For my cash, Pac-Man: Circle is the standout episode of Amazon’s anthology collection, Secret Degree. Whereas the opposite 14 episodes felt like elongated commercials for the video games they have been primarily based on, Pac-Man: Circle put an sudden spin on Namco’s iconic character, utterly reimagining the pellet-gobbling yellow ball by introducing some harrowing violence and physique horror to the equation. It was daring and imaginative, and because it seems, nonetheless an prolonged industrial for an upcoming sport.
Bandai Namco introduced Shadow Labyrinth just some days after Secret Degree’s launch, and like that episode, this 2D Metroidvania maintains the darker tackle the traditional character. Sadly, it fumbles the execution with a uninteresting, opaque, and finally forgettable story, whereas irritating, one-note fight and egregious checkpointing are additional blemishes on what’s a disappointing reinvention of the 45-year-old character.
If you have not seen Pac-Man: Circle beforehand, worry not. The 12-minute episode helps set up Shadow Labyrinth’s fundamental premise, but it surely is not required viewing. Both manner, you are in all probability going to really feel misplaced, as Shadow Labyrinth’s story shortly devolves right into a confluence of cryptic dialogue layered with tropes, sci-fi jargon, technobabble, and bloated self-seriousness.
A part of that is presumably intentional, as you don the robes of an amnesiac swordsman, summoned from one other dimension to assist Pac-Man escape a hostile planet. Besides it is not technically Pac-Man, it is Puck (in reference to his authentic Japanese identify). You are an instrument of his will. He is the manipulative satan in your shoulder. It is an attention-grabbing setup, however the story by no means capitalizes on it. Every part primarily occurs round you, with no pushback or sense of company, regardless of Puck’s apparent scheming. You are alongside for the experience, and it is a uninteresting one, failing to match the ominous and unnerving tone that Pac-Man: Circle achieved.
It is a disgrace, as a result of there are additionally a number of callbacks to deep cuts in Bandai Namco’s storied previous that may’ve landed higher in a extra compelling sport. Shadow Labyrinth is the primary Pac-Man sport to be a part of the United Galaxy House Power timeline–a shared universe that includes a lot of Bandai Namco’s older video games. As such, you will discover issues like a village of Bosconian NPCs, enemies from Dig Dug, Galaga, and Galaxian, and a number of references to the Xevious collection. They assist flesh out the world considerably, however once they’re saddled with the identical stilted dialogue and bland plot factors, it simply appears like a wasted alternative.
As a 2D metroidvania, Shadow Labyrinth is kind of linear for the primary 5 or so hours. There are nonetheless forking paths resulting in upgrades, secrets and techniques, and impassable areas, but it surely would not actually open up till afterward. At this level, you are given a number of targets and free rein to discover in any course you’ll be able to. Often, this may be thrilling, however there are a selection of things that forestall Shadow Labyrinth from reaching the heights of a lot of its contemporaries.
The primary is the artwork design and repetition of the areas themselves. There aren’t many areas that deviate from the abundance of caves and industrial zones, nor are there any notable variations between these areas except for a barely totally different shade palette. This makes exploration notably rote, except for the few zones that strive one thing barely askew; from a cave system that is shrouded in darkness till you activate numerous glowing skulls, to a valley stuffed with doubtlessly lethal flowers.
One other sticking level is the sport’s stage design. Because the title suggests, Shadow Labyrinth is appropriately labyrinthine, with the map unveiling its numerous crossroads over time, resulting in new areas and hidden secrets and techniques. The sport would not provide you with any steering, nevertheless. There are not any waypoints, and the clues you should purchase are deliberately obscure, so it is as much as you to determine the place to go. Obscure signposting and paths that lead actually nowhere make this extra irritating than it could possibly be.
Development is notably sluggish as properly, with hours in between unlocking totally different upgrades, like, say, the grappling hook and the double soar. Not solely does this forestall you from reaching new areas, but it surely additionally ends in the sport’s platforming changing into fairly stale. And I favored Shadow Labyrinth’s platforming for essentially the most half. There are some enjoyable navigational puzzles and platforming challenges, with the very best ones reminding me of Celeste; nevertheless, the hole between upgrades does let a few of the steam out.
Every space can be stuffed with an abundance of sudden fight rooms that lock you inside till all the pieces’s useless, placing a major emphasis on Shadow Labyrinth’s fight. You start with a fundamental three-hit combo and a stun assault, plus a dodge roll and a extra highly effective assault that every eat stamina (generally known as ESP). It is normal fare for the style, with a parry and air-dash unlocked afterward. The robust sense of impression makes fight enjoyable sufficient at a foundational stage, however the entire motion is soured by a dearth of enemy selection, inconsistent hitboxes, horrible checkpoint placement, and an absence of significant development.
