Grab the new Pac-Man Metroidvania at a discount on Steam Deck

Shadow Labyrinth reimagines Pac-Man through a darker lens. It’s a bold, genre-bending adventure that’s packed with loads of Bandai Namco references to iconic arcade games like Galaga and Dig-Dug. All of that, with solid action and a great atmosphere, and right now, you can even snag Shadow Labyrinth at a great discount on Steam Deck, thanks to Fanatical.

As we await the Hollow Knight Silksong release date, which, let’s be honest, feels like it’s never coming, we’re all looking for games like Hollow Knight to scratch that itch. Shadow Labyrinth will certainly do this, as it blends Metroidvania, 2D platforming, and soulslike strategy, with rich narrative-driven storytelling.

Shadow Labyrinth is an origin story reimagining Pac-Man’s roots, only this spherical guy is called Puck, a nod to the original name, Puc-Man, perhaps? Puck is a prisoner trapped in a decaying alien labyrinth, and she needs your help to escape. You play as Swordsman Number Eight, a silent warrior who awakens in the ruins with no memory. You unite forces with Puck, carving a path through the festering landscape toward freedom and self-discovery in this great Steam Deck game.

Shadow Labyrinth is all about strategy. My advice is to master the sword early on, as you’ll be able to wield a blade with a basic three-hit combo, strike vertically, or downward thrust to bounce off enemies. You’ll also be able to dodge, but beyond this, there isn’t much else you can do, so strategic hits and avoiding damage are paramount. You’ll have limited health and plenty of enemies to plow through. Baddies don’t drop healing items; instead, you’ll have one single restoration charge. Once spent, it remains depleted until you reach an advanced Meiku Soul – a save point which is very far and few between. More common are simple Meiku Souls, which act as checkpoints. If you die, you can choose to respawn at either a save or a checkpoint, offering strategy as you can choose to recover health at the expense of having to cover more ground.

Then there is level design, which makes Shadow Labyrinth one of the best Metroidvania games already. You’ll encounter a primary route with offshoots, destructible walls, and locked key pads. Rather than leading to new areas, these elements typically serve as shortcuts. The game knows it’s putting you through punishing gauntlets of enemies and hazards, and it wisely avoids making you repeat them. After surviving a tough stretch, you’ll often reach a fork: one path pushes forward, while the other loops back to a previously blocked obstacle. From there, it’s a simple task to destroy the barrier or unlock the gate, creating a shortcut that bypasses the dangers you’ve already overcome. It’s a classic Soulslike gameplay loop — challenging, rewarding, and deeply addictive.

If Shadow Labyrinth isn’t sounding Pac-Man enough for you, fear not. In our Shadow Labyrinth review, Kayleigh Partleton comments, “the ‘gobble, gobble’ aspect of Pac-Man comes in, as you, with the help of Puck, need to feast on your fallen foes to gain energy.” This, combined with the metroidvania-style and maze-like levels, you’ve got the DNA of a Pac-Man game, just with a dark, sinister twist.

If you’re nervous about forking out a lot a dough on Shadow Labyrinth, you can grab it for just $25.19/£21.83 at Fanatical, a huge 16% off the retail price straight after launch.

It’s a relatively simple game, visually, so you can grab the best Steam Deck dock on our list and be in for a great time on a bigger screen. Alternatively, if you’re looking for something a bit more adrenaline-inducing, our best action games list has a huge variety of great titles to enjoy.