Consoles: PS5, PS4, Xbox One XBox series X/S, Nintendo Switch, PC
Published: Bandai Namco
Developers: Now Production
Released: August 2022
One of the most known mascots that people of all ages wil recognise is none other than Pacman. Pacman is the main protagonist of his own series known as
Pacman. The hero was the king of Arcades and was created in 1980. Since his initial creation, the hero has been in more than 30 games and has created plenty of
merchandises. Pacman's figure made its appearance in multiple other media such as films and was featured as special guest in many games such as Super smas bros Ultimate.
In late 1999s, in order to celebrate the heros 20th anniversary, developer Namco Hometek created the game Pacman World released for the Playstation 1 console.
A remake was made for the Game Boy Advance in 2004. At the time both games were criticaly aclaied with everyone praising the game. The success of the game was also proven by the
ammount of copies sold.
In 2022, a new Pacman game remake known as Pacman World RePac was developed by Now Production. The new remake was also well received with the Nintendo Switch version being the one
with the most mixed reviews. The remake was revealed in 2020 through a Nintendo Direct. Leading to its release the devs announced that the game would be slightly different than the original
one as new additions and changes were going to be made.
The game was released in two versions:
Standard
The game's physical copy
Collector Edition
The physical game, a DLC skin and a statue of Pacman/Chogokin
Story of the Game
The story of the game is the exact same as the one before. It was a sunny day and it was Pacmans 20th birthday. His family wanted to prepare a surprise party for their yellow friend however some others felt the exact opposite.
Pacmans enemies, the ghosts Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde came to crash the party. They came with a mission to capture Pacman. However, the got completely confused as they didnt know who the real Pacman was. The proceeded to
crash the area and kidnapped every single person that they considered to be Pacman. The hero came late and all he managed to see was an air balloon floating away with leaflets falling off. Pacman realised it was a party invitation
to the Ghost islands whose main event was to "meet the Pacman".
The herp then begins his way to the Ghost islands. There the ghosts were preparing the party. Their leader Tocman seemed to be picky regarding the decorations. The room was silenced when Inky the cyan ghost rushed into the
hall in order to break the news that the Real Pacman was still free and was here. Upset with the announcment, Tocman vows to stop the hero before he can crash the party.
Thoughts on the story
The story for me was just fine. The idea of creating an anniversary game with the heroes celebrate a milestone has been done multiple times such as Sonic Generations , Astrobot etc.
As this is mainly a platformer, the plot simply works. Nothing to special, but a nice addition nonetheless. The game doesnt have deep character development nor does it have anything too complex.
Gameplay
Pacman World Re-Pac is an adventure that combines gameplay elements of a classic Platformer and that of Pacman. At the start of his adventure, Pacman joins the others in the Ghost Islands. The islands act as this games Hub
World. Pacman cannot do anything in the hubworld aside from entering the gates which lead to the level. The islands are visibly separated in zones where a boss is in charge. The player can enter a level and each time he successfully
clears it, a new door will be unlocked leading to the boss room. Each time a boss room is cleared the player can enter other zones in order to clear the next boss. If the hero saves a family member, he can then interact with that member.
Completing the game unlocks an arcade machine which the player can use in order to play some classic Pacman.
Uppon entering the level, the player can play a 2D/3D platformer where Pacman has to travel from one side of the level all the way to the other. Pacman's mobility is extremely limited as keep in mind this is a remaster of a 1999 game.
The hero can move on a 2D environment, however in certain ocasions the level opens into an open space area where 3D is available. The hero has the ability to jump however double jumb is not in the hero's skillset. To cover a longer distance,
the player can hold down a button which will allow Pacman to hover on air for a short period of time. Holding down a different button will allow Pacman to sprint on the spot and when the button is released the hero will spring forward.
This same ability of holding down the button can also be used to take down enemies. The hero will sprint dashing and headbutting the enemies who stood infront of him. Another way of dealing with enemies is by ground punding. Whilst on air the
player can tap the ground pound attack which will make the hero stomp the ground which not only kills any enemy found underneath him it also launches him higher up in the air in comparison to his normal jumping ability. Moreover the hero can deal
with his foes by using projectile attacks. Around the levels and everytime an enemy is being taken down, they release yellow sphere known as Pac-Dots, the same dots Pacman eats in the 80s classic. The hero can throw these dots and take down foes
from distance. In certain levels, the hero can obtain the Metal power up and the Bomb Dot that allow him to take down certain types of enemies or massive ammount of enemies. Death only accures when the player takes alot of damage. Each time
an enemy hits him he loses a part from his life(Circle). If all of it goes away the player loses. Life can be restored if the players collect a healling pac.
