Shadow Labyrinth

+14

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Reviews

63%Audience ScoreBased on 219 reviews

story21 positive mentions

grinding11 negative mentions

Unique and bold metroidvania blending Pac-Man and classic Namco game lore, with a large, interconnected world rewarding exploration.
Challenging but fair combat and boss fights that improve with upgrades, combined with satisfying platforming once key abilities are unlocked.
Fun and inventive Pac-Man maze mini-games that add variety and nostalgia, complemented by a solid soundtrack featuring classic themes.

Sluggish and sometimes clunky controls, especially in specific mechanics like climbing and Pac-Man rail sections, leading to player frustration.
Sparse and inconvenient checkpoint placement causing excessive backtracking and punishing deaths, disrupting game pacing.
Repetitive and bloated level design with many empty or similar rooms, slow progression with late unlocks of essential abilities, and an overlong runtime that may deter players.

story
72 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29% positive mentions, 65% neutral mentions, 6% negative mentions
The story is generally regarded as interesting and rich in Namco lore, offering a darker, more complex narrative tied to the United Galaxy Space Force timeline, which appeals to fans of classic arcade titles. However, it is often criticized for being convoluted, slow-paced, and overly reliant on lore entries rather than immersive storytelling, making progression confusing without clear guidance. While some find the story engaging and a highlight of the game, others view it as pretentious, poorly paced, and not impactful enough to elevate the overall experience.
- “The story builds on Namco lore developed over the past 40 years in really interesting ways.”
- “Decades of lore from games such as Galaga, Bosconian, Xevious, and Dig Dug are finally stitched together into a story that marks a significant turning point in the UGSF series.”
- “Without spoiling too much, this game has probably the most complete, coherent story we've had for the UGSF timeline ever.”
- “Would've liked an indicator on the map for where to go next to progress the story because the zones are too large and confusing, causing unnecessary backtracking.”
- “A convoluted story and frustrating controls at times make an otherwise decent game frustrating to play.”
- “The story is completely uninspired and instead of giving you any background, it tries to breadcrumb you along so you spend more than two hours trying to learn something.”
gameplay
64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17% positive mentions, 78% neutral mentions, 5% negative mentions
The gameplay of the game draws strong inspiration from titles like Hollow Knight and Castlevania, featuring a metroidvania structure with exploration, progression, and some unique Pac-Man-inspired mechanics. While it offers moments of solid challenge, clever design, and a rewarding learning curve, many players find the combat basic, hitboxes inconsistent, difficulty spikes frustrating, and pacing uneven, which can detract from the overall experience. Despite flaws such as clunky mechanics, occasional slow progression, and some archaic design choices, fans of the genre may still appreciate its moments of depth and innovation.
- “Gameplay is fun, exploration and progression are solid, and the enemy designs are great. Visually it’s a bit generic but still enjoyable, and the sound design is strong.”
- “Once you gain mechanics such as the grappling hook, air dodge, and double jump, the game truly does open up.”
- “Shadow Labyrinth is a very polished and well-balanced experience that is well worth the effort you will put into learning its mechanics.”
- “This is literally one of the worst, most vapid, most nonsensical, most idiotic garbage games I have ever played in my entire life. There is nothing redeeming about this other than the occasional Namco reference. It is not fun, the mechanics are not fun, the level design is not fun, the visuals suck, the characters are non-existent or laughable. There is literally no reason you should ever consider picking up this game unless you want to buy it as a joke or to experience an ostensible bad video game.”
- “Enemies sometimes have obnoxiously large hitboxes, are hidden behind obstacles, or are just plain thrown at you in massive waves that cannot be well handled by your measly 3-hit combo and cumbersome special moves that use the same stamina as your dodge mechanics.”
- “The gameplay, exploration, and overall execution feels like a game out of the 1980s with archaic level design, lots of dead ends, and quarter dumping systems.”
graphics
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32% positive mentions, 61% neutral mentions, 7% negative mentions
The game's graphics receive mixed reviews, with some praising the unique, nostalgic art style and impressive boss designs, while others criticize inconsistent visuals, cheap or sparse level detail, and clunky animations. Many note the aesthetic as a love letter to classic titles but feel the overall visual presentation lacks polish and cohesion. Despite some standout areas, the graphics often divide players between appreciation for the style and disappointment in execution and consistency.
- “The graphics, mechanics, and the maps are great.”
- “The actual artwork and levels are visually appealing enough, and the game is clearly meant to be a love letter to Bandai Namco ranging back to Xevious and Galaga.”
- “The boss fights are fun/challenging, the visuals are quite impressive, and the exploration is captivating to a certain degree.”
- “Clunky, unemotive animations and poor visuals; if you fight an enemy there won't be any indication of where they're going to strike. The game feels clunky due to losing all momentum when hitting an enemy.”
