To celebrate Pac-Man’s 45th anniversary, Bandai Namco reveals Shadow Labyrinth’s maze sections

Bandai Namco has celebrated the 45th anniversary of Pac-Man by revealing the maze sections in its upcoming spin-off Shadow Labyrinth.

Revealed at The Game Awards last December, Shadow Labyrinth is a sci-fi themed 2D action platformer described as “a genre-twisting alternate take” on Pac-Man.

The player takes on the role of Swordsman No 8, who has to consume everything they can to survive in a hostile alien world.

The Swordsman is accompanied by Puck, a “mysterious yet recognizable figure who teaches them that their aim in this treacherous world is to escape it”.

In the game’s latest trailer, published today, it was revealed that Shadow Labyrinth will have sections designed to look like more traditional Pac-Man stages, albeit with different layouts and other features.

As well as the various references to Pac-Man and its subsequent sequels, Shadow Labyrinth will also have numerous references to other classic Namco games, according to Bandai Namco.

The game will be released on July 18 on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, Switch and PC.

Although Pac-Man was officially released to the Japanese public in July 1980, the first focus test for the game started in Shibuya on May 22, 1980, meaning today marks exactly 45 years since it was first playable by the public.

Originally released as Puck Man before the name was changed for obvious reasons, designer Toru Iwatani’s game is notable for pioneering in a number of ways.

Not only was Pac-Man the first major gaming mascot, the game is cited as one of the first (though not the very first) to have a plot told with cutscenes, one of the first to feature power-ups and one of the first to have deterministic AI, where enemies change their direction depending on where the player moves rather than following a set route.

More than 40 Pac-Man games have been released over the years, with recent notable examples including Nintendo‘s massively multiplayer Pac-Man 99, the critically acclaimed Pac-Man Championship Edition series and the 14-game compilation Pac-Man Museum+.