Of all the best retro remakes and reboots of old games, Shadow Labyrinth might very well end up as one of the strangest. A dark and gritty sci-fi game about cruel enemies, all the while being empowered by the dark, eldritch horror known as… er, Pac-Man? Yes, Shadow Labyrinth is a reboot of the Pac-Man franchise that seems to be inspired by games like Hollow Knight, Metroid and Inside, among other things, and certainly one of the more unique new games to come out in recent memory. I can't say anybody saw it coming, but I suppose you should credit developer Bandai Namco with not being too obvious and wanting to keep things fresh. Personally, I can't wait for the boss battle with a giant cherry.
But Shadow Labyrinth is only the latest in a grand history of retro reboots that went out to reinvent the games they were building on. Some of these stumbled hard, like Metroid: Other M falling short of the best Metroid games, or the 2002 Space Invaders remake "Space Raiders" best being forgotten. But there are some success stories! In fact, some of the best games in recent memory have been new takes on the supposedly "untouchable" classics.
