On the occasion of the Game Awards 2024, Bandai Namco has highlighted one of its iconic licenses with a new game that is, to say the least, unexpected in a genre unusual for the franchise.
More than 30 years after his first appearance, an iconic video game icon appears in a new game from Bandai Namco, in what is clearly a confusing atmosphere for veteran gamers. We find that symbolic little yellow ball, the fact of eating in a maze, but everything else changes radically from what we are used to.
A new labyrinthine Pac-Man game from Bandai Namco
The Game Awards 2024 definitely gave pride of place to the great return of strong video game licensing, especially in Japan. After Turok, Ninja Gaiden, Okami and Onimusha, it's up to Pac-Man to come back to the fore thanks to Bandai Namco. But that's all that sets this new game based around the iconic yellow ball apart, because the atmosphere and gameplay are radically different.
Shadow Labyrinth, as it is nicknamed, is in fact a Metroidvania with a particularly dark and gloomy atmosphere, straight from the sequel to Secret Level, the anthology series from Prime Video that focuses on Pac-Man. Bandai Namco therefore seems to have partnered with the creators of the series to offer a game closely related to it.
In fact, we embody a shadow, or a “chosen one,” as Pac-Man calls us, who must evolve in a vast labyrinth and gain power by feeding on what he overcomes. So we've clearly come a long way from the beginnings of the Atari and Bandai Namco mascot. A new Pac-Man game worth the detour? Answer in 2025 for Shadow Labyrinth's release window on PC, PS5, Xbox Series and Switch.
Source: PAC-MAN officially on YouTube
