Pac-Man has at all times been at residence inside mazes stuffed with enemies making an attempt to kill you, so the transfer to a Metroidvania does not really feel like that large of a leap. Having mentioned that, Shadow Labyrinth takes Bandai Namco’s 45-year-old mascot in a wild new route, putting him in a darkish, sci-fi world that the informal onlooker might not realise is said to the arcade hero in any respect.
This can be a side-scrolling Metroidvania that follows the blueprint fairly faithfully. You navigate a labyrinthine map with quite a few pathways, lots of that are blocked off till you discover new talents. Fight begins off feeling quite simple, however once more, talents and upgrades make it extra advanced.
It is a construction many can be aware of, and it is executed competently right here. The sport’s map is huge and complicated, stuffed with secrets and techniques and unreachable areas teasing you with their presence.
As with many Metroidvanias, it takes some time for Shadow Labyrinth to heat up. When you begin unlocking new talents, reminiscent of an air sprint, parry, and grappling hook, it turns into a extra attention-grabbing recreation, however it takes a number of hours to get there.
The story is equally threadbare at the start. You play as Swordsman No. 8, a soul summoned right into a bodily type by Puck, a floating yellow orb. The aim of that is the prevailing thriller, as is what precisely has occurred on the unusual planet you discover.
Clearly, the layers are peeled again as you make progress, however frankly, the narrative is not significantly engrossing, affected by myriad meaningless correct nouns and character names you will doubtless by no means bear in mind.
The gameplay and design should carry it ahead, then, and whereas a lot of the sport is by-the-numbers by way of what’s anticipated of a Metroidvania, the Pac-Man touches and distinctive facets give it a carry.
Current in sure areas are rails that, when activated, you may navigate as Pac-Man, controlling as you’d anticipate him to. This lets you navigate to new areas and supplies a contact of traversal selection.
This is not the one transformation you will make, although; as soon as charged, you may flip right into a mech, a limited-time power-up helpful for clearing rooms of enemies or dealing a giant blow to bosses.
You cost up the mech by consuming enemies you’ve got defeated, and this additionally good points you varied sources you will must buy or make sure objects and upgrades.
Whenever you defeat a boss, Puck will rework right into a nightmarish black-and-red imaginative and prescient of Pac-Man and eat them, granting you a brand new skill.
It is parts like these that present Shadow Labyrinth some much-needed distinctive options, as a result of, as we talked about, it’s in any other case a reasonably commonplace Metroidvania motion platformer.
There’s some good selection in environments as you progress via, although — harsh metallic services, desert lands, a large tree, and extra. The artwork fashion can look fairly good in locations, however there are some areas that look fairly blurred, and it may come throughout as wanting fairly low-cost.
The identical will be mentioned of enemies; there are some attention-grabbing foes and managers you will go up in opposition to (and hardcore Bamco followers will little question spot some far-reaching references right here and there), however animation work and a few odd designs left us somewhat chilly.
Later into the expertise you achieve entry to a collection of phases which can be extra recognisably Pac-Man. These extra arcadey sequences are enjoyable asides that change up the well-worn formulation, and are arguably among the extra pleasant components of Shadow Labyrinth.
The quick tempo and speedy enjoyable of those phases sadly leaves the primary recreation feeling and looking fairly bloated.
It isn’t a brief recreation; you are wanting within the tens of hours, and whereas that is pretty regular for a Metroidvania like this, Shadow Labyrinth does not fairly have the standard wanted to maintain that playtime.
Platforming and fight can really feel somewhat wishy-washy. They don’t seem to be horrible, and afterward when you have got a number of talents and perks these facets are a lot improved, however they’re by no means as tight as you’d hope for.
We’re additionally not followers of the checkpointing; main save factors are just a bit too few and much between. It makes going again to earlier areas really feel like a chore, as you will must trek via giant stretches to achieve new objects or areas, they usually might not be that rewarding.
It is a difficult recreation to advocate. There are some enjoyable parts in right here, however they’re surrounded by a just-okay Metroidvania motion title. At instances the formulation works and it may really feel novel and enjoyable, however solely actually when it feels most like Pac-Man and least like the sport it really is.
Conclusion
Shadow Labyrinth is an admirable large swing that locations Pac-Man in a wierd new house. Sadly, whereas there are some enjoyable parts taken from the arcade basic and some neat concepts sprinkled in, the vast majority of the sport is a by-the-numbers Metroidvania that does not fairly come collectively. It appears like a recreation constructed to please Pac-fans and hardcore gamers that lap up the likes of Hole Knight, however the finish result’s one thing that underserves each. It isn’t unhealthy, however with so many unbelievable 2D Metroidvanias today, this one does not fairly do sufficient to measure up.
