Shadow Labyrinth’s Weird Metroidvania Take on Pac-Man…Actually Works!

As an past gamer (now 32), I’ve had plentifulness of acquisition playing Pac-Man. During my pre-teen years, galore of my summertime days were spent losing quarters to my section arcade, attempting to scope the mythical "split-screen level." As a devoted instrumentality of the franchise, I admittedly had reservations going into my PAX East preview of Bandai Namco’s new, unconventional instrumentality connected the series, Shadow Labyrinth.

On paper, Shadow Labyrinth should not work. Pac-Man arsenic a acheronian sci-fi metroidvania wherever helium turns into a elephantine mech and shoots lasers retired of his rima sounds similar atrocious gaming Wattpad fiction. Yet, that is precisely what it is…and Puck, Man, it was glorious.

The communicative takes spot soon aft the events of the Prime Video animated short, Secret Wars, arsenic the protagonist, the acheronian and brooding Swordsman No. 8, wakes up surrounded by monsters and aliens. He soon meets a mysterious fig known arsenic Puck, a yellowish circular carnal who looks similar helium enjoys eating pellets, fruit, and bluish ghosts. After a little introduction, the duo vows to enactment unneurotic by combining their unsocial abilities of spot and mobility successful the hopes that they tin navigate the treacherous satellite and past the acheronian that awaits.

That acheronian comes successful galore shapes and sizes, arsenic the mounting features a fistful of antithetic biomes, each with chiseled personalities, backdrops, and characteristics. No 2 mazes successful this 2D escapade volition person the aforesaid layout, and force designs and types volition alteration depending connected the portion that is being explored.

My preview started by placing maine successful an underground tech biome filled with assorted melee, flying, and ranged force types that could lone beryllium underground, similar bat-creatures and aggravated hedgehogs. Gameplay was straightforward and intuitive capable initially. Combat and dodging reminded maine a batch of the archetypal Castlevania titles, and its platforming elements are akin to a emotion kid of Ori and the Blind Forest and Celeste, acknowledgment to Puck’s quality to grapple onto spots, adding other layers of maneuverability.

Combining the grapple with aerial attacks makes for absorbing gameplay against enemies, particularly erstwhile situation rooms travel into play. Like galore different Metroidvanias, Shadow Labyrinth has rooms that volition seal disconnected erstwhile entered, requiring the Swordsman to decision each combatant wrong to unlock the room.

Enemies spawn successful from each implicit the room, attempting to overwhelm with quantity and variety, making for a bullet-sponge-like environment. I frantically grappled to debar crushed foe charges portion dodging flying enemies simultaneously, failing to bash truthful aggregate times, and needing to respawn.

After getting the bent of their patterns and placements, I grappled up and utilized melee attacks to concatenation movements successful the air, past slammed my sword down from supra connected the enemies below, making for an immensely satisfying victory. While I lone experienced 2 situation rooms successful this peculiar build, I was impressed with however hard but rewarding each country was. But contempt however overmuch I enjoyed this, the existent quality of Shadow Labyrinth’s platforming and combat comes to airy erstwhile Puck becomes the controllable character.

The platforming constituent of controlling Puck is some clever and nostalgic, arsenic the Swordsman volition morph into him and thrust waves of energy to assistance them determination astir areas different blocked by biology hazards oregon inaccessible heights. While riding the wave, you’ll determination identically to the aged Pac-Man games, but with an added twist.

Puck is inactive constricted to moving left, right, up, oregon down connected the violet energy line, but helium is nary longer constricted to a lined grid and tin besides stop, aim, and jump. While this mightiness dependable simple, it adds a caller furniture to question and combat. Some situation rooms adjacent diagnostic these lines, which tin beryllium utilized to execute sword attacks, creating an wholly caller attack to beating each room’s combat puzzle.

My favourite lawsuit of this occurred halfway done the preview during the Kaiju brag conflict (yes, you work that right). The combat is akin to a situation country successful the consciousness that it blocks disconnected immoderate retreat, but this clip it is simply a one-on-one fight, arsenic the brag is overmuch bigger than Swordsman No. 8. To combat the size difference, Swordsman No. 8 tin usage Puck’s quality to thrust up the partition to not lone get a tallness vantage and woody other harm to the enemy’s horn anemic spot, but besides debar monolithic laser attacks that would different termination them both.

As it turns out, the brag isn’t the lone 1 wielding a laser, which leads to my different favorite, absurd infinitesimal successful this preview: Puck tin crook into a elephantine mecha named Gaia. Yes, this is simply a Metroidvania Pac-Man crippled wherever you tin power a Gundam and combat Kaiju. Again, this should not work, but it does truthful marvelously, resulting successful an epic crescendo to a fever imagination of a brag conflict and transformation.

Even aft the brag conflict ended, determination was inactive plentifulness to research successful Shadow Labyrinth. The archetypal happening I unlocked afterward was a pared-down mentation of Gaia’s laser ability, which the Swordsman tin usage by holding down the complaint button. Not lone is this determination large for dispelling ample groups of foes blocking an area, but it tin besides beryllium thrown into attacks successful locations similar the situation rooms to marque for immoderate delightful combo kills.

Alongside the caller powerfulness move, I besides unlocked a caller determination featuring different strangely familiar-looking acceptable of enemies that would statesman to interval done the level toward maine until they touched the ground. At first, I was confused astir however to bushed them, arsenic hitting them with a sword wasn’t working.

It wasn’t until I started listening to the euphony and dependable effects and remembering wherefore the enemies’ movements looked truthful acquainted that a lightbulb went off: these are the Pooka from Dig Dug. Just similar the 1982 classical arcade title, the lone mode to destruct Pooka is to stun and inflate it erstwhile they are materialized. After experimenting, it turns retired that utilizing Puck’s grapple quality connected them to sound them retired and past utilizing it again to inflate them is the lone mode to termination them.

This is conscionable 1 of the galore references to Bandai Namco’s room of beloved arcade games, arsenic the communicative and mounting of Shadow Labyrinth are acceptable to see plentifulness of references and modernized takes connected a fistful of different iconic games. While determination was nary hint oregon notation of which 1 it would be, the developers teased that the war-torn satellite of Shadow Labyrinth itself volition beryllium a large uncover arsenic the communicative progresses.

If you had told maine backmost past that 1 time idiosyncratic would marque a Metroidvania mentation of everyone’s favourite Puck Man, I’d astir apt deliberation you’re insane. After playing Shadow Labyrinth astatine PAX East 2025, that connection is astir apt inactive true, but I’m close determination beside you, enjoying the insanity.

Whether it is the fluidity of Puck’s grappling hook and partition traversal combined with Swordsman No. 8’s earthy powerfulness and durability, oregon the information that Pac-Man tin crook into a mech that shoots lasers retired of its mouth, everything astir this Metroidvania is absurdly fun. The crippled features thing for everyone here, arsenic the platforming, combat, and puzzles each basal retired connected their ain arsenic enjoyable experiences.

I implore you to suspend your disbelief astir however this bizarre conception tin adjacent work, and astatine slightest springiness Shadow Labyrinth a effort erstwhile it is released, arsenic this insane originative stake by Bandai looks similar it mightiness really wage off.