A Dark Take On A Beloved Franchise – Shadow Labyrinth

Another surprise announcement at The Game Awards was a new take on the Pac-man franchise. Shadow Labyrinth is brought to us by Bandai Namco and appears to be inspired by a Secret Level episode.  

Shadow Labyrinth looks set to be a dark Metroidvania explore themes of mindless hunger and dedication to an unhealthy pattern of eat, sleep, raid, repeat. The kind of patterns that gamers often fall into. Which is something that the Secret Level episode explored prior to this games release. 

That episode seems to have formed the foundation of this game. Players take on the role of Swordsman no. 8 who has to traverse a dangerous labyrinth. He encounters Puck a familiar character who functions as a guide and companion, encouraging No. 8 to escape. Although in that desperate attempt to survive No. 8 is forced to eat or be eaten, kill or be killed. This seems to unlock an eerie dark side of both the Swordsman and Puck. 

Shadow Labyrinth will be releasing sometime in 2025 to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC via Steam. Hopefully, this translates to Steam Deck support as well because these sorts of Metroidvanias lend themselves well to mobile systems. 

If you’d like to find out more about the game, check out the trailer linked below or the game’s Steam page. Also announced at The Game Awards is Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound a new take on an old franchise. If you’d like to find out more about this epic side-scrolling action game, click here.