For people who regularly stumble on my blog, you guys must be familiar already with my obsession with anime elves. Long-time anime watchers must have known this one, the classic and well-loved Record of Lodoss War, which features an elven character, Deedlit. Little did I know, there’s a game revolving around her, Record of Lodoss War – Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth.

This game is a 2D platformer with sprinkles of action and puzzles. You play as Deedlit, who got suddenly teleported into a labyrinth. Immediately, we encounter the main villain of the anime, Karla. After a few dialogues, we are free to explore the massive labyrinth.

A Metroidvania Experience

Record of Lodoss War – Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth intro

Record of Lodoss War – Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth is described as a metroidvania game. At first, the preview on its steam page reminds me of games like Hollow Knight.

Admittedly, I am more familiar with 2D platformers like Metal Slug or Mario. Those games are more linear and straight forward. However, metroidvania-style games often have a wide and elaborate map to explore.

It’s quite a big labyrinth

It made me think, is metroidvania the predecessor to 3D open world? Look at my current progression, I suspect there are more locations and zones to discover. I think its backtracking feature is a pretty neat core in metroidvania. It reminded me of CARRION, a small horror game that I really like with the same gist.

We start out with the weaker cannon fodder enemies. But overtime, we meet other stronger enemies, and the bosses. Oh, the bosses. Speaking of which, let’s go over the game’s combat.

Interesting And Challenging Combat

Got this screen too many times

I guess there is no hiding it, I suck at platforming games. Oh man, the amount of times I made Deedlit curls up and dies after failing to avoid enemy attacks.

In hindsight, the enemies’ attack patterns are quite obvious and predictable. But, when it comes to the bosses, I struggle quite a lot. Nerf time? Haha no. This kind of games is more rewarding when we actually defeat the enemy after multiple attempts.

Combat Control And Enemies To Defeat

One of the enemies in the labyrinth, a minotaur

Once I got the hang of it, the combat control is actually very intuitive. However, I must recommend you to change the control input to the ones you’re most comfortable. Don’t stick to the default control.

The enemy variety is quite diverse, in my opinion. There is no boring floor to fight through. From lowly wolves, and imps, deadly man-eating plants (Laios would love this one), to the tricky shadow stalker.

After a bit of browsing, there are 68 types of enemies. I haven’t even encountered them all. Each of them has a weakness and immunity to certain attack types, we’ll get into that later.

Carving Your Way Through The Enemies With An Arsenal Of Weaponry

I was stuck at this boss for a while

This game will gradually introduce you to more weaponry. The most basic attack is the melee, of course. Upgrading melee weapons is a must in this game.

At first, we can scavenge from low-level enemies like the imps and goblins. Later, there is quite the wardrobe of options once we meet Ghim, who is the weapon seller in this game. Too bad I can’t always use Deedlit’s iconic rapier.

On top of that, later on, the game gives us access to a bow, which we can use as a long range attack or to solve puzzles. However, I think the game’s magic system deserves the spotlight.

Record of Lodoss War – Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth And Spirit Magic

Switiching to your Salamander is faster than reloading your Sylph.

We are no stranger to elemental attacks in games, whether they’re magic spells or elemental weapons. Similarly, Record of Lodoss War – Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth has spirit magic.

As Deedlit, you’ll encounter various spirits and take them with you. I found switching the spirit type mid-battle is difficult at first. But, once I got used to it, there are perks that’s maybe the core of this game.

You see, the enemies will attack with certain types of element. If we match their attack with the spirit we currently have, we take zero damage and gain mana instead.

Also, we can level up a spirit by defeating enemies with another spirit. Once, the idle spirit gets to level 3, simply switching to it will regain our health bar. So, it’s possible to do a no-death run, though I imagine it will be hard.

A Must-Try for Elf and Fantasy Fans

Hey! It’s Pirotess

Again, I can’t emphasize enough how I love gushing about elves. The first time I watched Record of Lodoss War anime was a blast. And, Deedlit quickly grabbed my attention as she is a strong and well-written female character.

Although metroidvania isn’t my comfort zone, I found myself to be enjoying this game nonetheless. Certainly, it’s a breath of fresh air to my steam library, which is full of management and colony games.

If you’re a fan of elves in anime, like me, or a fantasy fan in general. I highly suggest you watch Record of Lodoss War and play Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth.

https://seinenrider.com/2024/07/08/trying-out-record-of-lodoss-war-deedlit-in-wonder-labyrinth/

#Deedlit #games #Gaming #RecordOfLodossWar #review #reviews #videoGames