When Shadow Labyrinth was first revealed at the Game Awards in 2024, I didn’t take the game seriously. On the surface, it almost felt like a meme to make Pac-Man into a gritty and edgy Dark Souls game. However, the more footage Bandai Namco released for the title, the more it piqued my interest. Thankfully, the hype was justified. After my time with Shadow Labyrinth, I can confirm that the game is not only really good, it does an amazing job reinventing Pac-Man for the Metroidvania genre.

A Sci-Fi Horror Metroidvania

In Shadow Labyrinth, you take on the role of a silent humanoid character named Swordsman No. 8. While in the middle of an intergalactic war, the main protagonist crashes on an alien plane that he must escape from. Within the game’s opening minutes, you meet a floating companion called PUCK. This is essentially the iconic Pac-Man mascot, except now he talks with the raspy voice of a chain smoker. If you think that sounds a bit creepy, we are only getting started!

At its core, Shadow Labyrinth takes on the Sci-Fi horror genre similar to games like Metroid. However, what Bandai Namco does really well is fleshing out the concept of Pac-Man to fit this more mature narrative. Instead of circling a flat arcade level to eat pixel ghosts, you are now exploring intricate mazes while devouring enemies to power up. And when I mean devour, PUCK literally possesses the main character and then grotesquely eats the limbs of your fallen enemies.

Yes, it’s as awesome as it sounds. But at its core, Shadow Labyrinth is a 2D Metroidvania with heavy platforming, puzzle-solving, and, of course, battle sequences. So, if you are a fan of games such as Hollow Knight, the Pac-Man spin-off is a great title to hold you over until the release of Silksong. I also have to say the game at times reminded me of Vanillaware’s Muramasa, or a 2D NieR Automata. And that is, of course, a major compliment. It has just the right amount of weird.

Combat

Your main method of attack in Shadow Labyrinth consists of three sword slashes that can be triggered with a single button. While this might seem simplistic at first, the game quickly builds on its core gameplay loop to make battles pretty chaotic. For example, you eventually unlock additional ‘Action’ maneuvers such as ESP blast. The move turns your blade into a ranged attack, which can be spammed while jumping mid-air. There are also special skills that let you parry attacks or put a barrier shield around your character.

If I had to make any comparison to another game, combat in Shadow Labyrinth reminds me a lot of Dark Souls. Not so much in its difficulty, but in how grounded its battles feel. Instead of quick hack-and-slash combat, many enemies require you to learn their attack animations. The game’s dash feature also allows you to dodge incoming damage by rolling through an enemy. And as you progress through the story, you are eventually able to parry certain attacks back. Like Dark Souls, you are also given HP canisters, which let you refill your health. And when you reach rest or checkpoints, these health items are automatically refilled.

Where Shadow Labyrinth really deviates from other games in its genre is its GAIA feature. Once your special meter is filled up, you can transform Swordsman No. 8 into a giant mech creature. However, once the timer runs out, you will have to fill up the gauge again. This is done by having PUCK swallow enemies you’ve already defeated. Because of this, there is a lot of strategy with how you navigate mazes in Shadow Labyrinth.

‘shadow labyrinth’ Is Not Your Mother’s ‘Pac-Man’

As I mentioned earlier, Shadow Labyrinth goes to great lengths to cleverly re-interpret Pac-Man. For example, one of my favorite features is that the game has glowing rails throughout every level that automatically transform you into PUCK when you touch them. It’s literally the exact same mechanic as the Pac-Man arcade game, where you move around quickly in a circle to eat up video wafers. Only in this game, they are now experience points you can use to level up skills.

But where this mechanic really works is that you can jump from one rail to the next while in this Pac-Man mode. This results in exhilarating platforming that is unique to Shadow Labyrinth. As you explore deeper into each level, you will be riding walls, ceilings, and platforms. You can even transform back into Swordsman No. 8 and turn into a spinning blade to attack enemy ghosts that are blocking your path.

It’s also incredibly challenging at times. There is one level where you have to hit a switch and then get to the door before the timer runs out. As you ride on the rails, you have to constantly jump to different tracks to avoid getting hit by enemies. I won’t lie, this section took me 30 minutes to clear because you have to reach the door before it closes. Thankfully, Bandai Namco does give you the option to stop Pac-Man from automatically moving during these rail sections so you can better choose where you want to jump to.

It Has Punishing Difficulty At Times

If I had any gripe about Shadow Labyrinth, it’s that its platforming sections can be a bit brutal at times. Specifically, halfway into the story campaign, there are long stretches of levels where it’s nonstop puzzle solving. All of this is par for the course for the Metroidvania genre. I mean, half of the fun is getting lost in layered maps that eventually allow you to unlock previously blocked areas.

However, I had to take a break a few times while playing Shadow Labyrinth because I was feeling burnt out after dying for the 100th time during some of its more challenging platforming sections. If you are someone who prefers the game’s combat segments more, then this might be a little frustrating. Thankfully, the game does have save points which are, for the most part, placed in perfect locations. But I’m telling you, there are some portions of the game that are genuinely difficult, so be prepared. Of course, if you love platforming in Metroidvanias, then you will be in heaven here.

Another issue I ran into was the GAIA mechanic. Because I’m more of a casual Dark Souls player, I always had to save my mech feature for boss fights. However, I found myself having to backtrack a few times just to re-kill enemies so I could fill up my gauge before taking on a boss room. That in itself is fine. However, there are some sections of the game with only one enemy around, so I ended up having to wait 15 minutes to get my meter up. I kind of wish that Shadow Labyrinth would just fill your GAIA meter up when hitting a checkpoint, like it does with your HP canisters.

‘shadow labyrinth’ is A Beautiful Game

The story of Shadow Labyrinth largely starts out vague at first. While the intro isn’t super complex, it’s intriguing enough to hook you in. However, I was pleasantly surprised by just how engaging the worldbuilding and lore for this game are. In particular, the visuals for the Pac-Man spinoff are absolutely stunning.

There is a moment early into the story where you emerge from the game’s opening Sci-Fi level to discover a lush green forest. However, the 2D art style really shines here, as Bandai Namco used gorgeous pastel colors. One of my favorite scenes involves Swordsman No. 8 and PUCK looking across a full purple night sky while under a glowing full moon.

And while some of the more sci-fi mazes can start to look the same? Shadow Labyrinth has a surprising amount of variety to its different level designs. Again, not to sound like a broken record, but this game really does give me flashbacks to a Vanillaware title. I’m also just impressed with how well Bandai Namco balances the game’s Sci-Fi and Horror elements with its overall aesthetics.

Shadow Labyrinth is one of the best Metroidvanias I’ve played in years. Bandai Namco avoided making this a cheap gimmick title and instead crafted a brilliant reinterpretation of Pac-Man that takes advantage of its genre switch. With tight combat controls and challenging puzzle sections, this is one of 2025’s best platformer titles.

Verdict: Highly Recommended

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Shadow Labyrinth is available on July 17, 2025, on PC via Steam, Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. A code was provided for the sake of review. Reviewed on Switch 2.