For the better part of a decade, Team Ladybug has been "suffering from success". Ever since I experienced Pharoah Rebirth+ for the first time, I knew they were something special. Then in 2019, they raised the bar to impossible heights with Touhou Luna Nights. It is, by the accounts of damn near anyone who ever picked up a controller, an immaculately crafted adventure. The only problem is that once you've reached the top of the mountain, where do you go next? For Team Ladybug, the answer wasn't "ascend to the heavens" or some nonsense like that. Their next game wouldn't seek to supplant Luna Nights or attempt to claim a spot next to the legends that define the Metroidvania genre. However, we live with a broken industry where every game has to be bigger and better than what came before. My expectations for Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth were out of control. An Early Access game channeling Symphony of the Night by a red-hot developer? I couldn't imagine anything less than a masterpiece. The final product turned out lovely, but... Well... I blame myself for believing that one or two people could deliver the universe.
For all intents and purposes, Team Ladybug is one person. We've seen amazing examples of what one person can accomplish in the gamedev space, but humanity has its limits. Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth is a great game. That's a point I want to get across directly and succinctly. Yet I can't escape the feeling that I have to treat it with harsher tones than... oh I don't know... some middling hack & slash from 1990. Whereas other games can stumble and fall only for me to pick them up and brush the dust off, when Deedlit falls, I have to bite my tongue to keep from saying "Good!". Ultimately, this is the most frustrating result of the bar being raised. Eventually, nobody can reach it. Its continued existence denies logic and buries art. Also, if you've ever wondered why I consider comparison reviews to be nothing more than dribbling shit, then wonder no more. I would rather belly flop into an empty pool than end every review with "Just play Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth instead." and then end this review by saying "Just play Symphony of the Night instead." Though I often pretend otherwise, the purpose of my reviews is to instill a sense of humility. Every video game has significance, so let's get into discussing this one.
Besides the anime series and the Dreamcast Action RPG, my experience with Record of Lodoss War might as well be nonexistent. I know about Deedlit, but really, who doesn't? Her influence extends far and wide. An example right off the top of my head is the Elf from Capcom's AD&D games. Blonde hair, green skirt, adept at both sword & magic. Maybe the archetype has been around for much longer than that, but Deedlit is what gave it life. In accordance with the mythos, elves live for centuries, sometimes even millennia. Undoubtedly, those in the adventuring business tend to have the most stories, and Deedlit has a few of her own. In one such story, she is trapped in a labyrinth where friend and foe live eternally. Twisting and turning upon itself, this prison is a chaotic creature that assails its captive with their own memories. If you've got a few hours to spare, then maybe you could help her out.
In the interest of sanity, I'm going to try to avoid calling this game a Metroidvania. For one thing, it's a term that I'm personally not fond of, but have to use for the sake of convenience. I also can't really call it an Igavania either, though it features many of the same elements such as experience points and a large assortment of weapons. Oh! What if I referred to it as an Ikarugavania? I believe that there hasn't been one of those since Outland. There are so many choices here and... yeah, I'm definitely suffocating. Look, I'm just going to run with -undefined- from now on. The point of all these -vanias is not to pigeonhole Wonder Labyrinth, but to give it a sense of familiarity. This game prides itself on being purposefully lean. It juggles several concepts simultaneously because it knows players will understand at least one of them, making it that much easier to adapt to the rest. For the few out there going in completely blind, the bulk of the first level is spent introducing all of the mechanics that will become second nature.
What immediately stuck out to me when playing a Team Ladybug game for the first time was how effortless it felt. Here I was, an anthropomorphic bunny using my ears to bash everything in sight, and it was as natural as instinct. It's like my parents were Peter and Vanilla Rabbit. Controlling Deedlit is just as divine. Her animations are fluid yet otherworldly, no doubt reminiscent of Alucard. Air-movement has a unique weightlessness to it. By relying on Sylph's traversal powers, she can float across spikes, control height to weave around danger, and mount aerial assaults from an uncommon number of angles. There is a depth to movement that is unfortunately limited by the confining level-designs and large monsters. Yeah, I'd say there is some potential here that was left untapped, but otherwise the game controls like a dream.
In a nod to one of its many influences, Wonder Labyrinth plays home to a decent selection of weapons. Most of them function similarly to a sword, differentiated by their speed, attack power, and type of swing. Naturally, heavier weapons are slower, but are usually swung overhead, eliminating threats both ahead and above. Newer, stronger blades are rotated in at constant-pace. What might've helped you defeat a boss ten minutes ago is now obsolete. On the plus side, if there's a style of weapon you favor, there's likely to be a version of it that's sufficient for clearing the game with. I killed the last boss using a chakram. Some monsters can drop weapons. Just don't expect anything amazing like a Valmanway or Crissageim. Their purpose is to add texture to the world and give completionists something to collect. Don't worry, Deedlit is still broken AF. She just has her own methods.
