Shadow Labyrinth Preview: Pac-Man like you've never experienced it before

I have nothing but complete respect for Bandai Namco and its ability to continually innovate and try new things with Pac-Man. Despite the fact that the arcade character and series is one of the video game space's oldest and most iconic, it has survived the test of time through ingenious evolution, similar to Tetris. We've seen great and really enjoyable battle royale ideas grace both titles, ones that reflect the heritage while drifting into new territory, but for Bandai Namco this isn't nearly the limit of its creativity.

In July, the Metroidvania Shadow Labyrinth will make its arrival, and this is perhaps one of the least Pac-Man games you'll ever see that is connected to the Pac-Man series. I would know, as during MCM Comic Con London recently, I had the chance to check out the game for a short while. For starters, Pac-Man isn't the focal point here, rather it's more of a niche gameplay gimmick that the rest of the whole is inspired by, and additionally, the actual narrative basis of this game was first introduced in December when Secret Level came to Prime Video. Yep, that unsettling and horrifying Pac-Man episode is this game in an interactive format, meaning you play as a swordsman character that is tasked with working their way through a devastated and harsh world in an attempt to avoid being prey and ultimately become the apex predator.

The idea in a story manner is very Pac-Man when you think about it, except that it trades the arcade nature for a more aggressive and challenging action-adventure setup. It's Metroidvania too, there's no doubt about that, meaning you traverse a 2D world where you have to platform around and over obstacles and hazards, and hack and slash past enemies and bosses that stand in your way. To top it off, you need to find keys and abilities that improve your movement and combat to reach otherwise inaccessible areas and continue progressing. If you've played Blasphemous, Ori, Hollow Knight, even Castlevania or Metroid, the setup is instantly familiar. What isn't is the Pac-Man integration.

While exploring the world you may come across glowing rail-like objects that you can hop onto to switch into Pac-Man (or Puck as it's known in-game) and glide across, picking up pellets along the way. Oftentimes in these situations you will need to platform and avoid hazards while traversing the rails, adding some danger to the mechanic, as it seems like the traditional ghosts are missing, at least in the brief portion of the game I played. Beyond this, as you adventure as the swordsman, Puck follows along as a companion that eats up any pellet-like items that are dropped from defeated enemies that help refill ability bars and such.

The combat and movement is very fluid and dynamic but also quite challenging to master. The platforming and the use of a grapple-like ability proved to be difficult to crack, at least on my behalf, presenting a handful of really demanding and eventually fulfilling side objectives and secret areas to find and overcome. It really seems as though Shadow Labyrinth is made to be one for folk who enjoy and embrace a challenge, as it's certainly not a walk in the park to progress through the world, even if combat seems to lack a bit of the diversity and range we expect from this category. But again, this was based on only a brief taste of the game meaning the full build may be very different.

Gameplay aside though, days later I'm still somewhat stunned that this game is actually real. It feels like a fever dream, in the same way that the Secret Level short did. To go from Pac-Man in its colourful arcade cabinets to a twisted and dark Metroidvania that leaves you with more questions than answers, it's one of least natural evolutions of an arcade classic I've experienced to date. That's not to say it's a bad idea at all, it's just unorthodox, a little unsettling, and perhaps tailored to a very niche audience. I'm personally unsure that Pac-Man fans will give this project much time, and likewise others will probably not see the allure of it either, but even if that does end up being the case, I can't help but applaud Bandai Namco for doing something truly surprising.