A “Delicious” Dungeon Even in Defeat—“Magical Girl Yuusha-chan and the Labyrinth of Lust”: A Roguelike with Gacha and “Bundling”

Hey everyone, do you like the *Mystery Dungeon* series? Dungeons that change shape every time you enter, mysterious items, and the tension that builds with every step. Turn-based roguelikes have a magical allure that makes you want to dive back in and say, “Just one more try,” no matter how many times you die.

“Magical Girl Yuusha-chan and the Labyrinth of Lust,” developed by Yabukarado and Silver Sprout Studio, takes this traditional roguelike formula and adds a full-voiced heroine who moves using Live2D, along with a touch of spicy excitement.

Some of you might have read the title and braced yourselves, wondering, “What kind of game is this…?” However, this title is intended for a general audience, equivalent to an R-15 rating. While there are suggestive lines and risqué situations, there are no explicit adult-oriented depictions, and at its core, it’s a high-difficulty, authentic roguelike.

In this article, we’ll share our first-hand impressions of the game, which we got to play ahead of its October 9 release. Please note that since we played a pre-release build, there may be differences from the final version.

Idol Magical Girl Defeated by an Evil Organization and Sent to a Labyrinth

The story begins when everyone’s favorite magical girl idol, “Yusha-chan” (Voiced by Rio Fujimura), is defeated by an evil organization and sent into a mysterious labyrinth. Her goal is to clear three dungeons and return to her original world.

In addition to the tutorial, the game features three dungeons: 12-floor, 20-floor, and 40-floor.Furthermore, after clearing the dungeons, the 99-floor “Monster Tower” dungeon is unlocked. All dungeons are procedurally generated, with their layout changing every time you enter. You’ll pick up items scattered throughout, fend off monsters and traps, and aim for the deepest level—a familiar flow for fans of roguelike games.

What makes this game unique is that “Yusha-chan,” rendered in Live2D, is always present on the side of the screen. She winces when hit by enemy attacks and strikes a victory pose when you level up. She reacts to the situation with visual effects and full voice acting, turning what should be a solitary, silent dungeon crawl into a surprisingly lively experience.

"Bundle" Items to Escape Tight Spots

The more familiar you are with the *Mystery Dungeon* series, the more surprising it is that this game lacks “shops” or items that let you bundle your inventory. In other words, there’s no standard way to manage your inventory slots.

Instead, the game features its own unique “Bundling” system.You can freely combine items other than equipment. For example, if you bundle spellbooks with the same effect, their remaining uses are combined; if you bundle items with different effects, a single item can produce multiple effects. In other words, the more you bundle, the more inventory space you free up, allowing you to venture deeper while keeping more options at your disposal.

That said, you can’t just bundle anything and everything. Which items to combine, and how far to go in consolidating them—the decisions you make about how to compress your limited inventory directly shape your survival strategy.

Equipment Enchantments: “Cultivating” Gems and Ribbons

Another key element is equipment enchantments. In this game, weapons are “gems” and armor is “ribbons.” Equipment you find in dungeons comes with random enchantments, and by using “furnaces” within the dungeons, you can combine and enhance these enchantments.

The maximum number of enchantments a piece of gear can hold is random, and—with a few exceptions—the more you stack the same enchantment, the stronger its effect becomes.If you find a “lucky” piece of gear with a powerful enchantment, you’ll enjoy the thrill of developing it further. Additionally, there’s a support system that lets you recover gear with many enchantments even if you lose it in a dungeon, so you don’t have to worry too much about your carefully crafted gear vanishing in an instant.

The “Guess the True Nature” Challenge Starting on Floor 20 and the Aesthetics of Subtraction

Starting on the 20th floor of the dungeon, unidentified items finally make their appearance. Should you test an item by actually using it to discover its true name, or search for an identification item? Some items are actually traps with negative effects, so using them carelessly can lead to painful consequences.The deeper you venture, the more unidentified items you’ll encounter, and depending on the hero’s stats, you might even experience the mishap of forgetting a name you thought you’d already learned.

