- Publisher: Bandai Namco Games
- Release Date: Jul 18, 2025
- Also On: Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Switch, Xbox Series X
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
Jul 17, 2025Shadow Labyrinth is a simple and solid game that feels more like a thank you than anything else. Fans of the genre it now calls home, as well as fans of Pac-Man, get to enjoy a whole new take on the series and the world they belong to. The visuals add to the nostalgic feeling while still adding a new world and experience for players to fight their way through. There's satisfying Metroidvania combat and exploration, a new story to experience and a ton of references to games that we all know and love within this universe.
-
Aug 3, 2025It has a slow start, but soon after, it picks up. The world can feel hollow and monotonous, but it can also be a delight to explore. The visual identity starts to fade away, but it’s able to give love to the game it’s based on. When the difficulty spikes, it can be annoying, but also extremely rewarding. I died a lot, I got lost a lot, I got stuck a lot, but I also couldn’t stop playing. Shadow Labyrinth may be rough around the edges, but it is also one of the most interesting Metroidvanias I have played in a while—one I know I will keep playing for quite a while.
-
Jul 18, 2025All 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 hope you’re prepared to spend six tries to get past almost every boss and nasty platforming section.
-
Aug 21, 2025Shadow Labyrinth is equal parts magnificent and frustrating. The action is stellar, the setting – largely made up of deep-cut references to Namco’s arcade history – is uniquely fascinating, and the retro Pac-Man gameplay is perhaps the best the franchise has ever offered. At the same time, it makes exploration such a chore that I swore off finishing it and stepped away from it more than a few times. I always came back, though, which goes to show just what an incredible job the developers have done here. Even when I hated what I was doing, it was always a pleasure to engage with, and there aren’t a lot of games I can say the same about.
-
Jul 17, 2025A good Metroidvania trapped in the shadow of too many better ones.
-
Jan 16, 2026Shadow 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't stand out compared to other titles, but the basics are performed well enough that the game remains enjoyable. The presentation is good but not great, while the story and overall premise exists more as an exercise in head-scratching than something you're going to want to remember. Again, the game is better than expected but not extraordinary; Metroidvania fans will get some enjoyment out of this before moving on to stronger titles.
-
Jul 27, 2025It's impossible to remain indifferent to Shadow Labyrinth. Behind a modest package and a slightly (very) outlandish promise, it's a work that's both respectful and subversive, tender and metaphysical, ingenious and technically imperfect. We're dealing here with a radical author's game stuck in the tight-fitting costume of a forty-year-old license, a gamer's manifesto for gamers, and a profound homage to an entire history of Japanese video games. It's not a classic, nor a blockbuster, but it's certainly a sincere and dense experience that more than deserves its favorite label.
-
Jul 22, 2025Shadow Labyrinth is a sold Metrovania experience but fails a little on its execution.
-
Jul 17, 2025Shadow Labyrinth isn’t a bad game by any means, it is just one that carries with it a sense of missed opportunity and sometimes that stings a little more.
-
Jul 21, 2025Shadow Labyrinth is such a fascinating reinvention of PAC-MAN that completely changes the concept of what a PAC-MAN game can be. It’s a completely unapologetic, brutal reimagining that fully commits to this vision. It pays off in its best moments, whether you’re fighting a huge boss or weaving through some difficult platforming, but the punishing early game and confusing design choices really weigh it down. It’s far from the most flawless Metroidvania, but if you can stomach the difficulty, it’s a compelling new PAC-MAN experience.
-
Aug 11, 2025Shadow Labyrinth is actually a Metroidvania with some great ideas, but it feels like it was released before it was fully cooked. While the paper-cut character designs, some intriguing levels, and the perk system hold promise, the lack of practical utility for special abilities (and, of course, perks), unnecessary difficulty, and the game's failure to break away from outdated conventions—unlike examples like Prince of Persia: Lost Crown, which breathed new life into the genre—ultimately reduce the experience to an average one.
-
Edge MagazineAug 8, 2025Ultimately, there's a good Pac-Man game buried beneath the hours of Shadow Labyrinth's trend-chasing mediocrity. [Issue#414, p.116]
-
Jul 27, 2025Despite everything I've just said, I didn't have a terrible time with Shadow Labyrinth. There are way too many frustrating moments, the story is mind-numbingly dull, and a lot of what you're doing is monotonous. Yet, for long periods, it's also merely just fine. It's a by-the-numbers metroidvania woven together with an occasional Pac-Man remix. An odd combination, for sure, and one I wish had a better game built around it, but at least we'll always have that one Secret Level episode.
-
Jul 23, 2025Shadow Labyrinth starts strong by doubling down on the weirdest pivot an old and beloved video game character has ever made, but 30ish hours later, I struggle to find any element of this metroidvania that wasn't done better somewhere else years ago. The MAZEs, where it’s ironically the most like its cardinal inspiration, are rad re-imaginings of the original Pac-Man formula that could make a decent game all by themselves. Everything else, from the exploration made tedious by a lack of direction and annoying checkpointing to the one-note combat that adds very little nuance outside of mashing and bashing, makes playing Shadow Labyrinth a largely dull experience. Sitting through the dialogue and sorting through this story were my greatest challenges, as my brain wandered its seemingly endless maze of lore chasing the ghosts of the intense, affecting promise teased by the Secret Level short this unexpected adaptation is based on.