Preview: ‘Shadow Labyrinth’ reimagines ‘Pac-Man’ as a grimdark metroidvania

I stumbled into “Shadow Labyrinth” sidewise. Idly flicking through Prime Video’s “Secret Level” last December, I watched seven minutes of surprisingly gory science fiction ostensibly based on “Pac-Man.” Perplexed, I wrote the animated short off as a non-canonical fantasia. I later realized it’s a glimpse of the future.

“Shadow Labyrinth,” out July 17, picks up where the “Secret Level” episode leaves off. You play as an alien warrior on a dangerous planet. An orb named PUCK (after the name of the original Japanese arcade game, “Puck Man”) floats around you and urges you to conquer and even devour foes. Where “Pac-Man” is brilliantly abstract, “Shadow Labyrinth” sits near the end of an exhaustive timeline that knits Namco classics like “Galaga” and “Dig Dug” into a connected universe.

I previewed hours of “Shadow Labyrinth” through a press event hosted by game-maker Bandai Namco. It was weird, but not as weird as I expected. It’s far from the franchise’s first attempt at a platformer, which began with 1984’s “Pac-Land.” Specifically, it’s a 2D action-adventure in the style of “Super Metroid,” “Hollow Knight,” or this year’s excellent “Ender Magnolia.”

Conventions from this “metroidvania” genre abound: A vast, maze-like map. Enemies that drop currency you can spend in shops or use to improve your attacks and defense. Limited slots for upgrades that nudge your playstyle in different directions. And, of course, a parry move that deflects enemies after they flash a color-coded warning.

You also have to carefully manage a stamina bar that also doubles as a magic meter. Dodges and parries use it up, as do special abilities. Attacking and moving doesn’t tax this resource, but you’ll have to wait for it to completely refill before resuming the usual rhythm of combat. Thankfully, you’ll also steadily charge up a giant robot mode, which can easily sweep basic enemies away and finish off pesky bosses, like the mechanized pink ghost I faced midway through my playthrough!

The game’s most unique elements hearken back to its arcade origins. Sometimes you’ll transform into PUCK and speed along set tracks. You’ll zip forward at the constant “waka-waka” rate, hopping off and onto the track to avoid obstacles. It’s precise and unforgiving compared to the game’s modern traversal mechanics — and it can be incredibly tricky.

You can also consume fallen foes (a cheeky reference to how Pac-Man chomps through anything in his path). At the press of a button and the cost of some stamina, a transparent image of your robot form will grab the corpse and gulp it down, netting you items that Bandai Namco reps told could be used to craft other character upgrades. I wasn’t allowed to explore those systems, but I’m hoping they’re as novel and bizarre as last year’s “Ultros."

I also wasn’t permitted to see much of the game’s story, but I do know one thing. There’s a LOT of it. “Pac-Man” never needed lore, but “Shadow Labyrinth” features numerous anime-esque characters who have lots to say about galactic forces and daily struggles. The game slides between earnest exposition to winking self-parody, but it’s much more serious than you’d expect any “Pac-Man” property to be, complete with monstrous versions of Namco characters ranging from “Dig Dug” to “Splatterhouse.”

To abuse the cliche, “Shadow Labyrinth” has come a long way from “Pac-Man.” By chasing the action platformer trend, it may be just experimental enough to bring a 45-year-old yellow circle into the modern gaming era. That could be a delicious morsel indeed.