Last year, if you told me that Prime Video’s Secret Lair episode “PAC-MAN: Circle” would actually as serve as the secret prequel to a dark, post apocalyptic Pac-Man Metroidvania from Bandai Namco, I would have said… Yeah, that makes sense.
Shadow Labyrinth is a bold new reinvention for the iconic yellow sphere that aims to take Pac-Man’s prior DNA as an endlessly replayable arcade classic and translate it into a sprawling, fleshed out, and difficult (sometimes annoyingly so) Metroidvania. We all know the gist of the classic Pac-Man games by now: you play as Pac-Man and must maneuver an intricate maze to devour pellets, survive, and evade the deadly ghosts that chase you. You might even get a power up or two along the way to defend yourself from said ghosts.
Shadow Labyrinth takes this philosophy and expands upon it tenfold by offering players an enormous world to explore in a 2D action-platformer style. Seriously, the game is relatively massive; there are a handful of biomes each with their own complicated mazes that Puck (it’s Pac-Man, but not) and Swordsman No. 8 (you, the player) traverse using different items and upgrades, and fight countless enemies along the way. You have the freedom to head to your goal in a handful of different routes, each with their own trials and tribulations. It’s this sense of player agency that reminds me of the arcade Pac-Man games: with enemies looming around every corner, you have multiple ways to get out of a quick bind, loop around, and find your way back to where you wanted to go. It’s a clever way of paying homage to these games, and it’s one of the things I like most about it.
The arcade comparisons don’t end at just exploration, either. Early on, you unlock the ability to enter a giant mech suit called Panzer Gaia that No. 8 can use to attack enemies and move around hazardous environments. Its most important use, however, is devouring the corpses of your slain enemies, whose parts you can use later to upgrade your items and abilities. Its dark, grim, and honestly kind of brilliant in the way it interprets the Pac-Man “lore”, let’s call it.
Also scattered around the world are D-lines, magnetic tracks that, once you touch them, have Puck turn into a “Pac-Man form” for lack of a better phrase, with the same movement and sound effects we’ve come to know and love. While it’s obviously an awesome inclusion, the controls on the D-line are slightly unintuitive. Puck moves automatically at first, and but thankfully you can stop and move manually at the press of a button. The issue is that most times you’re riding the D-line, there are enemies around you that’ll knock you off. Sure, you can attack with No. 8 to get them off of you, but controlling Puck, hitting the attack button, and landing back on the vertical D-line takes a lot of practice.
As a Metroidvania, Shadow Labyrinth leaves a bit to be desired. While the movement and combat flows well and is extremely responsive, there’s a bit of a learning curve for both, and some rooms can be overwhelming with the amount of enemies and chaos on screen. Attacking with the sword, dodging, and parrying all need to be executed with precise timing, and one bad move could cost you your life. Dying is expected, and luckily you don’t lose currency or anything important when you die, other than time which, to me, is a big enough reason to say that the checkpoints in the game are absolutely abysmal. Oftentimes, harder enemies (marked by a yellow skull on the map) will end you, sending you back dozens of rooms and floors away. It got repetitive and extremely annoying, but it’s also a great incentive to better learn the game’s systems and patterns while most importantly, being patient.
In the early hours, this was admittedly very frustrating. But as I mentioned before, exploring the map in a non-linear fashion is encouraged. Get stomped by a yellow skull enemy countless times? Leave and head elsewhere, grind some currency, upgrade your skills, and come back later. Shadow Labyrinth truly does reward exploration, not only through upgrade materials and money, but for these alternate routes that can (and will) make your life a little easier.
I’m playing Shadow Labyrinth on Nintendo Switch 2, and I’m happy to say that it’s gorgeous. It isn’t the most graphically-demanding game to begin with, but the moves run like butter. I had no performance issues whatsoever; no frame rate dips at chaotic, busy moments, and no pop-ins or screen tearing, and playing handheld felt like the definitive way to experience it on this console generation’s bigger screen. I don’t own a Nintendo Switch OLED, but I imagine it’ll be a similar experience. One final gripe I have with Shadow Labyrinth is the music, or lackthereof. The iconic Pac-Man sounds and environmental sound design are serviceable, but the music isn’t amazing. I understand that it may be for atmospheric purposes; this is a dark, gritty take on the character. But I personally would have still appreciated some grand motifs or a recognizable score during the game’s bigger, more epic moments.
Overall, it’s easy to get frustrated with Shadow Labyrinth in the early hours. It comes with a relatively high learning curve with the fast-paced platforming sections, difficult boss encounters, and truly ridiculous and awful checkpoint placement. Sure, it’s designed to be difficult, but when it’s at the expense of fun is where I take issue. Not that Shadow Labyrinth isn’t fun, but I just question some of its design decisions. The Pac-Man gimmicks are indeed great, even if the D-line controls are frustrating, and picking out the references and Easter eggs from other Bandai Namco properties got a smile out of me. While Shadow Labyrinth may not end up being a part of some folks’ Metroidvania Mt. Rushmores like Hollow Knight or Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, it stands strong in what it’s trying to do despite its issues, and the Pac-Man mechanics lend themselves well to the genre. I’m eager to see how it evolves from here.
Last year, if you told me that Prime Video’s Secret Lair episode “PAC-MAN: Circle” would actually as serve as the secret prequel to a dark, post apocalyptic Pac-Man Metroidvania from Bandai Namco, I would have said… Yeah, that makes sense….
