Platform(s): PlayStation 5 (version reviewed), PS4, PC, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch
Genre: Action, Adventure, Search Action

Ever since From Software got big with Dark Souls and its subsequent action RPG titles, other game developers have been influenced by their design and mechanics. One such overused trope is the stamina bar; while this resource management works in 3D games with hardcore action & boss fights, it really has no place in 2D action games. Isn’t the difficulty for 2D titles reliant on the levels and the fact that you can get hurt by just touching or love-tapping the enemy, unintentional or otherwise?

I guess what I’m saying is that the stamina bar really hurt the enjoyment of any search action game (or metroidvania) it unfortunately is stuck on. Maybe it may work on some tryhard sweaty gamers, but for me, any 2D action game that uses this mechanic gets a huge demerit from me. This applies to Bandai Namco’s recent tribute to Pac Man in edgelord search action form: Shadow Labyrinth.

A-Maze-ing?

I’ll list out a few good points in Shadow Labyrinth: it’s got an interesting premise and it does a good job with its throwbacks. Its main plot is that you control an unnamed warrior being piloted by a yellow robot named PUCK, having to go to location to location to find their way out of the barren hellhole they’re in. Along the way, they meet characters and bad guys who are named and recreated after Bandai Namco’s arcade hits like Galaga, Dig Dug, and Xevious, all tying into a plot that you can see coming a mile away.

If the developers are going through the extra mile with their tie-ins as a way to celebrate the Namco Arcade scene’s 45th anniversary, they could at least make the locations in this search action title a lot more interesting. Throughout my 14-or-so hours with the game, all I’ve seen are dark corridors and underground pathways, a typical jungle area, some generic sci-fi corridors passed off as labs and space stations, and even more of the same areas but in green and blue. They may seem different if you look at the detailing closely, but they just blend in and don’t seem visually arresting. Ditto the character look and movement; everyone from your dark hero to your bosses feel like aftermaths of a browser Flash-made title but with a tad more budget.

This may not be a huge problem if the game controlled and played like a dream, but that’s far from the truth. The moves and simple jumping bits seem alright for the first hour or so, and turning into PUCK temporarily onto special railings called D-Lines can be fun. After a while though, you realise the game’s level design and challenges aren’t tailored properly with how the game feels and the aforementioned stamina bar (called ESP energy here). And most of the stages don’t utilize the D-Lines properly, making the obligatory backtracking in these style of games less fun.

Platforming from hazard to hazard feels loose and slippery, while hitboxes and hurtboxes for your attacks and sprite feel inconsistent. Half the time I’m wondering how I’m losing so much health despite staying on top in the game’s many, MANY enemy wave arenas. That’s a sure sign a search action title has lost all its creativity: when it puts you in too many mandatory enemy wave arenas for level progression.

Let’s also not forget the ESP meter: whenever you dodge, use a Super move, or devour enemies (for materials and your mecha Pac Man form meter), it uses up a lot of it. You have to sparingly use it, or farm materials to get the upgrades that lessen the ESP requirements which takes up way too much time given how dull the stages are and how awkward movement feels. Most games similar to Shadow Labyrinth let me get away with just an upgrade or two and let me rely on skill.

Here? The stamina ESP meter is the one major handicap that holds me back from going all out with the barrage of enemies the game throws at me, be it Galaga enemy waves or bosses. What could have been fun setpiece battles end up being artificially prolonged battles that relied on me finding a quiet spot to regenerate my ESP meter when it’s totally drained. All momentum and pacing in these fights are just siphoned out, making the overall experience tepid and more of an obligation.

And yes, you do have a Parry in the game. No, it’s not as consistent as you would think. Yet another piece of jank Bandai Namco’s team took from From Software’s title without rhyme or reason apart from just feeling like turning a search action game project into a Dark Souls hybrid. Oh, and also having your main checkpoints (Miku Sols) far away from certain sections of the game, making for unnecessary backtracking and repeated segments that adds to the already-unbalanced combat and hazards.

I went through all of the game’s main issues yet got sidetracked from listing another good point: the Maze sections are fun. As you delve deeper into the labyrinth, you come across Pac-Man maze plaques that teleport you to Pac-Man bonus minigames that yield rewards for you. You turn into Pac-Man and just gobble up pellets and transformed ghosts to hit the threshold and win bonus items and whatnot. You go through mazes and even leap onto platform rails to sort out the ghosts while avoiding pitfalls in arcade Pac-Man style glory. It’s crazy that the one thing I look forward to in a 45th anniversary search action title is the bonus stages.

Yellow Yellow Dirty Fellow

I may be slagging off onto Shadow Labyrinth, but it’s at least a decent jaunt if you can handle the aforementioned restrictive design.  Even with its floaty controls & bog-standard progression, Shadow Labyrinth is at least worth a rental or an afternoon or two of your search actioning time, provided you’re fine with mediocrity. If you need a transcendent search action game though, this ain’t it.

Final Score: 50/100

Review copy provided by publisher.