Shadow Labyrinth

"A good Metroidvania trapped in the shadow of too many better ones."

"Overall, while Shadow Labyrinth doesn’t quite rank among the top-tier Metroidvania games of recent years, it’s definitely worth experiencing at least once. The game offers a good variety of core mechanics, fun character-switching between different creatures, some well-designed boss fights, …"

"Although Pac-Man has starred in games across a wide variety of genres, in 2025 he adds another notch to his revolver: his first Metroidvania succeeds in combining the foundations of the genre with ideas from Toru Iwatani&s;s creation and souls-like …"

"Shadow Labyrinth has a really great premise, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. The progression is too slow to keep things fresh and interesting, the story is lacklustre, and the gameplay just doesn&s;t meet the expectations you …"

"Shadow Labyrinth is a decent Metroidvania experience that doesn&s;t go beyond that. The biggest attraction of this experience is the darker twist it has implemented on the Pac-Man franchise and has been able to create a captivating and mysterious world …"

"Shadow Labyrinth is an earnest attempt at transmogrifying Pac-Man into something more than he is. While a futuristic Metroidvania makes as much sense as anything else, the game fails in many key ways that keep the genre engaging and not …"

"Shadow Labyrinth is undoubtedly an interesting experiment, starting from an idea we&s;d like to see explored more often: thoughtfully modernizing a past title, reviving the key ideas that led to its creation but incorporating them into a modern framework. It&s;s …"

"It doesn&s;t have enough Pac-Man for fans of that franchise, and its Metroidvania elements are too weak to appeal to fans of the genre, so why did they make a Pac-Man Metroidvania? After spending 40 hours with the game, I …"

"Shadow Labyrinth is good if you set your expectations accordingly. The constant corpse eating makes the game feel darker than expected, while the mazes are a nice diversion. The overall mechanics don&s;t stand out compared to other titles, but the …"

"Shadow Labyrinth&s;s strengths lie in its bold reinvention of Pac-Man as a cosmic horror tale, with tight combat and a richly detailed world. The UGSF connections are a treat for Namco fans, nostalgic callbacks without pandering. It’s a love letter …"

"I’m old enough to have grown up with unforgiving games, and so I can appreciate a project that goes against the grain at the risk of alienating modern audiences. Even coming in as a genre appreciator, I felt alienated by …"

"Shadow Labyrinth is a bold experiment that only partially succeeds: a compelling and demanding metroidvania, held back by frustrating design choices and an underwhelming narrative."

"Strangely, while Shadow Labyrinth is a solid Metroidvania that carries inspiration from various sources, it doesn&s;t feel inspired because it leans too heavily on the nostalgia of Puck&s;s Pac-Man sensibilities. Serviceable is the best way to describe Shadow Labyrinth because …"

"An uninspired effort to infuse nostalgic IP with edgy nonsense, Shadow Labrynth offers up some fine enough Metroidvania action but fails to give players much of a reason to care about it beyond sheer novelty. Tucked away in its sprawling …"

"From exploration made tedious by annoying checkpointing to the one-note combat, Shadow Labyrinth is a largely dull adaptation of Pac-Man&s;s gritty Secret Level episode."

"Shadow Labyrinth has a few interesting ideas, but this dark interpretation of PAC-MAN fails to deliver on the fundamentals of a Metroid-like experience."

"Shadow Labyrinth is a hard game to nail down. It does some cool things here and there but is bogged down by poor level design and tedious Metroidvania game play. I wanted to love it, but came away just slightly …"

"Pac-Man in a Metroidvania game? Yeah – Shadow Labyrinth is an intriguing use of a much-loved IP, but the end result leaves a little to be desired. There&s;s fun to be had here, but frustrating design choices, such as a …"

"Shadow Labyrinth moves Pac-Man from his traditional mazes to the caverns of a dying planet, and will likely lose classic arcade fans along the way. But although it makes some gameplay and design mistakes that should have been avoidable, it&s;s …"

"This is an utterly fascinating experience, and a wonderful exercise in a team taking something mundane and being relentlessly creative. Tons of people will probably hate it. But folks who gel with this particular brand of crazy have a potential …"

"Shadow Labyrinth is a title that demonstrates potential in its mechanics, context, and story. However, everything is let down by the frustration of several different elements, such as the extremely large maps, the uneven combat, and more. It&s;s a good …"

"On paper, Shadow Labyrinth is a Metroidvania game that doesn&s;t do anything wrong, but the result is just an average game. It doesn&s;t excel in any area: the gameplay is mediocre and the graphics are uninspiring."

"I had a blast exploring this dark corner of the Namco multiverse that is essentially Pac-Man&s;s mid-life crisis. Shadow Labyrinth is assuredly the most interesting Pac-Man evolution since the hero&s;s 20s. Sometimes the biggest series left turns wind up being …"

"All in all, Shadow Labyrinth is an ambitious reimagining of a classic franchise that works much better than it has any right to to. That said, the presentation is still a bit rusty, and it’s really difficult at times. I …"

"If you&s;re intrigued by Shadow Labyrinth&s;s fresh approach to Pac-Man, I recommend giving it a shot on Switch 2. It provides an intriguing narrative in a foreboding world with varied environments throughout, and PUCK proves to be a compelling character. …"

"Shadow Labyrinth takes Pac-Man in some strange places, but often too poorly designed to really enjoy the brilliant idea behind an anyway good metroidvania."

"Shadow Labyrinth takes the fascinating premise of blending Metroid with Pac-Man and fumbles the execution, offering a bland narrative with one-note combat and tedious exploration"

"Shadow Labyrinth is a very interesting experiment from Bandai Namco. The game clearly has its flaws, but there&s;s also a lot of potential here. If the developers have the opportunity to create a sequel, I&s;m sure they&s;ll take everything that …"

"Shadow Labyrinth is an admirable big swing that places Pac-Man in a strange new space. Unfortunately, while there are some fun elements taken from the arcade classic and a few neat ideas sprinkled in, the majority of the game is …"

"Shadow Labyrinth is a very polished and well-balanced experience that is well worth the effort you will put into learning its mechanics. While its controls could use a bit of tweaking to perfect, it&s;s a game that showcases the best …"

"A dark twist on a classic game, as Swordsman No. 8 and PUCK enter uncharted territory in Shadow Labyrinth."