Last year, if you told me that Prime Video’s Secret Lair episode “PAC-MAN: Circle” would actually as serve as the secret prequel to a dark, post apocalyptic Pac-Man Metroidvania from Bandai Namco, I would have said… Yeah, that makes sense.
Shadow Labyrinth is a bold new reinvention for the iconic yellow sphere that aims to take Pac-Man’s prior DNA as an endlessly replayable arcade classic and translate it into a sprawling, fleshed out, and difficult (sometimes annoyingly so) Metroidvania. We all know the gist of the classic Pac-Man games by now: you play as Pac-Man and must maneuver an intricate maze to devour pellets, survive, and evade the deadly ghosts that chase you. You might even get a power up or two along the way to defend yourself from said ghosts.
Shadow Labyrinth takes this philosophy and expands upon it tenfold by offering players an enormous world to explore in a 2D action-platformer style. Seriously, the game is relatively massive; there are a handful of biomes each with their own complicated mazes that Puck (it’s Pac-Man, but not) and Swordsman No. 8 (you, the player) traverse using different items and upgrades, and fight countless enemies along the way. You have the freedom to head to your goal in a handful of different routes, each with their own trials and tribulations. It’s this sense of player agency that reminds me of the arcade Pac-Man games: with enemies looming around every corner, you have multiple ways to get out of a quick bind, loop around, and find your way back to where you wanted to go. It’s a clever way of paying homage to these games, and it’s one of the things I like most about it.
The arcade comparisons don’t end at just exploration, either. Early on, you unlock the ability to enter a giant mech suit called Panzer Gaia that No. 8 can use to attack enemies and move around hazardous environments. Its most important use, however, is devouring the corpses of your slain enemies, whose parts you can use later to upgrade your items and abilities. Its dark, grim, and honestly kind of brilliant in the way it interprets the Pac-Man “lore”, let’s call it.
Also scattered around the world are D-lines, magnetic tracks that, once you touch them, have Puck turn into a “Pac-Man form” for lack of a better phrase, with the same movement and sound effects we’ve come to know and love. While it’s obviously an awesome inclusion, the controls on the D-line are slightly unintuitive. Puck moves automatically at first, and but thankfully you can stop and move manually at the press of a button. The issue is that most times you’re riding the D-line, there are enemies around you that’ll knock you off. Sure, you can attack with No. 8 to get them off of you, but controlling Puck, hitting the attack button, and landing back on the vertical D-line takes a lot of practice.
As a Metroidvania, Shadow Labyrinth leaves a bit to be desired. While the movement and combat flows well and is extremely responsive, there’s a bit of a learning curve for both, and some rooms can be overwhelming with the amount of enemies and chaos on screen. Attacking with the sword, dodging, and parrying all need to be executed with precise timing, and one bad move could cost you your life. Dying is expected, and luckily you don’t lose currency or anything important when you die, other than time which, to me, is a big enough reason to say that the checkpoints in the game are absolutely abysmal. Oftentimes, harder enemies (marked by a yellow skull on the map) will end you, sending you back dozens of rooms and floors away. It got repetitive and extremely annoying, but it’s also a great incentive to better learn the game’s systems and patterns while most importantly, being patient.
In the early hours, this was admittedly very frustrating. But as I mentioned before, exploring the map in a non-linear fashion is encouraged. Get stomped by a yellow skull enemy countless times? Leave and head elsewhere, grind some currency, upgrade your skills, and come back later. Shadow Labyrinth truly does reward exploration, not only through upgrade materials and money, but for these alternate routes that can (and will) make your life a little easier.
I’m playing Shadow Labyrinth on Nintendo Switch 2, and I’m happy to say that it’s gorgeous. It isn’t the most graphically-demanding game to begin with, but the moves run like butter. I had no performance issues whatsoever; no frame rate dips at chaotic, busy moments, and no pop-ins or screen tearing, and playing handheld felt like the definitive way to experience it on this console generation’s bigger screen. I don’t own a Nintendo Switch OLED, but I imagine it’ll be a similar experience. One final gripe I have with Shadow Labyrinth is the music, or lackthereof. The iconic Pac-Man sounds and environmental sound design are serviceable, but the music isn’t amazing. I understand that it may be for atmospheric purposes; this is a dark, gritty take on the character. But I personally would have still appreciated some grand motifs or a recognizable score during the game’s bigger, more epic moments.
Overall, it’s easy to get frustrated with Shadow Labyrinth in the early hours. It comes with a relatively high learning curve with the fast-paced platforming sections, difficult boss encounters, and truly ridiculous and awful checkpoint placement. Sure, it’s designed to be difficult, but when it’s at the expense of fun is where I take issue. Not that Shadow Labyrinth isn’t fun, but I just question some of its design decisions. The Pac-Man gimmicks are indeed great, even if the D-line controls are frustrating, and picking out the references and Easter eggs from other Bandai Namco properties got a smile out of me. While Shadow Labyrinth may not end up being a part of some folks’ Metroidvania Mt. Rushmores like Hollow Knight or Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, it stands strong in what it’s trying to do despite its issues, and the Pac-Man mechanics lend themselves well to the genre. I’m eager to see how it evolves from here.
by Myles Obenza
