Shadow Labyrinth - Switch 2 Review

We’ve all been talking about the ‘Pac-Man Metroidvania’ ever since Shadow Labyrinth was announced at The Game Awards last year, and the community has since realised that the developers, Bandai Namco, actually teased the game even earlier in one of the episodes of Secret Level, the hit animated anthology TV series. Cool, right?

So, quite how do Pac-Man and the metroidvania genre fit together? Is it simply a convenient way to use an existing IP to leverage a new game? Well, let's waka-waka our way around Shadow Labyrinth and find out!

The Good

In Shadow Labyrinth, you play as Number 8, a hooded figure who is accompanied around the world by Puck, a Pac-Man-shaped assistant that floats around you like a little sphere-shaped Navi. Soon it becomes apparent that Puck is the intelligent lifeform out of the two, and Number 8 is merely following orders as you both embark on a journey to escape the doomed planet. Puck uses Number 8 as a kind of proxy to wield weapons, kill monsters and advance the story. The story itself is pretty sparse, but that’s fine if you just focus on the tight combat and the expansive, beautiful world. Number 8 can also temporarily morph into GAIA, which is a large, mecha-type animal who can inflict greater damage and help you traverse over traps and chasms. The general gameplay and puzzles, whether you’re in Number 8 or GAIA form, all dovetail pretty neatly to make it a smooth and enjoyable experience.

Getting from A to B feels like the perfect metroidvania challenge in Shadow Labyrinth; you will breathe a sigh of relief when you see a checkpoint but it doesn’t feel too unfair as well. You need to stay focused, as enemies can attack in a variety of different ways and angles, and coupled with the limited health at your disposal, it makes for some classically tense traversal moments you’d expect to see in any leading title of the genre. The balance, in that regard, is perfect.

Of course, Shadow Labyrinth being a Pac-Man spin-off, there are also a number of sections where Puck can drive along a rail, collecting currency as it goes, a la the arcade classic. It’s not clear exactly why this is necessary, but who cares, as it’s pretty fun!

TL;DR

• Expansive game world and no-frills story
• Tight and well-balance combat
• The Pac-Man segments are a good time!

The Bad

Shadow Labyrinth is a curious game; its various mechanics are all pretty fun in isolation—GAIA, the Pac-Man segments, etc.—however, I’m not convinced they all contribute meaningfully to either the story or the game world. This all leaves me to ask… What’s the point? There’s clearly been a lot of time and effort expended into working on a game that combines so many different facets of gameplay, but I was left feeling the whole Pac-Man element was frankly superfluous. The Pac-Man segments are so sporadic and abstract that it feels more like a mini-game than, say, how the morph ball contributes to the Metroid series. 

Also… Where are the secrets in Shadow Labyrinth?? I mean there are some, but they are minimal. Most of the collectibles are visible out in the open, and you just need to work out how to access them, which most of the time involves taking a different path around the map. Breakable walls/fake walls are very rarely featured here; the mantra of a good metroidvania is ‘Ooh, perhaps there’s something hidden over here’ and rewarding the player for their initiative. I feel in Shadow Labyrinth this element of exploration has been completely overlooked for more simple collectable-gathering gameplay; a real shame.

TL;DR

• Various mechanics feel shoehorned into the gameplay
• Lack of true metroidvania exploration/secret hunting

Final Score: 7/10

Shadow Labyrinth is an expansive and hearty adventure, and you will not feel shortchanged for the sheer amount of hours you will need to sink into it. There are, however, many other more cohesive metroidvanias available on the market at the moment. The combat is nice, as are the graphics, but many of the gameplay components feel a bit out of place, making Shadow Labyrinth feel like a missed opportunity.

Thank you for checking out our Shadow Labyrinth Switch review, thank you to Bandai Namco for providing the review code and thank you to our Patreon Backers for their ongoing support:

• Andrew Caluzzi (Inca Studios / Camped Out)
• Bel Cubitt
• Bobby Jack
• Jack Caven
• Nintendo Maniacs
• RedHero