Since the 1980s, Pac-Man has captivated audiences of all ages. While there have been numerous iterations of the classic game over the years, they almost always revolve around the basic concept of a player controlling Pac-Man to eat dots inside an enclosed maze while avoiding ghosts.
So you can imagine the surprise when fans sat through Secret Level's Pac-Man episode, only to discover the dark twist on the beloved character. The video game anthology series debuted in December, offering 15 unique episodes that bring our favorite video game franchises to life. One episode, titled "Pac-Man: Circle" teased the following synopsis:
Trapped in a vast maze and pursued by ghosts, a mysterious entity summons a warrior to help it escape.
I've slowly been making my way through each of the episodes in Secret Level, so I was a bit late to the surprise reveal. If you're here reading this, I'm assuming you've already watched it, so as you know the twist is that Puck -- the mysterious entity -- is encouraging the warrior to endlessly eat so that it can eventually consume him and use his strength to escape the maze.
As it turns out, the Secret Level episode was a vehicle used for the reveal of Bandai Namco's new game, Shadow Labyrinth, an alternate take on the classic Pac-Man franchise that reimagines the core theme of the game.
"The reveal of Shadow Labyrinth unravels the mystery of this new vision for the PAC-MAN franchise as seen in Secret Level, Prime Video’s adult-animated anthology series, as the setting for a 2D action-platformer where players must consume to survive on a hostile alien world," Bandai Namco said in its announcement press release.
Shadow Labyrinth reimagines the franchise as a 2D action platformer in which players take on the role of Swordsman No. 8. Following the events of the Secret Level episode, players awaken on an alien planet ravaged by war and monsters. Puck once again serves as your mentor and, like in the show, encourages you to consume everything in order to survive and become the planet's apex predator.
It sounds like the game will have a Metroidvania approach to its design as players explore this "maze-filled world where enemies and puzzles new and familiar will challenge them at every step."
"Success comes from mastery of fluid combat and exploration to uncover increasingly powerful abilities and skills and conquering challenging bosses to discover their true purpose," Bandai Namco teases. "As players progress through Shadow Labyrinth and dive deeper into the maze of this mysterious world, they will discover its secrets and learn why Puck chose them for this task."
Of course, if you've watched Secret Level, you already know Puck's sinister goal, which makes this whole secrecy a bit of a moot point. I'm sure this new spin on Pac-Man will be a fun new way to experience the classic franchise, but hopefully, there will be some additional twists revealed about Puck and this twisted hellscape.
Shadow Labyrinth will be released sometime in 2025 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.