I still remember my dad introducing me to games in the early ’90s with Pac-Man, Alley Cat, Prince of Persia, and more back then on our computer. I didn’t play much of Pac-Man after that, with the likes of Jazz Jackrabbit, DOOM, Heretic, Jill of the Jungle, and more occupying all my time. I remember playing a lot of Pac-Man World, but then I had another big break from the maze-chase series. It wasn’t until Arcade Archives Pac-Man that I started playing more Pac-Man. Revisiting Pac-Man World through the remake was also a great experience because it reminded me how much I enjoy the IP. Despite all of that, I hadn’t spent much time with the many spin-off games like Pac-Man 256 and the like.
That brings us to Shadow Labyrinth, a game I’ve been fascinated by almost all the way, but also disappointed with for a few reasons. When it was revealed, it initially looked like a Code Vein (Bandai Namco’s action RPG) spin-off 2D game, but I was very surprised to see it confirmed as a new Pac-Man project. I’ve had my eye on it ever since, and I’ve been playing the game across Switch, Switch 2, PS5, and Steam over the last week or so. I’m going to focus on Shadow Labyrinth Nintendo Switch 2 Edition for this review, as that’s the version I’ve been spending the most time with. It is also quite an interesting port compared to other platforms.
Shadow Labyrinth takes the traditional Pac-Man maze-chase formula and blends it into a dark action-adventure experience with Metroidvania elements. So, while you do have traditional Pac-Man gameplay sections, Shadow Labyrinth is more of an action-adventure side-scrolling game that integrates the lore of Pac-Man and other classic Bandai Namco games to deliver a fascinating but flawed experience.
After a bizarre and confusing opening that has you controlling an unnamed mech hacking and slashing your way through other mechs and watching cut-scenes that don’t initially make sense, you gain control of Swordsman No. 8 in a world that blends eerie caves with ruins that wouldn’t feel out of place in a sci-fi game. You soon run into what appears to be a Pac-Man-like robot in Puck. Puck is your guide and companion, and you are introduced to your basic sword combo, dodging, checkpoints, save points, healing, and being able to transform for the traditional Pac-Man maze-chase sections sprinkled into Shadow Labyrinth. I was a bit worried that these sections might feel tacked on, but the developer has done a fantastic job of integrating them into the level design and even in boss fights.
After the opening hour or so, you even unlock the ability to transform into a mech and devour enemy carcasses to get items you can use later on. Shadow Labyrinth initially seems a bit shallow with its gameplay, but the developer has managed to hook me after a few hours of play with a constant challenge, but again, some of the boss battles feel like they need to be retuned.
What I didn’t care for is the checkpointing. Shadow Labyrinth has two kinds of checkpoints. One is a save point that heals you and refills any item. The other is a pure checkpoint that does not heal or refill anything. When you die, and you likely will die a lot in Shadow Labyrinth, you get the option to go back to a save point or a checkpoint. The issue is that some boss fights don’t have any of these near them, resulting in you having to spend a few minutes getting back to them to retry the fight. The bosses themselves range from great to being weird difficulty spikes or too spongy with health.
Visually, Shadow Labyrinth is quite inconsistent. The designs for bosses, your own character, Puck, and the animation work are very good, but then you have the environments and normal enemies that range from great to monotonous and plain ugly.
This issue is compounded by the fact that the aesthetic Bandai Namco went for here involves using low-resolution backgrounds with post-processing to give the game more visual depth. On paper, this would be fine, but there are moments zooming into specific parts that look ugly. It also doesn’t help that the foreground locations you move across sometimes have very low-resolution textures on all platforms. Given the game’s strong art direction for some aspects, it is disappointing to see it let down by the overall presentation.
On the audio side, Shadow Labyrinth has a surprising soundtrack, and it is used well in-game. I was pretty floored by the jazz in the opening and generally think it has good audio design throughout, but this isn’t a soundtrack you will listen to much outside the game. I also want to mention that the digital soundtrack and artbook included in the Deluxe Edition do not let you export the files or the artbook outside the game. You can only listen to and view that in-game.
Having played Shadow Labyrinth on Nintendo Switch, PS5, Steam Deck, and also Shadow Labyrinth Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, I’m a bit confused by Bandai Namco’s performance targets on each platform. The PS5 version is capped at 4K 60, which is also what Shadow Labyrinth Nintendo Switch 2 Edition seems to target. The latter has performance issues, though, when playing at 4K docked. It feels much smoother and consistent in handheld mode, but if you do play docked, I recommend trying to set your system to 1440p since performance is better. This is the second game I’ve seen with this difference in performance after Hitman World of Assassination Signature Edition.
One more issue present in just Shadow Labyrinth Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is that playing in handheld and then docking the console sees the game run at the same handheld resolution instead of changing to the docked resolution. I hope this is fixed in an update.
I also tested Shadow Labyrinth on Switch, the Switch version on Switch 2 via backward compatibility before downloading the upgrade, and Shadow Labyrinth Nintendo Switch 2 Edition to see which version loads the fastest and what is the best for Nintendo Switch 2, since only the Switch version is available physically. The load times for going from the dashboard to the title screen and loading a save are as follows: Switch 1 (43-44 seconds and 11-12 seconds), Switch 1 on Switch 2 (15 seconds and 4 seconds), and Nintendo Switch 2 Edition (14-15 seconds and 4-5 seconds).
The best experience on Nintendo Switch systems is playing the Switch 2 Edition on handheld or playing it docked at 1440p system output so far based on my testing. While not related to the Switch versions, the Steam version on Steam Deck runs at 90fps handheld and can even do well over that when playing docked. I was surprised to see the PS5 version capped at 60fps after how well-optimized the Steam version is, but that is an issue for another article.
Performance issues for Shadow Labyrinth Nintendo Switch 2 Edition and visual inconsistencies aside, the lack of checkpoints in specific parts, boss balance, and some control issues hold this back from being an easy recommendation, even at its low asking price. There’s a lot of meat on this bone, and I enjoyed my time with it enough to already start a new save on another platform. It just needs some balancing and polishing to be truly special.
Shadow Labyrinth itself is a few updates away from being amazing. I already love the core of what is available right now, but it has a few too many annoyances holding it back. Shadow Labyrinth Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is a great handheld experience, but the docked performance issues are disappointing right now. Hopefully, we do see the game itself see some balance adjustments while this version of the game gets some optimization for 4K play when docked.
Version Tested: Nintendo Switch 2
Review copy provided by Bandai Namco Entertainment