It wouldnt be a Pacman game without the classic gameplay we all get to know. Around certain areas, usually when ghosts are near by, theres a giant Pac-Dot. Upon consuming it, Pacman will transform into the classic sphere and will be able to consume
the ghosts and also eat the pacdots. This powerup similar to the classic, is time limited and it cannot be abused. The classic game experience can also be found in the mazes. The mazes are small collectable gates that unlock a maze filled with pac-dots,
4 bigger Dots and the four ghost which will chase the hero. The player has to collect all the dots in order to clear it. Last but not least, the classic arcade game can be found in the hub world uppon completing the game which will allow everyone to play the 80s game.
The levels are filled with treassures that the player can collect. One of the things the players can collect is the previously mentioned Pac dots which they get from defeated enemies and can be used offensively. The Power ups were also mentioned that can be used to take down
enemie and in some cases are necessary. Important to collect are fruits, coins, extra life, a key and P-A-C-M-A-N letters. The fruits dont do much but they do boost the points obtained upon clearing the level. Both the Key and the fruits can also be used to unlock certain doors which usually have
collectables or unlock the Maze. The P-A-C-M-A-N letters are the main collectable that also represent how far the players are into the level. Last but not least the coins allow the player to spin the slots. Usually at the end of a level, the player can play a small minigame
where they have a limited time in order to collect fruits that are scattered around. After that, Pacman will approach a slot machine where he ll spent the coins earned. Getting a pair of twos grants points where as getting a Jackpot grants lives. At the end of the slots session,
all the fruits and pac dots collected will be added to give the clearing score points.
Thoughts on the Gameplay
I couldnt say i was dissapointed with the game as i knew where i was getting my self into. Pacman world Repac is just an okay game. It does feel like a 1999s game but the polishness atleast made the experience much more smoother. The hero's movement is very generic and very limited which
in 2024(the year it came out) felt weak. The 2D/3D sections felt slow and the level design was straight forward. The powerups as well as the letters gave me some extra gameplay hours but eventually i got a bit bored of it. The mazes on the other hand were really fun and some challenging.
By far the best thing in the game.
Post Game Content
Upon completing the game, the player dont get to do much. They can always replay the levels and collect all the P-A-C-M-A-N letters. Another thing they can do is unlocked and clear all the Mazes. The mazes are the typical pacman games with the modern graphics and
in game mechanicks such as spinning flames, moving rocks etc. Last but not least when the player clears the final level, an arcade machine will be washed asshore for the players to access. When interacting with the machine, the player gets to play classic Pacman in
the same way the game was back in 1980.
Sound and Graphics
The graphics of the game are simple. The newest version was remastered in the Unity Engine. The game is rounded and less pizelated with everything looking crispy clean. It doesnt have much animations and the ones it has
are all of excellent quality. The game does contain cutscenes both in game and story wise. The story cutscenes are usually simple and lack movement and life. The majority seem plain and simple. The ingame cutscenes, usually introduced
to show a boss, follow a similar formula where the hero walks in and Tocman appears to introduce the boss.
On the sound department the game does not dissapoint as much. The music that plays is usually the sound you would expect from a pacman game, it does have the pacmanish vibe. The audio is polished and up to 2022 standards. The sound effects do the exact same.
Every time the hero eats, throws a dot or eats fruits and enemies. The main problem of the audio, is found in the cutscenes. The game has 0 spoken dialog and the noises that re made are the typical growling sound.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, Parcman World Re-Pac is an ok game. I wouldnt say it does much to stand out as a game in 2025 but its is a remaster so it shouldnt be. The remaster experience is polished and allows the player to play a smooth experience. The plot of the game is simple
which matches its type of game. A simple Mascot platformer. Gameplay wise, the game combines 2D platforming with smaller 3D sections on top of that. As the game is Pacman, it cleverly combines classic Pacman elements such as absorbing a tac to eat the ghosts and through
the mazes the player can experience classic Pacman gameplay with level gimmicks. Upon successfully clearing the game, the players get access to an arcade machine which grants them access to the classic Pacman game. Graphic wise the game looks very good with gameplay and
cutscenes being very polished. Audio wise the game sounds like a Pacman game would. It has zero spoken dialog and thus the cutscenes are all voice less. Overall its a pleasant experience that with the right price tag it would be a good game to play.
This is a video with my Honest review close to when i played the Game
