PAX East 2025: Shadow Labyrinth Reimagines Pac-Man

Reimagining Pac-Man—yeah, that’s a thing. But how do you pull it off? Maybe by tossing rocks at him and pointing him left and right? Sounds off, right? But what about throwing him into a Metroidvania game called Shadow Labyrinth? Now, that’s got some spice.

So, I got to sneak a peek at this game during PAX East 2025. Tried it on a Nintendo Switch (handheld mode, obviously), while someone else was playing it on a massive PC setup. It’s based on some episode from the Amazon show Secret Level. Didn’t catch that episode? It might give some much-needed backstory. The game ran at 30 FPS on Switch—not shocking, given the age of that thing. But on PC? Smooth 60 FPS. And here’s a twist for ya: the Bandai Namco folks said it’ll hit that sweet 60 FPS on the Nintendo Switch 2.

Jumping right into gameplay, it’s about—wait, lost my train of thought. Oh yeah, platforming and combat. You play as this guy, Swordsman No. 8. The dude jumps, double jumps, and dashes like a classic action hero. There’s all this stuff to swing off and rails to zoom down as a mini Pac-Man—buzz saws and all. They mentioned some hardcore platforming challenge, but honestly, I bailed after a few tries. Need my zen space to master that stuff.

Then there’s combat. Buttons everywhere! You can attack, dodge, and even turn Pac-Man into this colossal creature to munch the bad guys. I love a good parry move, reminds me of fights in Metroid Dread. Anyway, if you forget the buttons, they’re right there onscreen—thank goodness for that.

Beat the big boss, and gobble him down for a laser attack. Super handy because right after, there’s this wall that needs blasting through. Then, deep in a maze-like place, came some crazy enemies. Not killable with a sword—what? Turns out, you gotta pump them with air using a grapple hook till they pop. Yeah, like Dig Dug! The rep hinted at more Namco nods sprinkled across the game—hoping for Galaga somewhere in there.

Mark your calendars—Shadow Labyrinth drops July 18 on a bunch of platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, you name it. There’s this nifty edition with a black light revealing map secrets—sounds wild, right? Prices go from $30 to $60, bargain for the mystery buffs.

After my little playthrough, I’m curious. I mean, a gritty Bandai Namco Metroidvania? Shouldn’t work, but somehow, it clicks. And any game inspired by Hollow Knight? Signed up already.