On the other hand, the game’s “subtraction” design shines through in its handling of hunger. The concept of “getting hungry”—a staple of roguelikes—doesn’t exist in this game outside of the final dungeon.

In other words, you don’t have to rush to the stairs just because you’re hungry. Even if you find a staircase, you don’t have to go down right away; instead, you can take your time exploring the floor to stock up on resources.While retaining the fun of this traditional gameplay dynamic, the system has been streamlined so that beginners aren’t overwhelmed by management tasks. This frees up your attention for the item management system based on “bundling” that I mentioned earlier. Of course, hunger returns in the final dungeon, so veterans can enjoy the struggle against starvation.

Hold On and Blast Through with “DSKB” Power

The “DSKB (Dosukebe) Gauge” is the trump card in this game’s combat. …The name might be a bit shocking at first, but it’s actually a very serious strategic element.

This gauge rises during exploration and battles, increasing your attack power—but it also comes with drawbacks, such as reduced concentration and a higher chance of being hit by stun attacks.When the stun gauge reaches its maximum, you’ll be unable to take any action for one turn. On the other hand, if you consume the accumulated gauge, you can unleash a special move that affects the entire room (or the surrounding 8 squares in the case of a hallway). It’s a game-changing move that can turn the tables in a single blow when you’re surrounded and in a desperate situation.

What’s interesting is that both this gauge and the number of special moves increase as the story progresses. At first, you start with just one gauge and a single special move, but clearing the 12th-floor dungeon increases the gauge’s maximum capacity by one and adds another special move. Furthermore, clearing the 20th-floor dungeon brings the gauge to its maximum of three and gives you three special moves.

While this game doesn’t feature the typical “build up your base to get stronger” progression system, every time you clear a dungeon, Yūsha-chan’s own deck of cards grows. That sense of accomplishment serves as motivation to take on the next dungeon.

Lose, and you lose everything. But even losing has its “rewards.”

Since this is a roguelike, “failure” is unavoidable. In this game, too, if you fail to clear a dungeon, all the items you’ve collected up to that point will vanish. To return safely with your items, you have two options: either clear the dungeon all the way to the end or use an “Escape Scroll.”

…That might sound harsh, but this game also offers a lifeline: a gacha you can spin after each run. You can spin this gacha regardless of whether you succeeded or failed in the dungeon, and you’ll receive an item. The system is designed so that the higher your score, the better the item you’re likely to get.

What surprised me was that better items are more likely to drop when you fail than when you succeed in clearing the dungeon. In other words, even if you die and lose all your belongings, you’ll still have a solid foundation for your next attempt. Failure doesn’t end up being “just a loss.” That’s exactly why you’ll want to dive in again.

Strategies for “Bringing Items” Using the Storage

There’s also a storage room at your base where you can store items. So, if you feel “this dungeon is too hard,” you can gather a certain amount of items, use an Escape Scroll to return, and store them in the storage room. It’s a valid strategy to repeat this process, bring the accumulated gear and items with you, and then take on the dungeon in earnest—Whether you aim to clear it in a single go or take the time to prepare thoroughly before attempting it—that’s where your personality as a player really shines through.

What awaits you if you lose…?

By the way, if you fail to clear the dungeon, Yūsha-chan will be attacked by monsters afterward, and all sorts of things will happen to her… I won’t go into details here, but let me just say that—within the bounds of what’s appropriate for a general audience—some slightly risqué developments await.

If you’re into that sort of thing, maybe you should try losing on purpose…? After all, it makes it easier to get good items from the gacha.

Even in a pinch, you’ll find yourself wanting to interact with her

As mentioned at the beginning, the Live2D version of Yūsha-chan isn’t just there to react on the side of the screen. You can interact with her at any time during the game by dragging your mouse.

There are four spots you can touch: her head, both cheeks, and her torso. You can stroke her head, pull her cheeks, or grab her torso and shake her whole body. Depending on where you touch her, she’ll give you various reactions. There are even special lines prepared specifically for when you pull her cheeks, so be sure to give it a try.

