Pac-Man becomes an apex predator on a world shattered by intergalactic warfare in this very strange new metroidvania coming in 2025

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Pac-Man came to The Game Awards tonight, but it's not quite the cheery little yellow fellow I recall from my youth. Shadow Labyrinth is a grim metroidvania that sees the world's most famous globular ghost-gobbler "consume darkness" as he and his wielder struggle to survive and escape a grim labyrinth of evil.

Instead of wokka-wokka-wokka-ing around a 2D maze, eating dots and doding ghosts, in Shadow Labyrinth you play Swordsman No. 8, who's been awakened by a mysterious floating yellow orb named Puck. But while you wield Puck, it seems that Puck also wields you: "On a mysterious planet amidst relics of wars past, you are chosen to become the instrument of its will. To survive you will discover many secrets, consume your enemies, and grow from prey to the apex predator as you embrace your true purpose."

"Drawing even more inspiration from the source material for this unique game, players traverse a maze-filled world where enemies and puzzles new and familiar will challenge them at every step," Bandai Namco said. "Success comes from mastery of fluid combat and exploration to uncover increasingly powerful abilities and skills and conquering challenging bosses to discover their true purpose."

That's a little unexpected, yeah? Definitely a departure from the classic arcade action. I tend to feel that in general, the world has enough metroidvanias, but nobody ever put Pac-Man into one and so I'm willing to give Shadow Labyrinth a chance.

Interestingly, while Pac-Man is the star of the show, Bandai Namco said Shadow Laybrinth also draws from other entries in its "broader library of beloved arcade games. While there is much more to reveal about this thrilling new adventure, astute fans will find early hints of connections to other iconic games in the reveal trailer."

Shadow Labyrinth is slated to come out sometime in 2025 and is available for prepurchase now on Steam.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.