Minos by developer
Artificer and publisher
Devolver Digital—
PC (Steam) review written by
Susan N. with a copy provided by the publisher.
Estimated reading time: 10 minutes
The tower defense genre is one that doesn't tend to innovate much with static maps, various traps, and its simple to grasp gameplay loops. At least, that is until Minos with a mighty laugh to prove you wrong. It is a tower defense game that is more dynamic and interesting to play than other standard run of the mill tower defense titles as it combines elements of the roguelite genre with base building, lots of strategy, and story-telling in one neat little package. I've gotta say that I didn't know I needed this title until I got my hands on it.
Gameplay
Minos begins with a quick bit of dialog between Daedalus and Asterion who are being hunted by Theseus. He (Theseus) has sent a bunch of thugs to kill Asterion because he wants the kid's throne. Yes. Asterion is a young demon and shouldn't be too hard to kill - at least, according to Theseus that is true.
Daedalus, your father/mentor, explains that to claim the throne for yourself, you will need to kill every thug that is sent your way. To do this, you need to place traps to kill them and you need to modify the labyrinth so that the enemies walk through your weapons of destruction. It is at this moment that I knew this game would be different than other tower defense games. Because, as gamers are likely aware, this genre tends to follow a linear gameplay method. Standard tower defense games have opponents following a set path that cannot be changed by the player in any way. Minos flips that concept on its head by allowing the player to add/remove walls and doors at their leisure. You may question why that is, well, it's simple. Asterion is hiding in the Labyrinth as well!
With that knowledge, your job is to keep Asterion alive by manipulating the levels and strategically placing traps. Now, you may think this is a relatively easy task as you can do anything, right? Wrong. Not all walls can be removed and you don't have access to unlimited traps. You have to hole yourself up - to a degree - and use every tool in your kit to survive. Especially since you begin as a kid demon (that actually sounds like a badass name for a band or something...).
Labyrinth Structure
New Depth Levels
In the Labyrinth there are two different types of levels: the ones where you can rest and the ones where you viciously kill your enemies. The resting levels are the ones where you reach a new depth in the Labyrinth. These levels will look like a tower defense map but shown from a top down angle. It will be obvious because you will only have control of Astarion. Daedalus simply follows you around until you touch the campfire. It is here that Astarion can purchase new traps, health increases, more energy, and more! As you reach lower levels you gain access to other things
The camp has a couple of different objects to interact with like the tent, the Imaginarium, the Lexicon, and others. The main tent is where you can spend experience to increase your damage capabilities, character speed, and maximum health. With experience, you can also increase your starting gold or unlock new actions between waves like rearming traps. The Imaginarium allows you to purchase traps that you can use within the labyrinth. It's important to note that anything purchased in the Imaginarium is done with gems. The Lexicon displays the scrolls you find throughout depth levels. It also serves as the general help section of the game where you can refresh your memory on the different enemy types you've encountered, devices you've unlocked, artifacts you've purchased, and dialog you have experienced.
On certain levels, there will be some lost souls that stand on a raised dais next to a ghostly row boat. If you have Obols to spend, you can purchase an artifact that can help you in the Labyrinth. They have a couple of different items like duct tape and heavy armor. Should you choose not to spend the Obols, you will gain some experience instead. Although, something to note about the lost souls is that once you've made a decision to purchase an artifact or gain the experience, you cannot talk to them again.
After you've purchased new traps, artifacts, and upgrades for Astarion, you can proceed to one of the Labyrinth doors. They will display how many waves you will encounter, what the unit composition is, the general size of the level, and the rewards you will receive. At first, you choose which of the levels you feel better suited to take on, but sometimes there will be a map that will show you some of the next challenges.
It should be noted that there is no time limit while on the resting levels, and these floors can have other items to discover as you descend further in. At a certain level, the kid turns into an EPIC MINOTAUR. So there's that...
Labyrinth Areas
After you have chosen a door to go through, you will be placed in a preparation phase. You must kill everyone that enters the Labyrinth, or else Theseus wins and you have to start the Labyrinth again.
Something to note: so long as you keep the option on, you will see the path that your enemies will take to reach your Lair, which looks a bit like a throne or altar. Once they reach this point, they will be able to track your location in the Labyrinth. If you remain out of sight, the enemies in early levels cannot detect your presence.
