Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk

[Hanako Games]

Has anyone played this yet?
https://store.steampowered.com/app/566540/Labyrinth_of_Refrain_Coven_of_Dusk/

I know it qualifies for the list, but what I don't know at the moment is whether it should qualify as an informational "contains some yuri" or a recommended "is entirely about yuri".

(I've also heard that it probably gets to go on the ANGST list due to some bad past things.)

[Ryn Flemyng]

Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk:
http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2018/05/20/dont-get-the-wrong-idea-in-new-labyrinth-of-refrain-trailer

Informational (teasing language: reader angst - no real character angst)
1. Gal Pal RPG - slice of life living together & fighting together
2. Sexual teasing language (see or hear according to how you are bent ... I'm fully bent ...)
3. Skimpy clothing no nudity

Breast & potato comparison joking about ... there's something in the potatoes ...
~Ryn~

Recommended Yuri RPG ...

https://store.steampowered.com/app/407330/Sakura_Dungeon/
RECOMMENDED June 3, 2016
"Female protagonists who develop a relationship throughout the game, plus other implied lesbian interests and relationships outside the main pairing."

[Hanako Games]

That's a trailer post from well before it came out, doesn't exactly tell us what's really in the game.

Angst-wise I have been told the game contains lesbian rape and dead lesbians and possibly more than that.

[Castile]

I'm playing it on PS4 so I'll talk about it when I finish if no one else gets around to it before I'm done. The game that it is a spin-off of also has a pretty strong relationship between two female characters, though I think most people would categorize it as subtext. (Somewhat subjective, I have a hard time believing sacrificing everything and bending the laws of the universe doesn't have some romantic implications)

[Ryn Flemyng]

Originally posted by Hanako Games:

That's a trailer post from well before it came out, doesn't exactly tell us what's really in the game.

Angst-wise I have been told the game contains lesbian rape and dead lesbians and possibly more than that.

https://powerup-gaming.com/2018/04/29/labyrinth-of-refrain-coven-of-dusk-rated-r/

"I will say one thing though, and that is there is a scene that involves a nun making unconsented sexual advances on Dronya to the verge of rape and to me that is a completely unnecessary situation that has been moulded into what is otherwise a compelling narrative. I don’t really know what they were thinking if I’m honest." (from the above link web review)


Dam & dam it ... I love women ... I love to be gentle & I enjoy being soft in a hard world ...

... I may be very transparent in my love of greeting women by softly kissing their faces - on their cheeks, on their foreheads, or on the top of their heads - and even kissing their hands ...
... but I am extremely sensitive to any "no touch & no contact signals" ...
... If I miss or misinterpret any signals, I feel so terrible that I can barely hold it together ...
... I begin to shake, my throat contracts, my tears flow freely as I try to keep from sobbing ..
... I will openly ask forgiveness on my knees if I transgress anyone's personal boundaries ...


What I despise above all else ...
* Forcing oneself on another ...
* Feeding ones ego at the expense of another ...
* Uncontrolled self controlling another ...


To not be able to touch another with love gives me "Death Chills"...
I hate Daeth with a passion ... Death is a very personal enemy with me ...
I am an imperfect being who wants most of all to love & be loved ...
~Ryn~

[Minuto]

I don't know if y'all know the VN creator Nomnomnami, but 1. if you don't, PLAY HER GAMES THEY'RE AMAZING, and 2. she's always been gushing about Refrain and how it's a great yuri thing. I don't know if it's just her reading into it or whatever, but I think she said the two main characters or at least two important characters are into each other. She simultaneously hates it and celebrates it, so I'd presume that they probably die or something? There might be different endigns though, so I dunno. For those reasons, I think it might be worth checking out and I'm certainly glad it's coming overseas.

[Ryn Flemyng]

For those wondering why I write ...

Catharsis ...
Raised to be an intellectual stoic ... I choose the opposite ...
To obtain some sanity in my world ...
Silence is not golden to me ...
When I bottle up ... I actually break down from within ...
Letting it out in an appropriate way ... allows me to process life ...
Please excuse my need to get it out before it turns to poison within ...


Imperfect writers writing imperfect stories ...

How imperfect depends on:
(1) source material (experience, research)
(2) interpretation (intellectual, emotional, psychological, physical)
(3) purpose (why tell the story)

Even when wrting from real personal experiences ... you may have limited sight ...

