Pac-Man, as iconic as he’s, has felt like he’s been in a little bit of a rut lately. The somewhat pleasant PAC-MAN 99 apart, there’s an simple sense that the collection has merely been unable to interrupt away from its core ideas. So, no matter what gimmicks are chucked in to justify a brand new entry — Battle Royale in Chomp Champs, infinite runner in Pac-Man 256, co-op in Championship Version 2 Plus — I typically come away pondering, ‘Yep, it’s positively Pac-Man.’ This is likely to be sufficient for some, however greater than 40 years after its arcade debut, many are hoping for a little bit of a shake-up.
Enter Shadow Labyrinth. Developed at Bandai Namco Studios, this side-scrolling journey is worlds other than what you’ve doubtless come to anticipate from the pill-muncher. Set in a quiet, foreboding panorama with varied biomes, the closest comparability that got here to thoughts was Hole Knight. Certainly, Shadow Labyrinth takes many cues from Crew Cherry’s masterpiece, together with the exact means that foreign money scatters on the bottom from fallen enemies, sizzling springs to get better well being, an eccentric service provider lurking underground, and a trendy, virtually hand-crafted artwork type.
But to name Shadow Labyrinth a straight-up Metroidvania can be barely deceptive. Sure, there are a number of areas with a couple of branching pathways, and also you do have the flexibility to teleport to places you’ve already visited, nevertheless it principally feels such as you’re being pushed down a reasonably linear path; pushed from checkpoint to checkpoint. This isn’t essentially a foul factor, it’s simply one thing to bear in mind. It has a lot in widespread with Hole Knight, however that sense of being misplaced in a dense, advanced world isn’t one among them.
You play as Swordsman No. 8, who initially of the sport discovers PUCK (a completely unsubtle reference to Pac-Man’s unique identify, Puck-Man), a mysterious yellow orb who enlists No. 8 to accompany it on a mission. PUCK is — as nicely it ought to be — the star of the present, and whereas it’s your companion all through the sport, its motivations and character left me feeling considerably uneasy. It’s very a lot a personality laser-focused on its aim, and it doesn’t care who or what stands in its means.
And so, with the ability to assault enemies granted, you set off in your journey. At first, you may have a fundamental three-hit combo at your disposal, however by defeating sure boss characters, PUCK can remodel right into a hideous beast and gobble them up, thus offering new skills. You’ll achieve an additional, extra highly effective hit to your combo, a parry transfer, the flexibility to dodge in mid-air, and extra. It’s all fairly customary stuff, however there’s a great sense of development as you slowly turn into extra highly effective all through the sport.
But probably the most fascinating energy is the flexibility to rework into GAIA, a ferocious mech that gives momentary invincibility when you eviscerate your enemies. It solely lasts for about 30 seconds, so it’s finest left for moments the place you would possibly really feel outnumbered or overpowered. It’s notably helpful throughout boss fights, throughout which you’ll often chip away a few quarter of a boss’ well being meter whereas in GAIA kind, offered you’re aggressive sufficient together with your assaults.
GAIA also can gobble up the our bodies of your fallen foes, even when you’re in customary Swordsman kind. By clicking the fitting stick whereas standing in entrance of a physique, a disembodied model will seize the physique and shove it in its mouth whereas emitting the identical sound that basic Pac-Man makes when consuming a ghost. This does two issues: firstly, it helps you to construct up extra power to unleash GAIA in its full kind; and secondly, it grants you particular components primarily based on the enemy sort. These components can then be used to spice up your skills at sure save factors.
To date, so very not Pac-Man, proper? Properly, there are moments within the sport that really feel a bit extra acquainted should you’re after a extra conventional ghost-gobbling expertise. Every so often, you’ll come throughout blue surfaces that, in your common Swordsman kind, are inaccessible. When you contact it, nonetheless, you’ll flip into PUCK and race throughout the floor, together with your mouth opening and shutting quickly, identical to the old-school video games.
On this kind, you may journey up vertical partitions and even on ceilings, and PUCK will gobble up any collectible foreign money alongside the best way, with the basic sound impact current and proper. You too can bounce from totally different surfaces, and your assault on this kind is a extremely neat round movement with the sword. My solely criticism of this mechanic is that it doesn’t present up half as a lot because it ought to – it’s actually cool.
However you then’ve additionally received the hidden maze sections, too. Accessed by way of stone sculptures that nearly seem like gravestones, these present the quintessential Pac-Man expertise, albeit with PUCK’s particular new skills. It’s a pleasant little throwback to the basic arcade method for Pac-Man, and people who will not be eager on Shadow Labyrinth’s new course will discover some consolation right here.
General, nonetheless, one of the simplest ways I can describe Shadow Labyrinth’s gameplay is ‘ok’. It’s completely serviceable and gratifying, however there’s little or no right here that hasn’t been executed elsewhere and higher. The Hole Knight comparability specifically is unavoidable and I’ve a tough time believing that it wasn’t Bandai Namco’s major affect. You may perceive why a workforce would wish to borrow parts from such a stellar sport, however goodness, it’s such a excessive bar, and Shadow Labyrinth sadly by no means manages to achieve it.
That stated, the environments are persistently gratifying, with loads to distinguish one biome from one other. I notably loved the sci-fi-focused Large Black Tower space, with music that nearly jogged my memory of the Xenoblade Chronicles collection – fairly wild stuff.
A whole lot of the identical enemy varieties can crop up, although, virtually to the purpose the place I’d shake my head and exclaim, “Actually, you guys once more?!” The boss characters are a spotlight, although, and infrequently present hefty challenges. I’d favor the checkpoints to be a bit of extra beneficiant in these cases, nevertheless it’s not a serious problem. Maybe a easy ‘Retry’ possibility can be useful in a future replace.
Efficiency on Change 2 is fairly first rate for probably the most half, and anyone who buys the Change 1 model can get a free improve on the newer console. Throughout the majority of main areas, you’re a stable 60fps with robust picture high quality. Some areas, notably these set exterior, can stutter sometimes, however I didn’t discover it to be distracting. Given the aesthetic and the general lack of visible results, I’d have anticipated the body price to be constant all through, so it’s a bit of disappointing that it’s not. Nonetheless, just like the gameplay itself, it’s ok.
