Shadow Labyrinth PS5 Review. A Metroidvania taking inspiration from the iconic maze-chasing mascot Pac-Man sounds like a nutty mash-up, but this is how Bandai Namco has chosen to set itself apart from its contemporaries in a heavily respected genre courtesy of Shadow Labyrinth. Considered a part of the Pac-Man series as a reimagining of its core tenets, Shadow Labyrinth sets its lofty ambitions high, but does it break new ground or will you send it Pac-Manning back to the past?
Many mysteries are afoot in Shadow Labyrinth. Who is this strange protagonist Number 8, why is this Pac-Man aping Puck character carrying the same crumb-gobbling antics as the iconic video gaming icon himself – oh, and why is Number 8 cliched amnesiac protagonist du jour? Maybe it’s too harsh to dot pinpricks all over Shadow Labyrinth contents, though it is hard not to when you’ve seen what Shadow Labyrinth is doing many times before. However, Shadow Labyrinth is salvaged by its readily enjoyable Metroidvania gameplay, and this more than anything else makes it a worthwhile effort.
Shadow Labyrinth Review (PS5)-Pac It Away
If there is one area you may want to ignore in Shadow Labyrinth is its plot. A spacecraft along with a durable mech called G.A.I.A are destroyed by nefarious forces. An unknown specimen watches the fiery wreck and uses a device to astral project its soul into a swordsman who becomes known as Number 8 and along with yellow sphere-head Puck, they explore the planet they’ve crash-landed on. This planet is dreary, filled with chasms, glowing volcanic rivers, and many creatures and critters who won’t hesitate to lunge at you or spit unpleasant liquids towards you.
While the hostile and desolate environments in Shadow Labyrinth are effective at creating a brooding and foreboding mood, there’s a protruding sense that the ambience is lifted from similar games in the genre, following close with the tropes and themes of those that came before in the genre. Metroid Dread and Ghost Song are glaring examples that Shadow Labyrinth follows, particularly in relation to their Sci-Fi sensibilities, but it doesn’t have too much to say in its own way-unless it’s convoluted, because the plot certainly gets twisted up in convolution.
The air of mystery inherent in Shadow Labyrinth’s plot might go hand-in-hand with the science fiction leanings it prescribes to, but that doesn’t mean it makes sense. Why is this cloaked figure named Number 8? Is it because he’s the 8th recipient of a space traveling pedicure? Is 8 how old his age, his shoe size or his favourite lottery number? Yes, revelations will make everything clearer as you progress through the game, but if we’re left guessing then all we can do is make up silly reasons by our protagonist is a number instead of a being we can relate to.
A Slashy Metroidvania
Number 8 is a skilled swordsman, and delivering visceral swipes with this vengeful blade is very gratifying as it slices through every living entity with deft precision from wolf kings and their pups, to flying bats, spew-spitting spiders, wild jungle warriors and leeches. Burlier foes require multiple swipes and clean dodging technique to put away, and with Number 8’s sleek movement, it’s always satisfying to slink out of the way of enemy attacks and then lunge forward with a searing combo flurry.
On the flip-side, enemy attacks can be unpredictable and sudden. Take the wild jungle warriors you encounter for instance, they’re easy to thwart if you yourself attack with instantaneous precision, but they can easily stab you with spears if you take to long to swipe them. Archers can be devious too, as they can load up and fire shots, even when you’re ascending a vine, so quick thinking and fast active movements are always encouraged to keep hostiles such as these at bay.
Now, for behemoths you’d definitely want to keep at bay, Shadow Labyrinth conjures up a host of boss fights that will put your skills and reflexes to the test, and they are interspersed generously throughout the adventure. They usually consist of evading seismic attacks, dodging, and finding openings to do massive damage that drain their huge health bars. While these bosses keep you on your toes, the amount of boss confrontations throughout the game make them feel far less special than if there were just a few of them to overcome. As a result bosses feel like progress halters than meaningful challenges for overcoming each stage.
Platforming in Shadow Labyrinth is as zippy and fluid as the combat. Whether you’re between obstacles or using the blooming flora to reach otherwise unreachable surfaces, there is a buttery sensation to it all. Sometimes you’ll need to climb up vines and up grasses with a frosty blue hue, so you won’t be constantly stuck to ground traversal, especially when Puck comes into play.
This is all Puck-ed Up
Gosh we’ve delved this far into the review and Puck’s function hasn’t even been hinted at yet! Puck is Pac-Man with the name of that round rubber disc you use to jostle a stick with in ice hockey. Puck is definitely not made of rubber and isn’t controlled with a stick, but he becomes operational when there are inaccessible wall edges to skate along and yellow crumbs which Puck will gleefully gobble up. These morsels aren’t just food, they’re important for upgrading Number 8 with a range of skills.
Puck’s sidekick status in Shadow Labyrinth is useful, but Shadow Labyrinth leans on Puck for zest because the game’s dreariness and largely-formulaic approach to the Metroidvania can’t sustain it. Sure, using Number 8 to slash foes and then throwing Pac-Man to the walls to lap up nuggets is neat, but Shadow Labyrinth is crying out for some personality, but persists with its blandness.
By accessing the Miku Sol save points found scattered throughout stages, you can not only replenish your health and save your game, but you can enhance Number 8’s abilities. These abilities include empowerments to Number 8’s sword and his ESP (stamina), each boost costing Ora (the morsels Puck consumes) for the first three levels of each upgrade. However, once you reach Level 4, you’ll need to hunt down red crystals known as High Grade Material-forcing you to comb the map to unearth them.
Traipsing through area maps to find crystals is nothing short of a needless hassle that may do a good job of utilizing the Metroidvania-style gameplay effectively, but changing the way levelling up works is tedious. More fiendishly, changing the way you unlock upgrades means that Puck is slightly less useful. You can still grab items from vendors you’ll find standing about throughout the lands you travel through, giving Puck some use as these vendors require accumulated Ora as currency to pay for perks-yet as a counterpart to Number 8, it was far more meaningful for Puck to be responsible for empowering Number 8, rather than these bizarre crystals you have to consistently search for.
A Shadow of its former Pac-Man self
If you want a looker, Shadow Labyrinth won’t inspire you with its environments lacking pop, and though the darker tone is appreciable, there’s no backbone to it because every stage feels thrown together with a theme that does more to convey disheveled ideas thrown into washing machine-except there is still the whiff of dirtiness still requiring another rinse cycle.
The same goes for the sound. Puck’s voice in particular is grating, and more often than not he sounds like he could be a Canadian from South Park-he almost looks like one too! Otherwise it’s all just unsurprising standard flare lacking a distinctive presence.
Strangely, while Shadow Labyrinth is a solid Metroidvania that carries inspiration from various sources, it doesn’t feel inspired because it leans too heavily on the nostalgia of Puck’s Pac-Man sensibilities. Serviceable is the best way to describe Shadow Labyrinth because it’s a competent experience and it might be satisfying if all you’re looking for is a general Metroidvania experience, but if you want something with aplomb, Shadow Labyrinth isn’t what you’ll be looking for and what remains is a hollow middle of the road game sorely lacking in excitement and fitted around a bewildering and uninteresting story.
Shadow Labyrinth is out now for PS5, Xbox Series S and X, Nintendo Switch and PC.
Review code kindly provided by the publisher.