I don't think anyone could have guessed what they'd get with Shadow Labyrinth; I certainly didn't. It just looked to me like a pretty generic Metroidvania with a vague space age horror vibe. Well, I was correct, but what surprised me is that it's actually a tie in to Pac-Man; you know, the game where you play as a little round yellow guy and eat up dots while dodging ghosts? Yeah... here he's reimagined as a small floating robot called Puck who aids the protagonist, a phantom-like being called Swordsman No. 8, in battling all sorts of undead creatures and phantoms called G-HOSTS (tee hee). There are a few callouts to the old games, like being able to travel along walls as Puck a la Metroid's spider ball, collecting little yellow dots (which serve as currency) and, most bizarrely of all, morphing into a giant mostly-invincible monster form to get an edge over powerful enemies. Said monster from can also eat said enemies to gain materials for upgrade crafting; in fact you'll have to do this quite a lot throughout the game. You'll also collect little lore bits strewn about as well as basics like health upgrades and the occasional new ability to aid you in combat or reach new areas. Shadow Labyrinth is a competently made Metroidvania; it's just not very unique or memorable other than the weird use of the Pac-Man license.
Developer: Bandai Namco Studios
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Released: 2025
Platform: PC, Switch, Switch 2, PlayStation 5, XBox Series