Labyrinth Of The Demon King Review – Feudal Japan’s Darkest Secret

by Jim Smale · Published May 29, 2025 · Updated July 1, 2025

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2-ZEGNNi1I

Labyrinth Of The Demon King – Official Trailer | Publisher Spotlight 2024 (Top Hat Studios) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2-ZEGNNi1I)

Labyrinth Of The Demon King is a brutal first-person dungeon crawler set in a feudal Japan ravaged by war, famine, and supernatural horrors. As an Ashigaru foot soldier, your quest for vengeance leads deep into the heart of a treacherous labyrinth filled with terrifying yokai and bloodthirsty foes. Equipped with katanas, muskets, and your own resolve, every battle is a test of endurance as you fight for survival. Do you have the skill and cunning to track down the Demon King and reclaim your honor?

Labyrinth Of The Demon King Review Pros

Awesome graphics.
3GB download size.
Platinum trophy.
Own in-game achievements.
Five save slots.
You get the PlayStation 4 and the PlayStation 5 versions of the game, so you could potentially earn two Platinum trophies.
Controller settings – Invert the axis and sensitivity sliders, and you can remap the controls.
Dungeon crawler gameplay.
Opening tutorial, then pop-ups as you play.
Set in Feudal Japan.
Full voicework of characters, I say voicework loosely. Just wait and see or hear wait and hear.
Save at shrines found in the world.
First-person view.
A training room where you can try out the mechanics and different weapon types.
Combat commands you have – light and heavy attacks, you can parry and stun the enemy, and push and kick them to get past blocks.
Has a Playstation 1 feel to it, which could be the graphics style and how they use the pixelation of graphics and images.
Hauntingly good soundtrack.
A full 3D game world, and you can move all around.
Meet interesting characters along the way.
In-game cutscenes and character interactions.
Stamina-based system for combat, you lose stamina for blocking, and losing all stamina will leave you vulnerable.
Dodging is clever as the first dodge costs zero stamina and triggers a cool down; if you dodge again within the cool down, it costs stamina.
The cutscenes, as said, are in a game, but the style of them is so PlayStation 1, I love it.
Horror elements throughout the game, jump scares, and a particular trope.
The integration of cutscenes is like the door opening animation in Resident Evil; it adds a lot and feels nostalgic but unnerving.
Fog and rain add a ton to the eerie visual feeling of the unknown.
Il say it again in case you missed it, but this is the best PlayStation 1 game on the PlayStation 5, or is it the best PlayStation 5 game on the PlayStation 1?
Combine items to make new ones.
The game is best played with headphones and in a dark room. I didn’t do that, but you should. I did it the cool way and wore sunglasses.
Assign items and health items to the quick access shortcuts on the d-pad.
Offer incense you find at the Shrines to increase either your health or your stamina.
Upgrade your armour at the merchants.
Toggle sprint, or you can use the run button.
They straight up do a version of the first time you encounter a zombie in the first Resident Evil.
The Tower of Repetition is where you will be making your way up the tower, taking on bosses and killing the four main bosses, so you can get to the final boss. The whole unlocking new towers with new enemies and bosses.
A map will help you get around and find doorways.
The combat allows you to cut parts off of your enemy.
Lighting is low in many places, so expect to be carrying a torch in one hand and a weapon in the other.
Anything you can pick up or interact with will emit sparkles, not twilight-level sparkles but better sparkles.
You can indeed pause the game.
Death sends you back to the last shrine used.
Loadout-wise wise you can equip armour, weapons, and talisman.
Multiple choice conversations.
The merchant can be found, and here you can buy weapons and items, ask for advice, and chat with them.
Weapons don’t have stats and instead inflict different types of damage,e so slash, blunt, poison, etc.
Puzzle elements throughout.
Big boss encounters.
The game has something that keeps you coming back, it could be the mix of horror and dungeon crawling.
Breakable crates can be smashed, but may have loot or enemies within them.

Labyrinth Of The Demon King Review Cons

The movement can feel sluggish at times.
You have to pick everything up with a click, sounds fine, but when there is a load of items and the fact that you have to look down all the time to pick them up, it’s not cool.
The tutorial has slow pacing and is dragged out for too long.
Starting off is slow, and a lot of this is because the game doesn’t do a great job of guiding you through the opening open world part and getting into the game.
Toggle sprint turns off every time you stop or interact with anything.
You cannot save when you want, which is not always ideal.
Combat can get a bit mashy.
No way to skip or fast forward interactions.
At times, the tunnel nature of the movement makes it feel claustrophobic.
The timing of parries is an art in itself, and only truly good gamers can do it. That’s not me.
So many elements in the levels, like boxes and that cannot be interacted with.
Picking up or interacting with anything in general has to be pixel-perfect, and you have a really small reticule that is used for lining it up.
No accessibility options at all, like Colourblind or text size.
You can see what items you have equipped or how many you have quickly or in-game, it’s all through the menu.
The inventory menu is not easy to use; it feels clunky and not smooth to use.
Building up money takes a long time.
Hitting smaller enemies is a nightmare, as you have to duck and then hit them.
It is very easy to fall into a loop of dying to low-level enemies.