Shadow Labyrinth may succeed with its unconventional selling point.

      Forty-five years after Pac-Man's debut, Bandai Namco is finally addressing the long-standing question: "How would it function as a 2D Metroidvania?" Surely, you’ve all been curious about this, right? Well, worry no more, as we'll soon discover the answer with Shadow Labyrinth set to release on July 18.

      At PAX East 2025, Digital Trends got to try out the forthcoming game and spoke with Seigo Aizawa, a producer at Bandai Namco, regarding Pac-Man’s new appearance. Aizawa demonstrated how this unconventional game remains faithful to the core principles of Pac-Man more than it may initially seem. Although it’s a gritty Metroidvania featuring challenging boss battles, it's still the same maze-navigating eat-em-up you’ve enjoyed for years, just presented in a distinctly different manner.

      Navigating the maze

      In Shadow Labyrinth, players find themselves waking up in a bizarre world where danger lurks at every turn. The only ally in this treacherous environment is a Pac-Man-like creature that grants abilities and navigates them through a brutal world. Additionally, Amazon's Secret Level episode featuring Pac-Man serves as a prologue to Shadow Labyrinth, providing insights into what players can expect.

      “To broaden our audience, we aimed to create something fresh,” Aizawa explained to Digital Trends. “We wanted to attract those who have never played a Pac-Man game to experience [Shadow Labyrinth]. When conceptualizing the game, the idea of ‘Dark Pac-Man’ emerged. A dark atmosphere and maze concept align perfectly with the Metroidvania genre.”

      Shadow Labyrinth is particularly fast-paced for its genre. Every attack must be executed with strategy in mind. However, that doesn’t mean Shadow Labyrinth isn’t still fundamentally a Pac-Man game. Players will still traverse a maze, but this time, it won’t be from a bird’s-eye perspective. Instead, they’ll navigate through 2D settings and figure out their paths as they explore.

      Pac-Man’s instinct to consume everything in sight is also significant, albeit in a more sinister way. Once players defeat enemies, they can perform an action that effectively transforms them into a Pac-Man Kiju, enabling them to devour foes to acquire new abilities. Aizawa noted that this design was intentional, emphasizing the three essential elements of Pac-Man: eating, mazes, and power-ups.

      But that’s not the only functionality of the Pac-Man companion. As I navigated through the mazes, I encountered paths adorned with rails. To cross these, I had to transform into that iconic yellow sphere from the classic arcade game. However, the challenge lay in the numerous traps on the rails that posed threats. To survive, I had to dodge them skillfully.

      While the Shadow Labyrinth is a new setting, it still connects to a recognizable universe. Bandai Namco chose to utilize the UGSF (Universal Gaming Simulation Framework), a narrative device employed to link many of its titles. A good illustration of this appeared towards the end of my demo. After defeating the primary boss, I discovered a Dig-Dug easter egg that featured a snippet of the game’s music.

      Aizawa indicated that this is just one instance of how all the games interlink via the UGSF. Shadow Labyrinth is set in a distant future, while Dig Dug occurs 3,000 years prior. As players advance through the narrative, they will encounter remnants from other cherished Bandai Namco franchises. Sometimes these will be simple nods to other games, while at other times, they’ll have more significant narrative implications.

      Based on my experience so far, the gameplay is satisfying. There's a clear sense of Metroidvania progression, offering players numerous new abilities to unlock and modify their toolkit. The boss battles are thrilling confrontations against larger-than-life creatures, and the platforming feels engaging in its own right. Overall, I’ve found each element pleasing, which is a nice surprise considering the unconventional nature of the concept.

      Shadow Labyrinth is dark, edgy, and grim, yet still retains its identity as a Pac-Man game at its core. Despite being quite different from anything in the game’s history, I continue to enjoy exploring mazes and devouring enemies. Shadow Labyrinth is making a bold move in hopes of drawing in a new audience with this fresh take on Pac-Man. Based on what I played, Bandai Namco might just succeed with something that feels completely new.

      Shadow Labyrinth will be released on July 18 for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2.