This week I played a puzzle game full of mazes, made using RPG Maker, a popular tool used to make JRPG-style games. It’s short and easily completed. But I’m not so sure it’s worth spending an hour or two of your life to play through this one.

Labyrinthine Dreams is a short game consisting of movement based puzzles. To make progress, you have to solve each puzzle. As a reward you get to hear more of Beth’s story.

The puzzles are fairly simple to solve, but can take a while to figure out. If you’re a fan of puzzles then this might be a game for you.

Unfortunately, this also means the game has no replay value. Once you have solved a puzzle, that’s it. There’s no more challenge if you play the puzzle again.

The story has an interesting premise. Beth lost her father and has recently learned that she is also terminally ill. The levels in the game represent the dreams she is having as she undergoes treatment.

Unfortunately the story doesn’t really go anywhere. It talks briefly about her love of art, and of a romance. Then she just kind of… survives. Game over.

Part of the problem, I think, is that the levels and the gameplay don’t really tie into the story in any meaningful way. There are some levels where she has to run away from a demon. Maybe this is meant to represent her disease, but then it feels like she cures herself by just running away from it.

I think there were opportunities for something a bit more here. In the final level she starts to escape her demon by walking faster and faster. I thought this was going to represent her going through physical rehabilitation, but in the end it serves no meaning.

It’s an interesting game, with simple puzzles, and a simple story. I don’t think it’s for everyone, however, and it wouldn’t be a top of my list of must play games.