Shadow Labyrinth didn’t make the perfect first impression, although I’m not speaking concerning the sport 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 truly works for a Metroid-style motion sport.
For many who didn’t watch Secret Stage, Shadow Labyrinth places you within the position of an unnamed, hooded swordmaster, who awakens to seek out himself inside some form of darkish alien labyrinth. He’s greeted by a floating drone named Puck, who serves as each a information and a companion to outlive on this treacherous world. Puck, after all, is Pac-Man.
For probably the most half, the sport performs lots like a typical Metroidvania. It’s a side-scrolling sport that’s heavy on motion, like Metroid Dread, and as you defeat bosses and accumulate gold, you’ll slowly develop your arsenal of expertise, which opens up the sport additional. The twisting, maze-like map is filled with useless ends you can’t discover till you get the correct skill, which embrace staples like a double leap and grappling hook. It’s also possible to craft numerous upgrades, each everlasting and momentary, so you may customise the character to your liking. It’s a satisfying loop of exploration, fight, and problem-solving (often involving some type of platforming sequence), punctuated by tense, elaborate boss fights that rely lots on sample memorization.
I might 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, form of like Pac-Man transferring his means by way of a basic arcade maze. It’s paying homage to Samus’ morph ball skill, besides it’s relegated to predetermined areas of the map. Afterward, there are precise Pac-Man mazes to play by way of, too, full with pellets and ghosts to eat.
The sport is at its finest whenever you’re rapidly 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 in a position 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 acquire the flexibility to briefly fuse collectively to create a power-up that’s form of like a mech go well with, which you should utilize to devastate most enemies and even keep away from environmental hazards. Oh, and whenever you’re a mech, you may eat your enemies to achieve supplies wanted for these essential unlocks.
One of many good issues about Shadow Labyrinth is that, in contrast to the animated quick that preceded it, it doesn’t overdo it with the grim tone. It might probably get somewhat bloody whenever you’re slicing by way of creatures, nevertheless it’s not gratuitous. Actually, very similar to Dread, the oppressive tone creates an fascinating type of rigidity, 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 big and eats the corpses of bosses, however these are principally straightforward to disregard if all you need to do is discover a fancy map, Metroid-style.
That’s actually what the sport presents. 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 fascinating twist for these well-versed in Metroidvanias. Secret Stage could have been a business, nevertheless it was a fairly poor one: it missed what truly makes Shadow Labyrinth value enjoying.
Shadow Labyrinth launches on July 18th on the PS5, Xbox, Nintendo Swap, and PC.
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