PAX East 2025: Shadow Labyrinth Reinvents Pac-Man

Reimagining Pac-Man, huh? I mean, there are all these ways you could bring back that yellow muncher. Like, you could cook up something wild like Pac-Man 2 where you sort of guide him like a lost puppy — yeah, by tossing rocks at him. Who thought that was a good idea? Anyway, there’s a more hooked option. Picture him as a sidekick in a Metroidvania game called Shadow Labyrinth. Now that’s got my attention.

So, I was at PAX East 2025 — chaotic energy all around, seriously. Tried out Shadow Labyrinth on a Nintendo Switch in handheld mode. Funny thing, next to me, a guy was playing it on a big PC screen. The game ties into that Amazon show, Secret Level. They say it’s a prequel, so maybe check that out first? Just FYI, it ran at 30 FPS on Switch. Nothing new there; Switch is kind of ancient tech now, right? It ran smoothly at 60 FPS on PC. Not a total buzzkill, but, you know, smoother is always better. The Bandai Namco folks promised it’ll run at 60 FPS on the upcoming Switch 2. Can’t wait.

Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, the demo. It gave a taste of the good stuff: platforming and combat. So, there I was, making the character hop, double hop, and dash from here to there. Even grapple points were in the mix! You become this tiny Pac-Man, gobbling pellets, dodging buzz saws. They even had this hardcore platforming bit, but I bailed. Conventions aren’t my vibe for skill mastery — gotta be alone for that.

Oh, and combat! Thank goodness for the move list on screen — too many buttons to remember otherwise. Attack, dodge, zap, special skills — you name it. Pac-Man turns into a giant, chomping foes. Yep, for real. The battle flow was just right; not insane but challenging enough. There’s parrying too — made me think of that boss in Metroid Dread, for some reason. Looked pretty similar.

After beating the boss, swallowed him whole to snag a laser attack. Super helpful, because the next bit had this wall I had to destroy. Then, some weird enemies showed up, ones you couldn’t slice up with a sword. Laughing here, but my buddy clued in — you gotta inflate them with a grapple hook, just like Dig Dug. There’s a nod to that in this game. Spoke to the rep who hinted at more Easter eggs from Bandai Namco games. Fingers crossed for Galaga bits!

Set your calendars for July 18. Shadow Labyrinth hits Switch, Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam. Three editions, folks! Starting at 30 bucks going up to 60. There’s even a cool map with hidden stuff exposed by a black light — totally rad and worth it.

Walked away pretty darn curious. A gritty Metroidvania loaded with Bandai Namco nostalgia sounds bizarre on paper, right? But it actually works. And anything drawing inspiration from Hollow Knight? Say no more, I’m in.