You may spend a lot of the sport preventing the identical few enemies, irrespective of the realm you are in. Even when Shadow Labyrinth introduces new enemies, you will shortly determine that they are merely reskins of the identical foes you have been preventing for the whole lot of the sport. Most may be handled in a few strikes and are extra of a nuisance than a real problem once they come at you in numbers. That is primarily as a result of, whereas every enemy kind sometimes possesses some sort of attack–whether it is melee-based or projectile–you additionally take harm everytime you contact an enemy. This dated design may be irritating once you’re already coping with a number of assaults from each angle, but it surely’s particularly grating when a few of the sport’s hitboxes prolong past the 2D mannequin. I misplaced rely of the variety of occasions I sustained harm after dodging, regardless of being out of the enemy’s vary.
You are fragile, too, so it would not take a lot to complete you off. Couple this with checkpoints which might be spaced too far aside, forcing you to replay prolonged sections over once more, and the fight’s flaws are solely exacerbated by how frequent it’s. You do have entry to therapeutic potions, however the sport makes use of a two-tiered strategy to checkpoints. Miku Sol checkpoints allow you to teleport, improve your character, and replenish your well being bar and therapeutic gadgets, however the smaller, extra common checkpoints are merely revival factors for once you perish. With out refilling your well being potions, it is artificially inflating the problem and simply feels low-cost, particularly when the latter checkpoints are positioned earlier than bosses. If preventing a boss with out therapeutic gadgets is not sufficient of an obstacle, you are additionally being pressured to spend upwards of 40 seconds operating again to the boss area every time you die. It is not a very good time.
To high it off, every boss battle is a drawn-out affair. There’s normally little technique concerned past fundamental sample recognition, so the problem derives from simply how lengthy it takes to whittle down a boss’ well being bar whereas avoiding harm your self. You do not have many offensive choices apart from the fundamental three-hit combo and a heavier assault, however the latter must be used sparingly to keep away from operating out of ESP–if the gauge hits zero, you are unable to dodge till it slowly replenishes. There are perks you’ll be able to equip that present bonuses, reminiscent of revealing enemy well being bars and decreasing the ESP price of dodging, however they do not alter fight in any important manner. You can even flip right into a type of Pac-Man dragon mech for brief intervals, however this simply includes extra button-mashing. Latest video games like Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown and 9 Sols have raised the bar for metroidvania fight, so Shadow Labyrinth’s stale one-note design appears like a relic.
The sport’s most attention-grabbing design selections come from the way it weaves Pac-Man into the expertise. Puck is a passenger for essentially the most half, with even his physique horror-esque possession relegated to a cutscene on the finish of every boss struggle. It is baffling that the terrifying boss-eating Puck is not built-in into gameplay in a roundabout way. Nonetheless, there are occasional moments the place you’ll be able to take direct management of the yellow orb, as particular surfaces assist you to remodel into Puck and experience them in traditional Pac-Man fashion–complete with the long-lasting “waka waka waka” sound impact every time you eat a pellet. It is a novel solution to discover, however even right here, leaping is overly fiddly to the purpose of annoyance. You may solely soar in three instructions: straight up, straight forward, and diagonally. It is comparatively straightforward to line up these jumps when you’ve got time, however its cumbersome nature comes again to chunk you when you do not.
The sport’s very worst moments happen once you’re thrown into an enemy gauntlet as Puck. Not solely are you able to not dodge, parry, and even heal, however leaping straight forward is your solely choice to keep away from most assaults. The issue is that doing so launches you up to now ahead that you simply’re usually propelled straight into the enemy you have been attempting to keep away from. Mercifully, these sections are few and much between, however I spent round an hour simply bashing my head attempting to get by way of considered one of them.
The Maze sections fare greatest, transporting you to a pocket dimension the place you are thrown into extra frenzied variations of conventional Pac-Man ranges. New concepts like a decoy Pac-Man and weaponized platforms shake up the method, whereas its flashy colours and pumping soundtrack recall to mind Pac-Man Championship Version EX–aka the very best Pac-Man sport. The strict five-minute timer could be a burden, although. It is not all the time clear what you are alleged to be doing, and the fiddly platforming prevents you from doing something quick. Then once more, repeating these sections is not the worst factor on the earth.
Regardless of all the pieces I’ve simply stated, I did not have a horrible time with Shadow Labyrinth. There are manner too many irritating moments, the story is mind-numbingly uninteresting, and plenty of what you are doing is monotonous. But, for lengthy intervals, it is also merely simply advantageous. It is a by-the-numbers metroidvania woven along with an occasional Pac-Man remix. An odd mixture, for positive, and one I want had a greater sport constructed round it, however not less than we’ll all the time have that one Secret Degree episode.