purchase for a small audience and skippable for anyone else.