Shadow Labyrinth Release: Everything We Know About the Metroidvania

If you somehow had “a Lovecraftian Metroidvania take on Pac-Man” on your 2025 bingo cards, then perhaps you have otherworldly insight. Because, thanks to Bandai Namco and a title called Shadow Labyrinth, that’s precisely what’s arriving in 2025.

One of a plethora of reveals from The Game Awards, it’s not clear where the idea for a 2D action platformer with a Pac-Man ‘Puck’ as a sidekick stemmed from. What matters, though, is that it looks dark, intriguing, and fun enough to work – even if it leaves us pondering the expected Shadow Labyrinth release date. So let’s look into that and the moody tale of No. 8 and Puck.

Table of Contents Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. What is Shadow Labyrinth?
3. Shadow Labyrinth Expected Release Date
4. Shadow Labyrinth Price Predictions
5. Shadow Labyrinth Platforms
6. Shadow Labyrinth Trailers
7. Latest Shadow Labyrinth News
8. The Bottom Line
9. FAQs
10. References

Show Full Guide

Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. What is Shadow Labyrinth?
3. Shadow Labyrinth Expected Release Date
Show Full Guide
4. Shadow Labyrinth Price Predictions
5. Shadow Labyrinth Platforms
6. Shadow Labyrinth Trailers
7. Latest Shadow Labyrinth News
8. The Bottom Line
9. FAQs
10. References

What is Shadow Labyrinth?

Best described as a Metroidvania, Shadow Labyrinth is a 2D action platformer in which an unnamed swordsman, referred to as “No. 8,” is awoken and joined by a yellow “Puck.” Together, the two must escape a mysterious land and effective maze while surviving, preying, and growing to uncover a truer purpose. The title has a dark, moody, and monstrous flavor.

Essentially, Shadow Labyrinth gameplay is a new spin on the Pac-Man formula that takes cues from dark Metroidvania games like Blasphemous. It’s currently unknown exactly how much the yellow dot muncher will be involved in the game, other than the general theming, but if the Secret Level episode, Circle, is any indication, then the game could be a wild departure from everything we’ve seen from the character to date.

Shadow Labyrinth Expected Release Date

First things first: while we have a reveal trailer and know the game will be released in 2025, we don’t yet know a confirmed Shadow Labyrinth release date. An official release date has not been made public, although the title can be added to wishlists on its Steam page.

Beyond that, there are few clues, and even a Shadow Labyrinth release window is tricky. On initial look, it feels like a game made for darker days when staying in, and having some good old 2D action makes sense. Due to this, our initial thought is that it may be a second-half 2025 release.

However, in a 2024 interview, game producer Seigo Aizawa stated that the development of Shadow Labyrinth began “four years ago.” This suggests it started in the second half of 2020. Games can undoubtedly take five years to bring to market, and a late 2025 release is possible. But the reveal trailer features polished and varied Shadow Labyrinth gameplay, which seems ready for an earlier release.

Potentially backing this up, we’ve spotted a Shadow Labyrinth pre-order listing for the Nintendo Switch version. The listing is from the reputable UK and European retailer Smyths Toys. While there’s no Shadow Labyrinth release date to be seen, it would seem odd to be able to pre-order a game that wasn’t due until the end of the year.

Shadow Labyrinth Price Predictions

We had an inkling that Shadow Labyrinth price information would have it pegged at around $25-30. While, again, there’s no official information, the Smyths Toys listing we saw had a pre-order price for Switch of ￡29.99 (GBP), which roughly equates to about $38. However, in recent years US and UK game releases have been identical regardless of the conversion rates; a $70 game usually also costs ￡70, for example.

Ordinarily, that should crossover fairly simply to $29.99 (USD). This feels right because Bandai Namco’s Little Nightmares series is usually priced at around $25. Based on a reputable retailer listing and similar titles, we’re expecting $29.99 online and from retailers.

Shadow Labyrinth Platforms

The Shadow Labyrinth platforms list is official. Although not included in the reveal trailer, the official site for the Americas lists the four platforms the game will be released for. The full list confirms Nintendo Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via Steam. Unfortunately, this seems to rule out Shadow Labyrinth appearing on older consoles like the Xbox One and PS4, at least for now.

Shadow Labyrinth Trailers

The Shadow Labyrinth trailer released at The Game Awards is a great preview for the game. It did come as a surprise to watchers of the Amazon Prime series Secret Level, though. In the “Pac-Man: Circle” episode, a hooded swordsman and ‘Puck’ dynamic was explored, effectively working as a prequel for Shadow Labyrinth.

As the game’s producer Seigo Aizawa has noted, the publishing of that episode and the Shadow Labyrinth announcement in close proximity was coincidental. Amazon Studios had approached the Shadow Labyrinth team with a proposal some time ago. The team re-proposed the concept of Shadow Labyrinth, Amazon Studios took the idea, and it became a Secret Level episode.

With this added context, the trailer shines as a Lovecraftian Metroidvania (what a fantastic combination) title where Pac-Man is known as “Puck” and is a sidekick to ‘No. 8’, a swordsman stuck in a mysterious place and on a journey to eat, grow powerful and uncover their true purpose.

The swordsman is No. 8, likely because, as the trailer tells us: “others have tried, others have failed.” Showcasing a range of levels, apparent boss fights, and hectic and tricky platformer action, the trailer does enough inside its minute length to double down on darker Pac-Man lore.

If you haven’t seen the Secret Level episode in question, doing so may add extra enjoyment to building the world as a Shadow Labyrinth prequel which sets the scene for what’s to come. Amazon’s series has given a similar treatment to games like Armored Core, Sifu, and even Concord (rest its soul).

Latest Shadow Labyrinth News

The game was announced at The Game Awards 2024 in a surprise reveal showcased during the main show. It will be released in 2025 on current-gen consoles and PC (via Steam). The official Shadow Labyrinth release date is yet to be announced. However, it is believed to arrive as early as Q2 2025, thanks to its spotted pre-order listings, which do not typically appear if games are further off.

A listing for the title available for UK and EU gamers has been spotted, suggesting a price of ￡29.99 (approximately $29.99). However, no official Shadow Labyrinth pre-order or pricing announcement has been made at the time of writing.

The Bottom Line

In its initial footage, Shadow Labyrinth looks stylish and not overly developed. That is, the story seems to fit the gameplay without the gameplay doing much more than necessary to deliver an enjoyable 2D world and lore for gamers to enjoy.

For a darker take on Pac-Man and undoubtedly intriguing proposition, we hope the title offers as much joy as possible for its retail price. If you want to keep Pac-Man as a character from the arcade era, this may not be for you. But it probably will be.

FAQs