In battle, or at least as dictated by this game, it's best to attack from a distance. Think of it like controlling space, keeping just out of the enemy's reach while wearing them down. If you're at all concerned about a fiend's capabilities, then start by pelting them with arrows. The bow is integral to every facet of problem-solving. Besides the myriad puzzles that require trick shots, a well-placed arrow can help identify weaknesses. Just don't expect to rely on it too much. The bow draws from the same magic pool as spells, and spells are far more effective. Oh, and do check out the shooting gallery. It's actually a lot of fun and fantastic showcase of just how much work went into designing the bow.
On a whim, I tried using the Will o The Wisp spell during a duel with Pirotess. The duel ended moments later. This is the spell system working as intended. What turns Deedlit from just another elf with a sword to a demigod is her absurdly powerful magic. Everything she contends with - no matter the size of their HP bar or the number of moves in their repertoire - can handle getting shredded by spells. MP is also easy to replenish, especially if you take full advantage of the heroine's ability to drain fire or water attacks. In what has to be a nod the deep end of Capcom AD&D's combat, Deedlit is essentially a master of the "quick kill". You see it all the time in speedruns. Sword strikes and spells in quick succession eliminating the opposition in seconds.
There is an awkwardness to first-time encounters with bosses, particularly those who are no larger than the average human (or elf). Their basic sword swings tend to land pretty often, because it's tough to react to a move with hardly any windup. Getting hurt often takes a big chunk of life and knocks Deedlit down. She can even get stunned if too many hits accumulate or the attack is electrical in nature. To keep the awkwardness from turning into outright frustration, there's the Spirit Level system. Basically, as long as you can keep either of your spirits at level 3, the heroine's HP will gradually refill. This creates incentives to back off and regroup, avoid fumbling for a potion, all without losing focus on the battle at hand. It's good, so good that it might give players the impression that this game is too easy. I think it's easy, but only because I took full advantage of every mechanic available.
Towards the end of her labyrinthian adventure, Deedlit must refight every boss in a sequence. At one time or another, I think I made it clear that I'm no fan of a boss rush. Way too many developers don't do enough to emphasize the rush, and it comes off as if I'm just playing through the game again, but with the stages stripped out. Here, the boss rush moves at a fantastic pace. Deedlit retains her current strength, but none of the bosses received a buff of any kind. This is where the quick kills start to take shape, as she flattens everything, including the fiends she battled just minutes before, in a fraction of the time it might've taken her to defeat one boss. Granted, the boosted attack-power from being a high level helps, but the rate in which she cuts through all opposition is awe-inspiring. I really admire the direction Team Ladybug took here. Giving every archfiend a massive array of abilities, while allowing players the means to eliminate them with Alien Soldier speed & efficiency? It's brilliant! Just brilliant.
Like I said before, Deedlit's quest is purposefully lean. The lack of extraneous content can be viewed positively or negatively. It's all up to the player's preference. Speaking solely for myself, the first playthrough left me a little disappointed. I was expecting more, probably far more than the developer had any intention of providing. Their vision was laser-focused on giving players three solid hours of action & adventure. The replay-value is in starting a new game, perhaps with the "no-leveling" or "1 hit kills" modifiers enabled if the player is just that good. It wasn't until several years and a second playthrough that I realized their accomplish was far more impressive than I gave it credit for.
Now, it's not all superb. Encounters with regular enemies get a little messy, particularly in the few instances where those with immunities to water or fire appear in the same area. Try to ignore them for a second and they'll start crowding the screen in overlapping attacks. There's no value in attempting runs centered around limitations. Maybe you could do a "no-spell" challenge, but it'd involve trying to avoid attacks that just weren't meant to be dealt with at close-range. This, coupled with the largely similar weapons, practically eliminates any build possibility. Level-design is also largely basic and linear, which honestly doesn't bother me. I definitely could've gone without screen-shake though.
Upon a revisit to the Wonder Labyrinth, I believe I see now what makes Deedlit's adventure shine. Its commitment to uniting multiple disparate ideas and molding them into a single game that still feels as authentic as breathing is truly exemplary. As with every other Team Ladybug game, the production values are ridiculous. It's like they operate on another level. Treat yourself to a second playthrough sometime.
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