Labyrinth deLux - A Crusoe Quest Review

I like a good, relaxing puzzle game every now and then. They’re not something that I seek out regularly, but it’s an itch that I need scratching on occasion. I also like slower-paced VR experiences — I definitely shy away from the ones with bullets flying this way and that, I don’t have the room to dodge behind cover.

Labyrinth deLux - A Crusoe Quest is one such slow-paced puzzle game that sees you moving through 16 rooms of an alien artefact, aiming a beam of light using rotatable mirrors to open doors. This is the first time I’ve seen the concept using all three dimensions, at least using stationary mirrors. You have to go to every mirror that you want to use and rotate it by hand, whether it’s on the floor, the walls, or the ceiling. Not that you always know which is which.

You are a space trucker who, through no fault of their own, is mysteriously transported into this alien structure. Your only companion is the ship AI which will give you absolutely no help, and only serves to help exposit information and banter with your character. While the walls of each room are covered in images of a Cthulhu-esque nature, it’s more for ambience instead of something you should worry about. At least, as far as I’ve gotten in the game.

It’s not that the puzzles in Labyrinth deLux are particularly difficult; some of them are tricky but there appear to be multiple ways to solve all of them. No, the issue I’ve had is how disorienting it is to play. As I said, you have to move things on all of the surfaces, which means that you have to orient yourself to do so. You move with the left thumbstick, and the right thumbstick is for rotating and moving longer distances more quickly or making yourself stand on the walls/ceilings. By default, you see the entire movement — leaving the floor, rotating however many degrees, and landing wherever you aimed. This made me very nauseous quite quickly, and I started to just close my eyes as I selected a new position. Luckily, the options let you swap to just teleporting instantly instead, so I was very glad to find that setting.

Unfortunately, even with the teleportation option, it’s still very disorienting. For instance, I’m constantly having to triple and quadruple check which direction I want to aim a beam of light in. It’s more common when I’ve had to teleport a larger distance, but sometimes I’ll do a short hop only to have accidentally aimed at a wall 90 degrees off of where I needed to.

Something that I really do like is how the subtitles fit into the game. You have a little screen on your left arm which shows subtitles when you scan the large stone tablets that you find in some rooms, or when the AI is speaking to you. The only issue is not getting to see your character’s lines, at least that I’ve noticed.

While Labyrinth deLux - A Crusoe Quest is decently made, and an interesting VR experience, you definitely have to be wary of how disorienting it can be. I had initially thought that some weightlessness applied, but no, you stand on all surfaces. If you walk off of whatever you’re using as a floor, you’ll slowly descend until you either teleport or reach another surface, but it’s definitely not a feature that helps you solve the puzzles.