A gritty Pac-Man reboot makes for surprisingly strong Metroid-style motion

Shadow Labyrinth didn’t make the perfect first impression, although I’m not speaking concerning the recreation itself. The idea of a gritty reboot of Pac-Man first reared its unusual head in Secret Stage, an anthology that turned notable video video games into animated shorts that principally felt like prolonged commercials. And that’s precisely what the episode “Circle,” which reimagined Pac-Man as a blood-soaked survival story, turned out to be. However as off-putting because the episode was, it seems that the premise really works for a Metroid-style motion recreation.

For many who didn’t watch Secret Stage, Shadow Labyrinth places you within the function of an unnamed, hooded swordmaster, who awakens to seek out himself inside some type of darkish alien labyrinth. He’s greeted by a floating drone named Puck, who serves as each a information and a associate to outlive on this treacherous world. Puck, after all, is Pac-Man.

For essentially the most half, the sport performs rather a lot like a typical Metroidvania. It’s a side-scrolling recreation that’s heavy on motion, like Metroid Dread, and as you defeat bosses and accumulate gold, you’ll slowly develop your arsenal of abilities, which opens up the sport additional. The twisting, maze-like map is filled with useless ends you can’t discover till you get the appropriate capability, which embody staples like a double bounce and grappling hook. You may as well craft varied upgrades, each everlasting and momentary, so you’ll be able to customise the character to your liking. It’s a satisfying loop of exploration, fight, and problem-solving (normally involving some sort of platforming sequence), punctuated by tense, elaborate boss fights that rely rather a lot on sample memorization.

I could possibly be describing loads of different video games right here, however there are a couple of parts that make Shadow Labyrinth distinctive. And it principally has to do with Puck. Scattered all through the labyrinth are rails that Puck can trip on, type of like Pac-Man shifting his method by means of a traditional arcade maze. It’s paying homage to Samus’ morph ball capability, besides it’s relegated to predetermined areas of the map. Afterward, there are precise Pac-Man mazes to play by means of, too, full with pellets and ghosts to eat.

The sport is at its finest whenever you’re shortly swapping between Puck and the swordmaster, both to navigate a difficult platforming sequence or defeat enemies. In a single early boss battle, I used to be ready to make use of a rail on the ceiling to keep away from projectiles, after which drop behind the enemy for some fast sneak assaults. Early on, Puck and the swordmaster achieve the power to briefly fuse collectively to create a power-up that’s type of like a mech swimsuit, which you should use to devastate most enemies and even keep away from environmental hazards. Oh, and whenever you’re a mech, you’ll be able to eat your enemies to achieve supplies wanted for these necessary unlocks.

One of many good issues about Shadow Labyrinth is that, in contrast to the animated brief that preceded it, it doesn’t overdo it with the grim tone. It could possibly get a bit bloody whenever you’re slicing by means of creatures, but it surely’s not gratuitous. In truth, very similar to Dread, the oppressive tone creates an attention-grabbing sort of pressure, one which makes the uncommon moments of respite really feel particularly welcome. That mentioned, the cutscenes are self-serious and convoluted, and there are foolish moments the place Puck turns into large and eats the corpses of bosses, however these are principally simple to disregard if all you wish to do is discover a posh map, Metroid-style.

That’s actually what the sport affords. The fight is strong, the platforming is difficult, and the bosses are thrilling. And fortunately, the tone principally doesn’t intrude on the expertise, whereas the Pac-Man theme brings simply sufficient new so as to add an attention-grabbing twist for these well-versed in Metroidvanias. Secret Stage might have been a industrial, but it surely was a reasonably poor one: it missed what really makes Shadow Labyrinth price enjoying.

_{Shadow Labyrinth launches on July 18th on the PS5, Xbox, Nintendo Change, and PC.}