What’s more, you can interact with her not only while exploring dungeons but also during dramatic story scenes. You can even touch her while replaying a scene from the encyclopedia, so you can enjoy moments like pulling her cheeks right in the middle of her speech—and watching her talk while her cheeks are being pulled.

When you’re surrounded by monsters and wondering what to do, you might find yourself idly touching the heroine out of boredom. According to the developers, this is one of the ways you can play the game. It serves as the perfect breather during the tense dungeon exploration.

Numerous Features Designed for a Worry-Free Experience

This game welcomes streaming, live commentary, and video uploads, and it comes equipped with robust features to support these activities.

First up is Silhouette Mode. You can choose from three display options for Yūsha-chan’s Live2D: “Normal,” “Silhouette,” and “Semi-Transparent Silhouette,” and you can adjust the intensity of her animations on a 10-point scale.Even if there are scenes you’re concerned about showing during a stream—such as the post-defeat sequence mentioned earlier—you can rest assured that pressing the P key on your keyboard instantly toggles Silhouette Mode on or off.

Furthermore, if you turn on Censorship Mode, sensitive words in the story will be censored, and the voice lines for those sections will be muted.

Another feature we highly recommend using is the Detailed Information Screen mode. This mode allows you to keep a list of your inventory and equipment, your stats, playtime, and the number of turns elapsed constantly displayed on the screen.Since you can see your inventory and current status at a glance, it’s easier to keep track of your situation. Plus, during a stream, this makes it easier for viewers to offer advice in the comments—like, “Shouldn’t you use that scroll right now?” Roguelikes are a genre where viewers naturally want to chime in with suggestions. You could say this feature is designed to help you get excited about the game together with your audience.

It Doesn’t End After You Clear It: Deep Dive and FM Soundtrack

The game offers plenty of content. The estimated playtime is about 20 hours to clear the game for first-time players of the “Mystery Dungeon” series, and about 5 to 10 hours even for experienced roguelike players. Furthermore, the 99-floor dungeon unlocked after clearing the game adds another 10 to 20 hours of playtime.

As part of the deep gameplay, the 99-floor “Monster Tower” also includes 100 “Puzzle Portals.” These Puzzle Portals are puzzles where you must navigate through mechanisms and traps; as you solve them, you’ll naturally develop the “ability to anticipate” that will also help you conquer the main dungeons.In the latter half, there are reportedly some particularly difficult puzzles that even the developers themselves could only solve once before losing track of the solution. Additionally, the free DLC “Mr. Crab Stick Boss Battle” is also available.

Also worth noting is the background music that enhances the adventure. The game features numerous original tracks composed using 80s- and 90s-style FM sound sources, reminiscent of the golden age of PC-88 games. The nostalgic soundscapes greatly heighten the tension of exploring the dungeons.

That concludes our play report on *Magical Girl Yuusha-chan and the Labyrinth of Lust*.

While the title and subject matter tend to grab your attention, once you actually play it, you’ll find it’s a surprisingly straightforward roguelike at its core. Instead of a shop, there’s a “Bundle” system to consolidate your inventory, equipment enchantments to grow gems and ribbons, and a DSKB gauge that increases with each dungeon run.The game’s unique feel is firmly layered onto this traditional framework.

But what impressed me most was the design that ensures failure doesn’t end in a “loss.”If you lose, all your items disappear. However, the gacha after the results screen is more likely to yield better items when you fail, and by using the storage, you can prepare thoroughly and try again. Every time you fall, you’ll find yourself thinking about how to tackle the dungeon next—I felt the game perfectly captures the best part of the roguelike genre.

With your knowledge and the Live2D “Yusha-chan” as your partner, venture into the Labyrinth of Lust. You can choose to win and return, or you can dare to lose on purpose. No matter which way it goes, a “delightful” labyrinth awaits you all.

“Magical Girl Yuusha-chan and the Labyrinth of Lust” is scheduled for release on PC (Steam) on October 9, 2026.

*Screenshots are from the in-development version.