Here is where Minos is quite a bit different from other tower defense games. You have to tab between Daedalus and Astarion to complete your objective. That said, Daedalus is merely the architect of the operation, where Astarion is the powerful demon who feeds on the blood of his enemies. When you are selected on Daedalus, you can add or remove any non-permanent walls. He is also the character you need to be on to get some traps and to purchase other items with gold. Upon starting a new Labyrinth level, you get three traps to place down. Any other tools you wish to use or have access to will be purchased through the shop using gold, or by another means that I will explain a little bit later.
It's important to know that you cannot completely block Astarion off from the enemies. There are items like an automatic door which will close after one person walks through it. Anyone on the other side of it will take actions to break down the door. Another thing to note is that Astarion begins with a certain amount of energy. In later levels, the energy can be used to break certain rocks. It can also be sacrificed to gain certain effects like healing yourself at the cost of one energy. Once the energy is spent during the preparation phase, Astarion will not be able to use any until it is replenished on the next preparation phase.
Once you have everything purchased and set up to your liking, you can press the button at the top of the screen which begins the turn. In this mode, Astarion is able to move, attack, or take limited actions like rearming traps if the ability is unlocked. The more enemies you kill with your hands or traps, the more blood you collect. And once the vase on the left is filled, you will be able to 'wish' for another trap to use on the next turn. So, while you may only begin with three traps, you can gain more depending on how effective you are at killing your foes.
Though, as you get further down in the Labyrinth, there are potential hazards and boons that you will encounter. On one level, there were mushrooms scattered throughout the map. Some of them were beneficial to Astarion while others were helpful to the opponents. You can use some of these boons to your advantage alongside the artifacts, ability increases, and traps purchased.
Anyways, after a wave is complete, you will get another preparation phase where you will be able to move traps around, add or remove walls, and spend blood on additional traps - assuming you were successful in filling the vase. Then, after you've made your preparations for the next wave, you can begin the gauntlet once more.
This process is repeated until you have killed all of the thugs or you have met your maker. And if that happens, I don't know what to tell you. Get back up and try again!
Graphics and UI
Despite the fact that the game has a top down type of perspective which can make it challenging to see Astarion on the map, Minos is quite detailed. On each level there are small intricate elements that I absolutely adore. For example, the Labyrinth is riddled with a few bone piles, stone shelving, and groups of pottery. It is easy to distinguish the difference between the permanent walls and the removable ones.
Traps can only be placed in specific locations which is obvious as they are metal panels on top of a dark grey stone tile. And if you purchase a lure trap, the statues are placed in different locations that are highlighted when you are going to place them down.
Another cool graphics feature of Minos is the moving world around the levels. Unlike other games that feature a maze or labyrinth, the background graphics tend to be static images. However, in early levels of the game, I could physically see and hear other Labyrinth levels below the one I was on moving locations. I was awe stricken when I noticed the level of detail contained in the game, which is great to see.
The UI is fairly straightforward and minimalistic enough that it doesn't overtake your screen. Any currency, experience, and artifacts are all displayed at the top of your screen on a compact information bar. On the left of the screen are the character images of Daedalus and Astarion along with their health and energy levels. During a Labyrinth level, the trap selection and wall placement icons are displayed, allowing you to easily plan the thugs deaths. Although, it should be noted that if you place a trap in a bad spot, or you wish to change trap locations, you will have to click on the wall block and use it on the trap location which will return the object to your inventory.
Final Thoughts
I have to say that after playing Minos for a while, I enjoy the game quite a lot. It has a bunch of features usually reserved for other genres and yet somehow each element seems well balanced and awesome, making the gaming experience dynamic enough to keep playing. Sure, one could say that tower defense games become repetitive over time, but with the sheer amount of options and upgrades, you could lose several hours. Ask me how I know!
I love the attention to detail in the graphics and spectacular voice acting in Minos. Nothing makes me more happy than getting sidetracked because of some neat little inclusion that might not grab anyone else's attention. For example, there are points where you can see a group of rats just skittering around a block. If you walk through that block, the rats scatter and regroup elsewhere; they don't just disappear into hidden holes in the walls or the floors like in other games.
All in all, I'd say that Minos is a solid entry in the tower defense/strategy genres. For some players the game might wear itself thin, but not before introducing you to a new perspective when it comes to the genre. It's an interesting game design, has well balanced features, and weirdly feeds into some morbid game loop that I enjoy. And for a little over $20, I think it's a worthwhile game to pick up. What's not to love about that?
Score: 8.5 out of 10
