Shadow Labyrinth reimagines the Pac-Man franchise in the darkest and weirdest way you could possibly expect, but it manages to be a hell of a good time nonetheless. Whether youâre someone who loves anything starring the little yellow pellet-muncher, or just want a challenging Metroidvania to sink your teeth into, this one should be right up your alley. Youâve got quite a journey ahead, but the first few hours can be a lot to take in, so here are four tips to help you acclimate to Shadow Labyrinth
Take it slow and steady
Shadow Labyrinth is a surprisingly tough Metroidvania with a lot of traversal between checkpoints, so surviving the powerful foes and dangerous environments takes patience and precision. Take your time and consider your next move when approaching groups of enemies or hazardous obstacles. You can even move your camera around to survey the vicinity when needed.
And make sure you explore each area thoroughly, too, as there are tons of well-hidden secrets to find. Youâll sometimes even find that the environment is hiding secret pathways that are only revealed when you come in contact with it. Sneaky!
Always be chompinâ
One of Shadow Labyrinthâs most unique mechanics is Devour. By pressing in on the right stick, you can pick up and eat enemies after you kill them. Doing so will fill up your GAIA meter (more on that below) and reward you with materials you can trade for useful perks (stylized as PERKs in the game). So, yeah, youâll want to be doing this constantly
Dead enemies will disappear if you donât Devour them quickly, so make sure youâre consistently jamming that right stick to grab âem up and toss âem down your gullet. Luckily, you can pick up multiple dead enemies at once, making things slightly less tedious when dealing with groups.
Save GAIA for bosses to make quick work of them
As you eat enemies and fill up your GAIA meter, you can eventually transform into GAIA, allowing you to dish out huge damage while taking none yourself. Youâll occasionally need to use this to traverse through otherwise impassable environmental spots, but otherwise, Iâd really recommend you save it for bosses. At least early in the game, transforming into GAIA trivializes foes that might otherwise take a while to kill. I mean, I obliterated this stupid bear boss in the picture below so quickly I didnât really even see its moveset.
And as I mentioned above, Shadow Labyrinth often has quite a bit of ground to cover to reach checkpoints. So, if you donât want to have to make the long trek back to a boss, itâs probably best to use everything at your disposal to get past it. That being said, if you feel GAIA makes things too easy, go at it the swordfighter way. Itâs your game â play it however you want.
For the love of god, manually control PUCK
Youâll spend a lot of time riding D-Lines as PUCK in Shadow Labyrinth. These segments function like on-rails Pac-Man levels, and they often require a significant amount of twitchy movement to overcome. As such, youâll want to be sure youâre being as precise as possible and really thinking through how to handle D-Line movement.
By default, PUCK will automatically move in whichever direction youâve recently faced it. You can brake by using the right trigger on your controller, but due to the constant hazards in your way during D-Line rides, Iâd really recommend switching to manual control. By pressing the left bumper on your controller, you can take full control over when and how PUCK moves. Itâs so much better.
Now that you know to do, get PUCKinâ in Shadow Labyrinth now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and Windows PCs.
