Very short and sweet (took me almost 1.5 hours to complete due to some backtracking that I needed to do). I liked the audiovisual side of it as well as the story. The gameplay is very simple, although if you want the achievements painlessly, I highly recommend using a guide for the puzzles because some of those left me scratching my head at times.

This is one of those games that like... It's kind of a mind ♥♥♥♥. It'll really make you take a moment to step back and inventory your life. May you not have the demons to unpack that I do.

What a surprise, this game may look boring and simple but the story is more than great (a good thought about life) and the puzzles mechanics are great. While knowing about our protagonist u must complete different scenarios by solving them in a certain way: u have direction restriction puzzles, another where the boxes u’ve walked on fall down, one like the pokemon games in which u walk on ice, another in which u can only move following some arrow directions and the demon’s levels. Really really fun and for real, the story is great. Buy it.

I do recommend. Touching game

My Playtime: 1.6h (100% achievement, finished the game)
Grindy Achievement(s): No.
Optional Achievement(s): Yes (6 achievements).
Difficult Achievement(s): No.

Labyrinthine Dreams is a puzzle game told in a narrative. Puzzles will match the setting and theme of the narrative, using a new rule each time. There are 5 types of puzzles in general, with 1 being used several times in between the other 4.

Pros:
- Different puzzle types
- Autosaves
- Nice storytelling

Cons:
- It's hard to tell the collision in the first puzzle

Specs
Intel Core i5-9300H 2.40GHz, 8GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650

Yes.
If you like short and easy puzzle games with nice storytelling, buy this game. It's extremely cheap on a sale too.

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The visuals are just like what you'll see in an RPG Maker game, albeit with slight differences. It uses default assets for the environment with original assets for the characters. Moreover, it heavily uses a single cutscene image for the narrative. I like the presentation this way. Despite the still images, the narrative fits well with them, and the background music also helps to enhance it.

The story tells about what happened to the main character and what she experienced. It tells them one by one, giving a catalyst for the puzzle section. It's a storytelling style that I never get bored of - I like how cleverly they mix both. The soothing music and voiceover also help bring the dialogues to life, along with the beautiful-looking cutscenes. The story makes me think about life a bit actually, and it also gives a nice moral message at the end of it.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=676300022

Gameplay
Labyrinthine Dreams is a puzzle game with a different set of rules. There are only 5 puzzle types, with each having ~5 levels. You'll finish them without realizing most of the time, and the transition between the narrative and puzzle won't make you bored doing them.

Despite the different rules, it's easy to figure them out. It took me a while to notice what to do in the first puzzle, but it didn't take long for me to understand the others. Some also follow the rules of other puzzle games so you might be familiar with them.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=367226967

It's easy to finish the puzzles - most of them won't require you to think. There are a few exceptions for it, but it shouldn't pose too hard. Level progression doesn't seem to be a thing here - I found the first puzzle type to be harder than the last 2 puzzles. The game is intended for casual players and it shows in this department.

Length and Difficulty
I finished it in 1.4h. The rest of my playtime was spent getting the last achievement to finish all puzzles without resetting. The game can be finished quickly if you rush it and follow a guide - it only took me 0.2h to finish 2/3 of the game for that achievement that I mentioned earlier. As for the difficulty, it's easy to finish, although some puzzles will still require you to think a bit. Still, it's nothing that you should worry about, especially since there are guides that can help you if you're stuck.

Issues
It's hard to figure out where the collision in the first puzzle is. I had to reset the level a few times because of it.

Despite the easy puzzles, I'm impressed with the narrative. Labyrinthine Dreams does a good job in all aspects. The cutscenes, the voiceovers, the background music - they seem to be doing all out on everything to set the atmosphere. I would recommend the game for the experience first and the puzzle second, although the puzzle part is still something that can be enjoyed if you need a little brain teaser.

⠀

Labyrinthine Dreams is a short puzzle game where, as the title implies you will be navigating labyrinths in various dreams. The different puzzles string together a touching tale of one young woman's life-or-death battle against illness.

Summary
The game begins with the protagonist, Beth floating peacefully within a bubble. The end of her life is approaching, and she has decided to take a few minutes to reflect on her life's journey.

Overall
Labyrinthine Dreams is a great short narrative-centric game. The soundtrack is surprisingly diverse for a game that is so short in length. The game utilizes conventional game mechanics to tell a deeply moving tale of finding love of life even while staring death in the face.

Rating: 8/10

[Follow Curator]

[Steam Group]

I am 32 years old.

My ex-wife and I have a daughter together, and we adopted our son together. Both are now 4 years old.

When we were going through our separation, I felt lost and unhappy. I was self-destructive. One day, I was so angry with everything spiraling out of control that I punched a concrete wall in a moment of overwhelming emotion. This resulted in breaking my fifth metacarpal in my right hand—the hand I worked with, played games with, and used to carry my children to bed—the hand I desperately needed to ensure I could continue providing.

Upon learning the severity of the self-inflicted damage, I became almost suicidal. Keep in mind that just a few months before this, I was the happiest man, with no history of depression or anxiety. I had never experienced anger outbursts, nor was I the type to break down and cry, but I was in a tough situation that truly prevented me from seeing the light on the other side.

With nothing better to do, I looked for a game I could play WITH ONE HAND while recovering. Somehow, I stumbled upon this game and read some of the comments. I decided it was worth a try... I must admit I didn't beat the game, nor did I play as much as some of you. In fact, I may have played this game for only a day or two. That being said, after doing so, I had a new joy and hope for life. I managed to leave behind the pain and suffering that had been thrust upon me. I could experience the joy and happiness of other people. I relaxed for 5 ♥♥♥♥ minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.

After realizing this, I turned off the game and went back to work. My hand hurt a lot, but I was motivated. I stopped feeling so sorry for myself and became the father I needed to be at that moment, not the weak boy I was behaving like.

Today, I am close friends with the mother of my children. We don't fight, argue, or say hurtful things to each other. We are parents and friends.

Now I have 3 children. My third child is, wait, ALSO 4 YEARS OLD. The woman I am with was going through a very similar situation at the time of my separation, and we just unexpectedly stumbled into each other's lives. We have been dating for a year and are very happy together.

Moral of the story: you never know what life has in store for you, and if I had given up when all odds were against me, I wouldn't be where I am today. This silly little game helped me realize that.

Thank you.

This game is amazing from the artwork to the story to the music I loved every single part of it def recommend buying it

I love finding a good RPGMaker game. Some of the tilesets are default, some aren't. The kicker with this game is it is a puzzle game, not an RPG. The first puzzle you can't turn left, there are demon puzzles where the demon moves two feet toward you while you can only move 1 foot, so you need to strategize movements, there are puzzles where you can only go directions of arrows on the road, and another where you are on tiles that disappear after you step on them and you need to step on them all, and finally classic 'sliding block' puzzles.

The story is one woman's mental journey through a tough time in her life, reflecting on the past.
It is entirely voice acted, and voice acted very good.

It takes probably only an hour to complete tops. I made a second run for achievements I missed.