Shadow Labyrinth may only do the strange elevator level

45 years after the release of Pac-Man, Bandai Namco finally answered ancient questions: “How to play as MetroidVania 2D?” Surely you all wondered, right? Well, don’t ask anymore because we will soon have an answer to the question that scratches the head Labirin shadow on July 18.

At Pax East 2025, direct digital trends with upcoming games and chat with Seigo Aizawa, producer at Bandai Namco, about the new appearance of Pac-Man. Aizawa showed us how the strange game was more in line with the Pac-Man core principle than what was seen at first sight. This may be a sandy metroidvania with an intense boss fight, but this is still the same labyrinth that you play for decades, even in very different light.

Enter the labyrinth

In the Labirin shadowPlayers wake up in a strange world where everyone tries to kill them. The only thing that helps their survival is a creature like Pac-Man who gives them the ability and guides them through a wild planet. Amazon Secret level The episode starring Pac-Man functions as a prequel Labirin shadowAnd watching it will give a better understanding player about what is expected.

“To expand our audience, we want to make something new,” Aizawa tells the digital trend. “We want to make people who never play Pac-Man games to play [Shadow Labyrinth]. When we think about the concept of the game, ‘Dark Pac-Man’ appears. When you think about the dark atmosphere and the concept of a labyrinth, [the] Metroidvania [genre] It is suitable for that. “

Shadow Labyrinth is very fast for this genre. Every attack must be executed with plans in mind. But that is not to say Shadow Labyrinth is not a Pac-Man game still. There is still a labyrinth to pass by players, you will not see it from the eyes of birds. Conversely, players navigate the 2D environment and you have to find out where they will go when they explore.

The tendency of Pac-Man to eat everything that is seen to play a role here too, although in a much more scary way. After the player has finished cutting your enemy, they can take actions that basically turn you into a kiju pac-man that allows them to eat their enemies to get the ability. Aizawa revealed that this is with a design, because the game requires three main pillars known to be Pac-Man: eating, labyrinth, and power up.

That’s not the only thing my friends can do. When I walked through a labyrinth, I was faced with a path that had rails on them. The only way to cross it is to turn into an iconic yellow ball from Arcade Classic. The catch is that the rail is packed with all kinds of traps that try to kill me. If I want to succeed in life, I need to avoid it.

While The Shadow Labyrinth itself is a new location, it is still connected to the familiar universe. Bandai Namco decided to play -playing with UGSF (Universal Gaming Simulation Framework), a narrative device used by the company to connect many games. A clear example of this appeared towards the end of my demonstration. After defeating the main boss, I found an Easter Easter egg that played a little music game.

Aizawa said that this was just one example of how all the games were connected thanks to UGSF. Labirin shadow occurs in a far future, whereas You dew lasts 3,000 years before this match. When players advance through the story, they will find the remnants of other loved Bandai Namco property. Sometimes this will be a simple blink and nod into other games, and at other times they will play a greater role in the story.

The overall gameplay has not disappointed based on what I have played so far. There is a clear sense of progress Metroidvania that gives players a lot of new abilities to unlock, change their tools. Boss battles involved clashes against monsters that were larger than life and the platform felt almost like his own game. Every aspect of working for me so far, which is a pleasant surprise considering how the left field of the field.

Labirin shadow Dark, tense, and gloomy, but it is still very a Pac-Man game in essence. In contrast to other things in the history of this series, I still have fun -happy exploring the maze and eating enemies at the end of the day. Shadow Labyrinth took a large swing and hoped to capture a new audience with the latest Pac-Man iteration. From what I played, Bandai Namco might only do it with something completely new.

Labirin shadow Launched on July 18 for PCs, Playstation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2.