Pac-Man: Shadow Labyrinth – In-Depth Review

Ah, Pac-Man. Who would’ve thought our yellow, dot-munching buddy would be slicing it up in a dark sci-fi Metroidvania on his 45th birthday? But here we are with “Shadow Labyrinth,” and yeah, it’s as wild as it sounds. I stumbled upon this while scrolling through some random Amazon Prime short that ended with Pac-Man, uh, offing someone. I mean, happy birthday, Pac-Man? Nothing says “party” like a bit of dystopia.

So Bandai Namco, the minds behind this mind-bender, decided to toss in all sorts of nods to their legacy games. Yeah, they’ve got a timeline going—didn’t know till now. Galaga, Dig Dug, even Mr. Driller? They’re all in this massive galaxy-spanning chaos. But Pac-Man? Nah, he wasn’t part of the madness until now. So picture this: you wake up as Swordsman No. 8 (yep, that’s a name), guided by some Pac-doppelgänger called Puck. And boom, you’re off on a mission wrapped in confusing plot twists about wars and secret operations. Strange references to all those games float around, and honestly, half of them hit me like, “Wait, is that from Galaxian or something?” But the writing? Surprisingly engaging, even with ghosts… sorry, “G-Hosts,” popping up to mess with you in Pac-Man mazes.

Honestly, the story’s just one part of this weird cake. The gameplay is where it’s really at. If you’re into Metroidvanias, there’s some gnarly stuff here. It’s all melee, but early on, that becomes a bit of a headache. Basic moves, and the first big area you hit can be a nightmare if you stumble onto some gnarly bosses, thinking they’re just another part of the ride. Eventually, though, you get these abilities, like air dodges and mechs. Oh yeah, turn into a giant mech called GAIA. Who knew Pac-Man went Gundam, right? And then there’s the whole, uh, munching dead enemies to gather materials to buy stuff? Overkill, much?

Alright, so exploring this is a 15-hour rollercoaster. These places you wander into range from forests with confusing paths to towers that are more like hubs—really keeps you on your toes. Played this mostly on the Switch 2, and while it’s 4K bliss (with a bit of lag when things get crazy), Switch 1 holds up at 720p without breaking too much of a sweat.

Now, I gotta admit, I was skeptical at first, thinking this was some tongue-in-cheek project gone rogue. But diving in, I gotta hand it to the devs. They weren’t just goofing around; it’s clear there’s passion here, using Pac-Man’s weird lore as a backdrop for something genuinely fun. So, here’s to Pac-Man’s wild mid-life crisis; it’s like watching a beloved 80s star getting into punk rock. Weird and totally unforgettable.