If you’re anything like me, you’ve spent an unreasonable chunk of your life wondering how you’d fare as Kevin McCallister. Abandoned by your hopelessly disorganised parents while they jet off to Europe, armed with an unnecessarily large basement and a cardboard cut-out of Michael Jordan… could you really outsmart a pack of determined burglars? Wonder no more — Minos: Home A‑Labyrinth has you covered.
Indie devs Artificer are busy building Minos — a maze-defence roguelite where you play a Minotaur defending his labyrinth — but that hasn’t stopped them from repurposing their core idea for this festive one‑off. Here, you stress‑test your inner Kevin across an entire neighbourhood of loot‑hungry intruders.
Prep First, Then Pray
Each in‑game day is split into two phases: preparation and action. Preparation is where you play amateur architect, placing traps (naturally) and shifting or removing walls. You get a heads‑up on the burglars targeting you that night, and that matters — different burglar types come with their own stats and behaviours, interacting with your traps and the level design in different ways.
READ MORE: Review | Octopath Traveller 0: ‘Two Steps Forward, One Step Back’ (NS1)
You can also spend Kevin’s (limited) energy to move him around and have him clear rubble to unlock route options — all fun and games right up until you forget to move him back and he ends up standing proudly by the front door, ready to greet the intruders (learn from my mistake!).
In all, there’s a plenty of strategic depth, and a genuine need to plan each wave in detail — not just spamming spikes and hoping for the best.
Chaos at the Christmas Tree
Then, there’s the action phase — the burglars pour in, making a beeline for the Christmas tree. You control Kevin here and, when push comes to shove, he’s surprisingly handy with his oversized candy cane. If things have devolved to that point, though, you’re probably already in trouble.
READ MORE: Video games your boss doesn’t want you to know about
It’s all very exciting — right up to the moment you realise, usually far too late, that your perfect puzzle planning forgot something obvious. Typically an erroneous hole in the wall or a misplaced trap.
When you eventually die, you’re punted back to day one. However, there are buffs and unlocks that carry over, making each fresh attempt that little bit more achievable. The meta progression is needed — the game gets hard, fast.
A Festive Tease With Real Bite
It might be a free seasonal spin‑off, but Minos: Home A‑Labyrinth doesn’t feel like one. It plays like a fully thought‑through game, with enough depth, strategic optionality, and challenge to keep you going for hours. It’s also a good laugh. Consider my Home Alone fantasies thoroughly fulfilled.
If this is any indication of where the full Minos project is headed, we’re in for a great time.
Minos: Home A-Labyrinth is out today for FREE on PC via Steam.
Early access to Minos: Home A-Labyrinth was supplied to Quest Daily by the publisher.
