Highlights

  • Labyrinth of the Demon King combines eerie atmosphere with brutal combat inspired by iconic horror games like Silent Hill and Resident Evil.
  • Set in a supernatural-infested feudal Japan, the game features grotesque enemies and an arsenal of weapons to tackle the dangers of the labyrinth.
  • Still in active development, interested gamers can add Labyrinth of the Demon King to their Steam wishlists for further updates leading up to the 2025 release.

It’s no secret that low-poly first-person dungeon crawlers with crunchy textures and strange, moody atmospheres are in vogue right now. From Lunacid and Devil Spire to upcoming games like Monomyth and Vignettes: The Dream City, players are currently spoiled for choice when it comes to brutal throwback dungeon crawling. Yet, even in such a crowded space, sometimes a game still manages to stand out; one of those games is Labyrinth of the Demon King.

Originally announced in October 2021—but shown off again during Top Hat Studio's showcase at this year’s Guerrilla Collective event—Labyrinth of the Demon King is a grim, disturbing first person adventure set in the heart of a supernaturally infested feudal Japan. Playing the role of the last surviving soldier after his unit was ambushed by demons, players are tasked with traveling deep into the Demon King’s labyrinth to find, fight, and kill the ruler of the realm.

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Labyrinth of the Demon King Embraces The Latter Age of the Dharma

The most immediately striking thing about Labyrinth of the Demon King’s trailer is its world design. The game is set in an alternate feudal Japan during The Latter Age of the Dharma—a 10,000 year long ‘Degenerate Age’ where evil reigns and demons roam the Earth. Low-res textures and heavy shadows wrap around twisted evil creatures that shamble and slither toward the player. Tight, oppressive environments, a muted palette and eerie sound design immediately sell solo dev J. R. Hudepohl’s vision of an empty, apocalyptic Japan wracked by disease, famine, and supernatural evil.

The trailer also showcases the game’s core gameplay loops of exploration and combat. From swollen-headed peasants and large, stony Nuppeppo, to a man-spider reminiscent of Dark Souls’ Queelag and a pustule-covered Nuribotoke whose eyeballs hang down on exposed optic nerves—the enemies in Labyrinth of the Demon King are grotesque and numerous. Thankfully, the player's arsenal of weapons is equally numerous. The dangers are legion in the Demon King's labyrinth, but the player will be well armed and ready to take them on.

The Games That Inspired Labyrinth of the Demon King

From the trailer’s first moments, it’s clear that Labyrinth of the Demon King seeks to combine the bleak hopelessness of Silent Hill with the oblique, uncanny atmosphere of early FromSoft games, in order to create something wholly new and deeply disturbing. With monster designs reminiscent of Silent Hill 4: The Room and cinematic sequences reminiscent of Silent Hill 2, J. R. Hudepohl looks to be taking as much inspiration from from Silent Hill’s most quixotic entry as from its most disturbing. There are also shades of Onimusha, though that may simply be a result of the game’s setting.

As for Labyrinth of the Demon King’s gameplay, while King’s Field’s core structure is apparent, the gameplay itself eschews the slower, clunkier combat of FromSoft’s iconic dungeon-crawling franchise, in favor of taking inspiration from Condemned: Criminal Origins’ nasty, brutish and short melee brawls. Further in the vein of Condemned, enemies also have ambush capabilities, and are able to use cabinet doors, chairs, and other environmental elements to attack the player.

On J. R. Hudepohl’s X page, a handful of screenshots and gameplay previews feature The Merchant, a character heavily inspired by Resident Evil 4 ’s character of the same name . The Merchant is said to be one of the few friendly characters in Labyrinth of the Demon King ’s hostile, demon-filled setting.

Labyrinth of the Demon King is Still in Active Development

Labyrinth of the Demon King’s Steam page just went up, and interested gamers are encouraged to add it to their wishlists. Other than some striking screenshots and a brief blurb explaining the game’s story, a post on the game’s Steam page promises that more exciting news and updates about the game will be released over the next few months as Top Hat Studios begins the game’s rollout. Labyrinth of the Demon King is set to release some time in 2025.