WHACK-A WAKKA WAKKA

Pac-Man gets entertainingly miscast in grimdark Metroidvania SHADOW LABYRINTH

- Abbie Stone

Not since Bob Hoskins’ Mario shoved his face down a woman’s top have I witnessed such a bizarrely adult reimagining of a family-friendly character. While Shadow Labyrinth never goes that far this is still a game in which Pac-Man helps you slaughter monsters with brains on the wrong sides of their skulls. Then he helpfully swallows their spines afterwards so you can spend them at the shop.

Well, technically it isn’t Pac-Man. Here your companion is called Puck, a cute nod to what was almost Pac-Man’s name/a helpful distancing of this monster from being considered the real deal. Because Puck is a manipulative, untrustworthy devil on your shoulder who’s unlikely to be fronting any Saturday morning cartoons anytime soon. You actually play as someone Puck summoned from another dimension to help with their shady quest, and Puck keeps referring to you as Number Eight. Brrr.