Life ... Death ... Love ... the true depth ... no one person can fathom ...
Do we try to make some sense of our very existence ...
Even if its just ... "Life Happens" ...


Cause I also know "Death Happens" ...
My sweet Donna is sleeping, emotionally drained on my lap ... while I write ...
I spent this morning & afternoon with Donna at the funeral, burial, & wake of her friend ...
Donna's childhood grrlfriend was 26 years old when an undetected brain aneurysm ruptured ...

I'm still wearing the black dress that still shrouds the pain in my heart ...
I'm still wearing the darkest of shades that hide my tear stained eyes ...
All I can think of is how can I possibly comfort my sweet Donna ...
I am awed being beside the One I Love who chose to love imperfect me ...

No need for me to say, "Never take life or love for granted" ... is there ...
~Ryn~



My heart hurts to its very core
When I remember all our love before
All the life you shared with me
Loosening my bonds to set me free
Allowing me to be myself
I've always loved you for being yourself
I miss being next to thee
Remembering you always inside of me
You were my first love & you were mine
And I was yours for your very first time
~Ryn~

For my sweet Donna ... I will never let you grieve alone ... being with you brings me to life ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmRqMJE0Uk0&list=RDKmRqMJE0Uk0&start_radio=1&t=17

[LumberingCrane]

So I finally 100% this game after torturing myself to play it nonstop, aaaaand

main character is shown to be in a relationship with another woman, but things end incredibly badly. I'm pretty sure the scenario writer for this had a list of all classic yuri bad ends and just crossed them out one by one. implied rape, check, one of em is forced to be married off to another dude, check, she gets preggers, check, she dies after, followed by her husband who entrusts the kid to the main character who got left behind, check, main character hates the kid cause she blames the kid and the dad for taking her girlfriend away from her, check. The only thing that isnt here is unrequitted love, but dont worry, theres another canonically lesbian character who has a crush on this main character but isnt loved back, check. Even beyond this, this game deals with a lot of heavy themes but handles them all really poorly. Also theres an ingame mechanic where you can increase rapport between your ingame custom characters to the point of being in love with each other, and they can both be women. I think thats the extent of the yuri in this game iirc.

[LumberingCrane]

I have so many problems with this game's story in general too. Such shallow and absurdly cliche'd ways to handle incredibly heavy themes while also being unable to even explain them well in a diegetic level. Solid dungeon crawler though.

EDIT: also whats with the bad and evil men just all being rapists and women killers. C'mon guys, this is like your bog standard visual novel trying to be dark in the most shallow way possible. It's almost insultingly bad, and it probably is insulting for those who have had experiences with those kinds of events/people. Just tasteless.

[LumberingCrane]

Also in relation to what I said above, trigger warning for some of whats in this game:

main character is implied to get raped in a number of the unavoidable bad endings. She also is implied to be raped in her flashback, and she also gets threatened of being raped a number of times throughout the main story. Oh, theres also body mutilation and dismemberment that happens to her, fun times.

its an incredibly shallow and juvenile story that seems to know that a particular action or concept is a bad thing, but doesnt know why its bad and so handles it on a very surface-level way.

[Hanako Games]

Well, onto the Tragic list it goes...

[Ryn Flemyng]

Thanks ... LumberingCrane ... you saved me much "angst" ...

Another solid dungeon crawler killed by the story's writer ...

Who says the pen is not mightier than the sword ... even a bad pen ...
~Ryn~

* Removed from wish list ...
* I was working on getting a free copy but I will no longer pursue that possibility ...
* I was looking forward to a good yuri RPG ...not many yuri RPG's on Steam ...

[Teitoku Yukka]

So, this is a "not recomended" game, huh? Okay, thanks for info, Lumbering. You are my hero )

[rincewind]

Yeah, thanks a lot LumberingCrane for taking one for the team. You're the MVP!

[LumberingCrane]

Haha, np. This is like, the only real benefit I get from playing these kinds of games. If I end up playing through all that frankly horrifying content, might as well warn others.

[Ryn Flemyng]

Originally posted by LumberingCrane:

Haha, np. This is like, the only real benefit I get from playing these kinds of games. If I end up playing through all that frankly horrifying content, might as well warn others.

LumberingCrane,
You are my true Yuri hero ... you are just like Mikey ...
~Ryn~
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLQ0LZSnJFE