Shadow Labyrinth

Shadow Labyrinth
The game's Steam key art
Developer(s)	Bandai Namco Studios
Publisher(s)	Bandai Namco Entertainment
Series	Pac-Man
Engine	Unity
Platform(s)	Nintendo Switch PlayStation 5 Windows Xbox Series X/S
Release	2025

Shadow Labyrinth is an upcoming action-adventure video game developed by Bandai Namco Studios and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. Part of the Pac-Man franchise and based on the Secret Level episode "Circle", it is set to be released in 2025 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and Windows via Steam.

Gameplay

Shadow Labyrinth will be a 2D action-adventure game. The game's player character will be a figure known as "The Swordsman", as he is guided around a giant "maze" by an orb known as "Puck". Throughout the game, the player will be explore the "maze" while fighting against monsters. The player will also be able to acquire new abilities and items. Several journalists upon its announcement considered the game to be a metroidvania.

Development

Shadow Labyrinth began development in 2020. Bandai Namco Studios began creating the game with the goal of expanding the audience of the Pac-Man series, which was a predominantly family friendly franchise, wanting to create a more "dark" entry in the series. They went back to the original concepts for the first Pac-Man game, and boiled it down to "the maze concept, the eat concept, and how the table can flip all of a sudden". Using that basis, the team began creating Shadow Labyrinth. The game's development team is joined by Katsuhiro Harada, the producer of the Tekken series. The game is being developed using the Unity engine.

Marketing and release

During the development of Shadow Labyrinth, an episode of Secret Level based on the title, was created to promote the game and serve as its prequel. During development of that episode, series creator Tim Miller was shown a sneak peek of the game and commented on its differences from a traditional Pac-Man game. The game was announced at The Game Awards 2024, and is set to be released in 2025 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam. The game will be a part of the 45th anniversary celebration of the Pac-Man series.