Pac-Man World Re-Pac is a 3D platform game developed by Now Production and published by Bandai Namco. While Pac-Man World Runs only short, it’s still a fun platformer that’s improved over the original version of the game, thanks to some QoL features that tone down the more frustrating moments.
Despite the name, Pac-Man World Re-Pac contains only short segments of the classic Pac-Man gameplay style in its stages, and it’s closer to the 3D platformers on the PS1 than the source material. The story of Pac-Man World Re-Pac involves Pac-Man’s family being kidnapped for his birthday party, with the evil robot Toc-Man teaming up with the ghosts to get to Pac-Man’s relatives. It’s up to Pac-Man to progress through several levels and free his family before a final showdown with Toc-Man.
The player can choose between different worlds in Pac-Man World Re-Pac, but the phases in it must be completed in linear order. Pac-Man must jump and stomp his way through levels, using the familiar fruits and keys from the arcade game to unlock doors. Pac-Man can also fire his pellets at enemies and will occasionally find a Power Pellet that allows him to transform into his familiar giant spherical shape, where he can devour enemies. The levels in the game usually follow similar patterns, but they have plenty of unlockable items and secrets to find, so players should explore as much as possible.
Pac-Man World Re-Pac is a remake of Pac-Man World, which was released in 1999 for the original PlayStation. This version of the game has been completely remade and looks great, bringing the cartoonish world of Pac-Man to life in a much more appealing way than the original. The QoL improvements are the big selling point, including a new floating move similar to Princess Peach’s in the Super Mario Bros. games This is especially useful for Pac-Man World Re-Pacwhere many of the platforms are thin and the camera angle can make it difficult to judge the distance of jumps.
Pac-Man World Re-Pac adds Easy Mode, which can be accessed at any time, and extends the length of the hover motion after a jump. In Pac-Man World Re-Pac, is the main source of character deaths falling off stage, so the addition of the hover motion, as well as the abundance of lives/checkpoints means things don’t get too frustrating. The QoL improvements really improve the game and people familiar with the original game will discover many differences.
There are some segments of classic Pac-Man gameplay that mixes things up as there are hidden maze items scattered around the stage that will throw the player into another Pac-Man cards using the new visuals. These often include new elements, such as fire-breathing statues that can harm Pac-Man if he approaches them. These stages provide necessary breaks from the normal gameplay loop, and they help the stages feel too monotonous over the course of a single run. Pac-Man World Re-Pac also has some great boss fights, with an unexpected kart racing sim being the highlight of the bunch.
It is good to mention that Pac-Man World Re-Pac is short, with a non-completionist walkthrough that can be easily completed in 4-5 hours. Even a full completion run only adds a few extra hours to the runtime. In some ways, this works to the game’s advantage, as it prevents the stages from getting too monotonous. People who buy the game should be aware that it is not an extended platform game in the form of any of the Super Mario Bros. games and all its secrets can be revealed in a relatively short time.
Pac-Man World Re-Pac is a great remake of a good game. The visual overhaul of the graphics looks great and the new QoL features help smooth out some of the rough edges present in many games of its time. The evenness of the stages and the short runtime are blows to the game, but it’s still a fun experience and worth checking out for platform game fans.
Pac-Man World Re-Pac is now available for Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. Screen Rant has been provided with a code for the PS5 version of the game for this review.
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