Bandai Namco revealed a unexampled Pac - Man plot at theGame Awards 2024 , but it ’s probably not what anyone have a bun in the oven . Shadow Labyrinthis a 2D military action - escapade game set to launch in 2025 for PlayStation 5 , Xbox Series X / S , Nintendo Switch , and microcomputer . It completely pervert the classic franchise on its head word by giving it a grim , eery tone .
The shocking trailer gives musician a glimpse at a dark fantasy risky venture that callsHollow Knightto mind . In it , a character that Bandai Namco describes as “ the Swordsman ” roams through 2D environments , with a shining ball — naturally in the shape of Pac - Man — hover above . It ’s a total departure from anything the serial has done before in both writing style and look .
Ahead of its reveal , Digital Trends spoke to producer Seigo Aizawa , who gave more contingent about the surprising project , which is determine to launch in meter for Pac - Man ’s 45th day of remembrance next year . The undertaking is being developed internally at Bandai Namco by a team that ’s been working on the series “ for a foresighted time . ” Aizawa himself previously served as the manufacturer ofPac - Man 99 , so he ’s no stranger to Pac - Man spinoffs . For Bandai Namco , the goal is uncomplicated : bring in a brand - new sort of player to the world of Pac - Man .
“ Pac - Man has historically been a crime syndicate biz , and we wanted to reach a new fan that has never play Pac - Man before . When we thought about that , we choke back to the origin of Pac - Man , which is the snarl . And when we thought about the maze , we thought that the 2D activeness - platformer might be the best writing style . And that ’s where we think that maybe a sorry Pac - Man might fit dead well . ”
Aizawa say that while the project may look nothing like a traditional Pac - Man game , it shares some DNA with the classic serial . The studio broke the series down into three fundamentals : “ the maze construct , the eat concept , and how the tabular array can flip all of a sudden . ” While Aizawa does n’t explicitly utilize the news Metroidvania , his verbal description of the game fits that government note . He enunciate that the game has a primary story , but will also let player explore the function in a nonlinear fashion to “ collect gadgets and expand their power . ” The Good Book maze has been twisted here to cite to that specific variety of 2D Metroid - panache single-valued function .
While the team is quell tight - lipped on specific contingent ( Aizawa would n’t confirm if the arcade plot ’s iconic ghosts are represented , but he dropped a “ Please look forward to it ” with a laugh ) , he did reveal one point with a bit of history to it . The orb that guides the Swordsman is n’t in reality Pac - Man , but rather a fellow traveler character named Puck . That ’s a reference to the series ’ original name , Puck Man . There ’s a scrap of a mystery behind what on the nose Puck is , as it ’s a being that has been in the maze for a longsighted meter with unclear motivations for assist the Swordsman .
Those who have watch Amazon ’s Modern video game anthology seriesSecret Levelmight notice thatShadow Labyrinthshares similarity with the series’bizarre Pac - Man sequence . That , of line , is no accident . Aizawa explain that the game was already in ontogenesis when Amazon pitched the series to Bandai Namco , produce perfect space for a linkup - in .
“ The idea of Shadow Labyrinth started four years ago when we were brainstorming it . Then , while we were in production , we get a marriage proposal from Amazon about theSecret Levelproject . When that came into us , we reproposedShadow Labyrinthto them to see if they would be interested in ingest their interpretation of the tarradiddle . That ’s how the prequel ofShadow Labyrinthstarted . ”
While the projection was n’t conceived as an anniversary release , the team decided thatShadow Labyrinthwas the stark game to lionize Pac - Man ’s forty-fifth anniversary . The team acknowledges that it ’s not going to be everyone ’s cup of tea leaf , but it will deliver on the core theme for the series next yr : “ make encroachment . ”
Judging by how shockingShadow Labyrinth ’s trailer is , it seems like the team is already have .
Shadow Labyrinthis scheduled to exhaust in 2025 for PS5 , Xbox Series X / S , Nintendo Switch , and personal computer .
