Pac-Man World Re-Pac
Supports : PC, PS4, PS5, XBox One, Series, Switch
Release date : August 26, 2022
Developer: Now Production
There’s a way to have fun in this little revamp of Pac-Man World
- Cool 3D platformer
- A clean overhaul
- Varied levels and accessible to the youngest
- Not really any content that stands out
- The collection aspect is not very useful
- Maze levels, simplistic
What’s yellow and waiting?
Pac-Man probably thought he was enjoying his birthday in peace, but a bit like Son Goku, his mere presence inevitably ends up attracting his enemies and it is his relatives who pay the price. Whereas the whole Pac-Man family was taken to Ghost Island and the party is ruined, our round yellow hero sets out to save them.
Pac-Man World Re-Pac is a 3D platform game with a classic 2.5D camera. You fight your way through the levels trying to collect the letters of the name Pac-Man and a variety of fruits which will be used to unlock doors and bonuses. Of course, it is not very complicated to cross the island of ghosts and save your friends, prisoners of many ghosts and monsters of all kinds. Pac-Man is an old timer, he has more than one eraser in his bagdare I say.
Pac-Man does indeed have a few tricks up his sleeve.. In addition to running and jumping like you’d expect, Pac-Man can also grab onto ledges, bounce off his butt to smash what’s below, hover a bit, and even do a charged sprint at the bottom. image of a Sonic Spin-Dash.
The Yellow Pac-Gums also play an important role in Pac-Man World Re-Pac. They can be picked up to serve as projectiles against enemies (I confess to having never used them before late in the adventure), while metal erasers make Pac-Man invulnerable and heavy enough to walk on the bottom of the water. Power gums are the best though, because they transform our hero into a huge Pac-Man which devours everything in its path.
Each of the six worlds of Pac-Man World has a different theme and its own set of fun mechanics. The pirate world has cannons and skeletons, the circus world has revolving platforms and scary clowns, the ancient ruins have giant spiders and the factory will give you a kick ass. There is a nice variety of themes in the levels, which are never too long.
Each world also ends with a boss fight, with its own mechanics. One boss requires you to dodge attacks along conveyor belts, another has to lower his shields by sprinting on special pads that power him up, another will ask you to bounce his cannonballs off webs to throw them back at him, etc…. It never feels repetitive.
That said, Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of Pac-Man World Re-Pac is the collectibles. By exploring each crevice of a level and backtracking to open each fruit door to find all the letters, you’ll gain access to a 30-second bonus stage that only gives you extra fruits and lives, as the game is really easy. What about the slot machine at the end of each level, to win even more lives…
In addition to Pac-Man letters, there are also a maze to unlock in each level, which will allow you to play an old-fashioned game of Pac-Man, with a limited amount of lives. These levels then become accessible via the Hub at any time. I find that these parts break the rhythm of the levels without being funny or original enough to break to unlock them. Everyone will have their own opinion on the matter.
We can find that he has a very outdated side, but the refurbishment was nicely done. The title is colorful, varied and the characters well animated.
In all fairness, Pac-Man Worlkd Re-Pac is fun, but not (or not anymore) original enough to make us want to dive back into all the levels to unlock all the bonuses, once the adventure is over. The game appeals to the youngest, who have here a nice little platform game, with a lot of mechanics to manage, a fun world and an adapted lifespan, which will be neither too short nor too long for their age.