Pac-Man is widely recognized as the very first video game mascot, and just last year his franchise celebrated its 45th anniversary. This is a staggering figure. To hear that some of these video game franchises are getting this old is really baffling. Obviously, Pac-Man began as the arcade series, wherein you controlled our titular yellow hero as he navigated a maze, munched dozens of pellets and fruit and tried to evade a cadre of brightly colored ghosts who are trying to catch Pac-Man. Pac-Man quickly became a pop cultural icon, as Namco (now Bandai Namco) sought to turn the character into a full-blown mascot. We saw a Hanna-Barbera cartoon, metric boatloads of merchandise, a Billboard charting song, and tons of different video game spin-offs. They slowly pivoted away from the maze-centric games into 2D side-scrolling platformers, and then finally in 1999, a PS1 3D platformer in Pac-Man World.
Pac-Man World Re-PAC is a remake of the PS1 original. The visuals have been completely overhauled into a genuinely astonishingly gorgeous art style. This is definitely the largest change. I played this game on my Steam Deck OLED, and couldn't believe how vibrant and pretty the game looked. Some stages also received alterations and slight gameplay elements were tweaked, though not really anything particularly remarkable.
If you've never played Pac-Man World, it's a fairly unique 3D platformer. Like with most 3D platformers released in the wake of Super Mario 64, this title took a good deal of inspiration from that generational N64 classic. For this title, the core element of that Mario 64 inspiration comes in the form of the small, mostly empty hub world with portals that lead to each of your different levels. Ghost Island serves as said hub, and it's comprised of six distinct regions, each with three or four stages and a boss fight. I personally wish Ghost Island had more to do, as its a beautifully designed hub area. While the regions are mostly neat and conceptually fun, the individual level designs are hit or miss for me. I specifically didn't care much for the stages in the Factory and Funhouse regions. The platforming wasn't bad or anything, it actually got progressively more complex and interesting as time went on; rather the layouts for some the levels just felt repetitive and like some of the locations and stage blueprints were being recycled over and over. I will say, I was pleasantly surprised at how challenging some of the stages could be, especially the boss fights. The final boss fight specifically took me three or four tries to finally complete.
Gameplay wise, Pac-Man possesses a few abilities to help him navigate through the stages. For attacks, he can do a butt bounce sort of attack, not unlike Mario's ground pound. This move can also be utilized to reach greater heights. Then Pac-Man can also do a running attack, which reminds me of Sonic's classic spin move. He can also use the pellets that you pick up to throw as a projectile, or you can hold the button, and he'll use five projectiles at once, to throw as a bomb. Lastly, Pac-Man can occasionally eat a Power Pellet to become a massive form that is capable of eating ghosts, which are otherwise invulnerable to his basic attacks. None of the normal enemies that you encounter really require anything more complex than his basic attacks, but I've got to say that it felt unsatisfying. I would've loved for Pac-Man to have like a basic punch/kick combo, or maybe suit-themed power-ups like from Mario or just something to feel a little more capable.
I have not played the sequel to this game; neither the 2002 original version, nor the brand new remake from 2025. From looking into it, it sounds like Pac-Man World 2 adds a great deal more variety to the stages and general gameplay, and it sounds like much more feature rich game. I look forward to checking out that title in the near future, as this game has really reinvigorated my love for Pac-Man as a character.
I really enjoyed my time with Pac-Man World Re-PAC. Like I mentioned, it feels like a PS1 game, which can be both a good and a bad thing. The new, gorgeous graphics almost made me feel like I was playing a brand new game, but once I actually got into some stages, those nearly thirty year old, early 3D platformer mechanics and antiquated level designs were made more apparent. I think the game has a ton of charm to it though, and I found it to be quite enjoyable, despite its rougher edges. It's a relatively brief experience too, as I finished it in under eight hours. If you can grab it on sale, I really think you'll find a nice value in Pac-Man World Re-PAC.
VERDICT: Recommended
Reviewed on PC (via Steam Deck)
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