Minos is a roguelite maze-defence game that understands the appeal of having a good problem to solve. You play as a Minotaur defending his labyrinth, placing traps, moving walls and trying to stay one step ahead of increasingly dangerous intruders. It’s a smart concept, and the game gets plenty of mileage out of it.
QD’s Speedrun Review
As the Minotaur, your job is to build the perfect labyrinth, then survive long enough to see whether it actually works.
Each day is split into two phases: preparation and action. The prep stage is all about the tactics — you’re placing traps, shifting walls, clearing space, and reacting to enemy intel before the attack begins. With more than 20 enemy types, each with different behaviours and a swathe of trap types unlocked through RNG, the game constantly pushes you to think deeply rather than rely on a single dominant strategy — because there really isn’t one.
The action phase is as it sounds — you watch your plan fall into place, or sometimes, fall over. You also directly control the Minotaur and can engage in combat, if necessary. The combat is simple, and feels very much like a backstop, as the real draw here is the planning, adaptation and problem-solving across shifting maze layouts and escalating depths.
Like any good roguelite, progress is never entirely lost in Minos. XP feeds into permanent upgrades, unlocking better stats, new abilities and extra health, so even a failed run still slowly nudges you forward. But Minos can also be ruthless, and its difficulty ramps up quickly, often before you’ve fully settled into its systems.
READ MORE: QD Rapid Review | Legacy of Kain: Ascendance: ‘Nosgoth’s Echo, Not Its Heart’ (PS5)
Things I love about Minos:
- Deep, rewarding maze-building strategy.
- Excellent variety in enemies and level types.
- Gorgeous art design and engaging music.
Things I don’t love about Minos:
- The difficulty spikes hard and fast — a little too fast at times. A clue or two for the puzzle levels wouldn’t go astray, either.
- It can feel a little overcomplicated — there’s a lot of systems going on, many of which aren’t intuitive.
- Some items feel unbalanced, with a few feeling too strong and others too niche.
Is Minos worth your time?
Yes. Minos is a clever, challenging roguelite with real strategic bite. It can be demanding and quite compex, but for players who enjoy planning, experimentation and learning from failure, this is a labyrinth very much worth getting lost in.
Minos is out now on PC via Steam. A demo is also available as well.
Access to Minos was supplied to Quest Daily by the publisher.
