Shadow Labyrinth

Play it on: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, Switch 2, Windows PCs (Steam Deck: “Verified”)
Current goal: Discover what the hell this game is

What a wild time to be a gamer of my age. Donkey Kong and Pac-Man were two of the first gaming icons I could recognize as a kid. I can still remember the distinct music and sound effects of their original outings filling the smoky, neon-lit air at the arcades of my youth. And this week both of these legends, now in their 40s, got brand new games. I’ll definitely be playing Bananza as well but I have a pretty good idea of what Bananza is. The thing about Pac-Man’s new outing, Shadow Labyrinth, is that it looks so different from your typical Pac-Man game. That’s neither inherently good or bad—I’ll never forget 2006’s Bomberman: Act Zero giving its beloved cartoonish hero and charming gameplay an “edgy” makeover, to disastrous results. But at the same time, I’m very open to shakeups of the Pac-Man formula. I consider 2007’s Pac-Man: Championship Edition and its 2010 follow-up, Pac-Man: Championship Edition DX to be masterpieces. And succeed or fail, it’s clear that Shadow Labyrinth is, like those games, trying something new.

I’ve deliberately avoided reading anything about it or watching any recent trailers because it’s rare that I get to go into a game having little knowledge of what to expect. Can Pac-Man still surprise me, more than 40 years after we first met? — Carolyn Petit

And that wraps our picks. Happy gaming!