If you’ve ever thought, “I want to immerse myself just a little deeper into a game world,” “Labyrinth of Galleria: Coven of Dusk” is sure to fulfill that wish. This title is far more than just another dungeon-crawling RPG. Players command the “Witch’s Brigade”—squads of puppet soldiers known as “Covens”—to challenge the depths of labyrinths swirling with mysterious phenomena. Doesn’t that concept alone get you excited? With strategic battles built around forming squads and leveraging each puppet’s skills, combined with an unpredictable storyline, this game offers new discoveries with every dive into the dungeon.

“Forty characters in battle? Isn’t that a bit too much?” If that’s what you’re thinking, don’t worry. In fact, that’s where the true appeal of this game lies. Each Coven can include 3 to 8 puppet soldiers, and with up to 5 Covens deployable at once, the system may seem complex at first but becomes deeply engaging as you grow accustomed to it. The newly introduced “Miramachina” adds even more flavor, serving as a shield unit that broadens your tactical options. This isn’t about brute force—the outcome of battles is determined by composition and positioning, giving RPG fans an irresistible sense of tension.

The exploration parts unfold in a first-person 3D dungeon. These labyrinths are anything but straightforward—sometimes you’ll avoid enemy symbols, other times you’ll deliberately collide with them, or even use skills to break walls and carve new paths. The freedom is enormous. Instead of following preset routes, you forge your own strategies, which doubles the thrill of exploration. Even finding a single treasure chest feels like a small adventure. Every step inside the labyrinth connects directly to story progression and character growth, making the experience truly exhilarating.

At the heart of combat are the puppet soldiers, each defined by “Facets”—their class-like identities. These determine playstyle dramatically: offense-focused, defense-oriented, support types, and more. How you combine them and how you develop them is where your skill as a player shines. Choosing which Facets to use and which characters to place in each Coven changes the difficulty significantly, making every choice impactful. It feels like raising your very own small army—and before you know it, you’ll spend hours strategizing over the formation screen.

This game blends a grand narrative with dense exploration, and one of its biggest appeals is that the story’s “ending” is not the end. Post-game dungeons and replay elements are abundant, and there’s never enough time to experience it all. The infamous “post-game dungeons,” said to be very challenging, have been adjusted in the Switch version, striking a balance of tension and enjoyment. The way the story’s end functions as the beginning of a new adventure is masterful—a stylish design that refuses to let players return to reality.