Pac-Man’s Dark Reimagining in Shadow Labyrinth is Intriguing – All the News and Reviews from Anime Expo 2025

During the 2025 Animation Expo, Bandai Namco invites Anime News Network to check out Shadow mazere-imagination of tenacity Pac-Man property. In this iteration, you play the role of Swordsman No. 8, a character shrouded in mystery. Following you is a ball called Puck that obviously looks similar to our beloved yellow friend Pac-Man.

One in Secret Level Series”Pac-Man: Circles,” Shadow maze It’s a similar game Hollow Knight and Dead cells. I played the demo for about 20 minutes and was moved cautiously.

The demo is the highlight of the story details and put me directly into action. Players have a variety of sports and defensive options, including Dodge rolling, shielding and parrying. Putting in a platformer seems like a lot, but the controls feel natural. Players also have extra verticality to grab hooks.

To prevent, if damaged, the bubbles formed around the player may break. The hits of the big enemy are almost immediately broken, while the smaller enemies will hit several times. This is helpful when you run around in the face of ordinary aliens, but doesn’t seem practical in boss battles.

That’s where to parry. Parry’s windows are very small, which is especially punishing if you smell it. This is not like the Parry mechanics in other games, where you can spam until you get the desired result, deflecting the enemy’s attack. therefore, Shadow maze Have surprising skills.

merge Pac-ManThe iconic fruit effect pattern of the puck consumes fallen enemies and collects material from them. similar Onimushawhere you have to do this manually. If you wait too long, the fallen enemies will disappear and have nothing. This is a clever way to pay tribute to the legacy of the franchise.

As far as other Metroidvania games are concerned, Shadow maze Feeling and Ori and the Blind Blind Forest/Will and Bloodstains: Symphony of the Night. This is due to the artistic and animation style of the game. When attacking, the animation works in a choppy way, giving the game a more retro and independent feel.

But, the most interesting thing about me is the puzzle segment. Here, the hockey can actually become like Pac-Man (or Samus) and browse incoming saw blades and laser beams like a thief in a spy movie. The puck will automatically move in the direction you face, but you can hold the trigger on the controller to stay in place so you can make more precise jumps. Successfully navigate to the end of these puzzles to reward players with useful prizes, such as additional rehabilitation flasks.

So far, Shadow maze“New things in darkness” Pac-Man The franchise made me curious about the rest of the game. The quirks and features of the iconic character have been cleverly translated into this 2D platform.

Shadow maze The PC will be launched on July 18th. PlayStationswitches and Xbox.