When thinking about the most iconic and well known video game characters, it’s relatively easy to immediately point towards the colourful faces of mascots like Mario and Sonic. There was a time long ago where Pac-Man would have been the obvious choice though, back in those arcade days that are hard to imagine in 2025. There are few arcade games as fun to play as Pac-Man in the modern age, and I have a whole lot of core memories involving the maze chomping game. I’ll never forget my Nana screaming as the ghosts came so close to taking a life from me, as I deftly dodged their path as a young gamer playing the NES version of the game at her house. It’s been a hot minute since a must play Pac-Man game released (with most modern releases consisting of remakes and collections of the classics) so imagine my surprise when the grim dark Metroidvania Shadow Labyrinth arrived.
The sci-fi story of Shadow Labyrinth isn’t the easiest to summarise without spoiling something, so I’ll have to be a bit vague here. You play as Swordman No.8, who is the eighth soul that floating yellow robot Puck has tried to bind to a body. The little floating ball is doing this to try and take an alien planet back from forces of evil, or at least that’s what you’re told anyway. With no real choice but to do Puck’s bidding, you’ll be exploring this dangerous world in an attempt to get stronger and eventually purge it of G-hosts. Encounters with mysterious characters and memory logs will give you more details about the past wars of this world and the creatures that inhabit it, but you’ll have to find them to unearth the truth.
Controlling Swordman feels great, but upon your arrival to this twisted world your abilities will admittedly be somewhat lacking. This is a Metroidvania after all, so prepare to manage with a basic jump and not much else for a while. Once you start getting things like the air dash and the ability to grapple though you’ll be flowing across the planet like water, at least until you get locked in an arena with space dinosaurs and laser turrets.
The combat in Shadow Labyrinth is brutal, and it’s particularly easy to die if you don’t get into the mindset of dodging incoming attacks by rolling through them. Enemies hit hard and fast, and there were plenty of times where when I wasn’t paying attention I’d lose all my health against even fairly familiar enemies. Even with later game combat abilities like flashy special attacks and the blessed party. Especially in boss fights you’ll need to manage your energy to ensure you don’t run out and lose the ability to dodge for a few seconds, which is easier said that done.
When all else fails though, you can always pull the trigger and transform into a massive Pac-Man mech that’s invulnerable to damage. This only lasts so long, but always feels great when the alternative is certain death. You can even use it when navigating the world to get past otherwise deadly sections, although you’ll need to devour enough enemies to power this ability up first.
I’d say the most iconic thing about Pac-Man as a character is the fact he eats things, and that carries across to Shadow Labyrinth. With a click of the right stick your ally Puck will take over your body and chow down on the remains of any enemies, powering up and absorbing any materials for you to use on perks later. You’ll be devouring a lot on your quest, and while it sometimes feels a little long-winded to gather useful bits, it is generally worth it.
Shadow Labyrinth features a load of ways to make yourself stronger, from perks you can equip to upgrades you’ll collect hidden about the world. With limited slots you’ll need to select perks wisely, but their powerful effects like reducing energy cost to roll or the ability to see enemy health bars are hugely appreciated. The usual Metroidvania upgrades apply here too, with health boosts and clumps of currency hidden away in hard to reach places you’ll need to backtrack to.
Throughout the hefty runtime of this otherworldly adventure you’ll have new abilities and ideas thrown at you at a rapid pace, ensuring you never get bored of the same old exploration. Even huge parts of the game like the old school Pac-Man mazes (admittedly with more than a twist or two) are locked away and will take hours and hours of playtime and dozens of boss fights to unlock. The areas you’ll be traveling through are varied too, with forests full of deadly acid and giant mechanised bases made of vanishing platforms and tricky lasers to explore.
Shadow Labyrinth is one of the best Metroidvanias I’ve played this year, despite having a few issues. The Labyrinth aspect is one of these, especially with very few goal markers to help you understand where you need to go next. In the opening hours there’s also some particularly awkward climbing that’s tough to get to grips with, although thankfully this stops being an issue once you can grapple.
I still can’t quite believe a dark sci-fi Pac-Man spinoff game is one of my favourite games of the year so far, but Shadow Labyrinth is just that bloody impressive. It’s full of clever ideas, challenging boss fights, and bizarre connections to one of the earliest great video games. It doesn’t pull punches and will require all of your attention, and if that sounds like what you need right now then get ready to start devouring.
