Shadow Labyrinth Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Review

Shadow Labyrinth is developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It’s like, what if you mashed up a Metroidvania’s sprawling world with a Souls-like’s tough combat and then threw in a bit of Pac-Man for how you get around? It’s a super ambitious mix of genres that actually gives you a surprisingly solid gameplay experience.

The core gameplay is a really good starting point, but sadly, it feels like they built a frustrating, not-so-great add-on on top of it. So, the whole thing ends up feeling like it’s missing out on its full potential.

The story begins with the player’s revival by an artificial robot named PUCK, who guides them on a journey with concealed motives. As new areas are discovered and the narrative unfolds, these hidden agendas are progressively brought to light.

Right from the start, the game just feels good to play. The platforming is super tight and responsive, and the way you move around is unique. Every enemy fight is a dangerous dance of timing and positioning, demanding your full attention in a way that Souls-like fans will totally appreciate. Exploration, which is crucial for any Metroidvania, is a blast at first. The interconnected world is dark, mysterious, and full of cool secrets that just pull you forward.

Unfortunately, that initial thrill of discovery gets constantly bogged down by the game’s biggest problem: how slowly you progress. Key abilities, and a lot of them are super important for just getting around, unlock way too late in the game. This means you’ll constantly see unreachable ledges, only to realize you won’t get the tool to pass them for hours and hours. This isn’t clever teasing of a well-designed Metroidvania map; it’s just a tedious cycle of hitting dead ends that kills the sense of discovery and makes the game feel bloated with endless backtracking.

This feeling of repetition isn’t just about backtracking; it’s built into the combat too. Shadow Labyrinth has a surprisingly small enemy roster. The game tries to make up for it by bringing in “infected” versions later on, but these are usually just enemies with different colors and more health, not offering any new challenge or strategy. This lack of variety is really noticeable during boss fights, which too often feel like bigger, tougher versions of the regular enemies you’ve already beaten, instead of unique, climactic encounters.

Ultimately, Shadow Labyrinth is a game full of frustrating contradictions. It’s got a strong mechanical core, an interesting idea, and some really awesome moments of exploration. But it’s wrapped in a game design that seems determined to sabotage its own strengths. While the exploration can be fun and the combat is engaging, both are hurt by bad ability pacing and repetitive content. For the most hardcore genre fans, there’s a diamond in the rough to be found here. For everyone else, Shadow Labyrinth is a cool idea that just gets lost in its own maze. I would rate Shadow Labyrinth 6 out of 10.

For more information, visit the Nintendo eShop.

Related: Reviews by Hemal Patel

Hemal Patel

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A gamer turned into a game developer. A huge batman fan and follower of Arkham Series, generally I like to play mostly Action and RPG genre of Games. Into the Abyss!!! PSN: AbyssRyder