- “Maybe it opens up later and gives you more interesting things to do, but right now the game has basically set a precedent for meh map design, awful exploration, inconsistent combat, and indistinct, cheap visuals that remind me of the mid 90s.”
- “You only have to look at the background graphics, the transparent PNG fog textures, or how none of the assets have any kind of visual consistency to feel like this was a game made by a committee of artists rather than someone with a distinctive vision.”
music
39 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44% positive mentions, 48% neutral mentions, 8% negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed but generally positive feedback, praised for its atmospheric, ambient style that enhances exploration and mood without overwhelming gameplay. Several standout tracks and reused classic themes, especially from the Pac-Man CE series, are noted as highlights, though many find much of the soundtrack serviceable rather than memorable. Overall, the soundtrack effectively supports the game's dark and oppressive atmosphere, with a few catchy or "banger" tracks that players appreciate.
- “It has a large variety of enemies and environments, a great soundtrack, and a huge world.”
- “The flaws are obvious, like the map design and some asset issues, but the atmosphere, the combat and the music is great.”
- “The music is simple but really effective at maintaining that wonderfully dark and oppressive atmosphere that makes Shadow Labyrinth just work.”
- “Ambient OST makes the whole process of exploring feel even more exhausting.”
- “I have little to say about the music: it fits the atmosphere but I'm not going to be humming along to any of it or remembering any once I've finished.”
- “This ain't it Namco, the game is just boring, the music is so boring for a metroidvania, I hate the modern take on movement from enemies, they remind me of old flash games.”
grinding
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions
The game suffers from excessive and monotonous grinding, particularly for materials and progressing through dead-ends, making it tedious and frustrating. Repetitive backtracking and poorly designed sections, like the Shadow Labyrinth and certain boss mechanics, further exacerbate the feeling of boredom and irritation. Overall, the grinding detracts significantly from the game's enjoyment.
- “It just feels too redundant and like too much going back and forth and grinding to figure out how to get around dead-ends.”
- “Another thing that was unnecessarily painful was grinding rare mats.”
- “And the run back wouldn't be so tedious if it wasn't just empty hallways and waiting on long lifts.”
atmosphere
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56% positive mentions, 44% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its dark, oppressive, and richly detailed art style, complemented by effective, ambient music that enhances the overall mood. While some minor flaws exist, such as map design and asset issues, the immersive and haunting ambiance remains a standout feature.
- “Atmosphere is huge and full of detailed art.”
- “The flaws are obvious, like the map design and some asset issues, but the atmosphere, the combat and the music is great.”
- “The music is simple but really effective at maintaining that wonderfully dark and oppressive atmosphere that makes Shadow Labyrinth just work.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
The game demonstrates excellent stability, running smoothly across various platforms including Linux-based systems like Steam Deck, Legion Go S, and Void Linux. Users consistently report a stable and reliable performance without issues.
- “Also, runs great on Linux (Steam Deck, Legion Go S, & Void Linux).”
- “Besides that, I think the game looks great, runs great, plays great.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
Character development is well-supported by inspired character designs and visually stunning backgrounds, enhancing the overall immersion and appeal.
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
The game's optimization delivers smooth visuals and consistent performance, enhancing the overall experience, especially in its engaging Pac-Man levels.
- “Fluid visuals and performance.”

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Critic Reviews

65%Critics’ scoreBased on 34 critic reviews

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Play Times

40h Median play time

37h Average play time

10-60h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 3 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Shadow Labyrinth is a platformer game with science fiction theme. Common tags for Shadow Labyrinth include 2d, underground, metroidvania, souls-like and dark.

Shadow Labyrinth is available on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5 and others.

On average players spend around 37 hours playing Shadow Labyrinth.

Shadow Labyrinth was released on July 17, 2025.

Shadow Labyrinth was developed by Bandai Namco Studios Inc..

Shadow Labyrinth has received mostly positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked Shadow Labyrinth for its story but disliked it for its grinding.

Shadow Labyrinth is a single player game.

Similar games include Souldiers, GRIME, MIO: Memories in Orbit, Afterimage, Possessor(s) and others.

Shadow Labyrinth

Platforms

Games Like Shadow Labyrinth

Souldiers

GRIME

MIO: Memories in Orbit

Afterimage

Possessor(s)

8Doors: Arum's Afterlife Adventure

Blue Fire

Voidwrought

Cathedral

Vernal Edge

Reviews

story

gameplay

graphics

music

grinding

atmosphere

stability

character development

optimization

Critic Reviews

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