Pac-Man World Re-Pac review

With most of yesteryear’s classics already remade or remastered, we’re starting to see the resurrection of the more middling efforts. Pac-Man World might have been liked upon its original release but the expectations for 3D platformers have escalated. Re-Pac offers upscaled nostalgia and improved responsiveness, but not much more.

During the late ‘90s, the platforming genre made a bold leap into the third dimension, bolstered by the abilities of the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation. But the shift from sprites to polygons wasn’t always a smooth process. Notable efforts like Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, and Super Mario 64 helped establish how character movement and camera control could work in worlds that exhibited depth. But the era also witnessed the release of completely mediocre, unwieldy 3D platformers. From Bug!, Jersey Devil, to Bubsy’s disastrous fourth outing, there were a multitude of 3D games that didn’t deliver the enjoyment of their 2D counterparts.

1999’s Pac-Man World arrived in the middle of this transition, earning positive critical and commercial responses. With the release of Pac-Man World Re-Pac, the game has been rebuilt in the Unity Engine, pitching a prescription for retro nostalgia aimed at two generations. But twenty-three years on, I wonder if we were all swayed by the visual allure of 3D play. Another thought: a Pac-Man World compilation of ports would have been a better commemoration for old ‘Pac.

A Birthday Surprise

Step into Re-Pac and you’ll find the original game’s delightfully dated CGI cutscene remade into a visually sharper, but less campy cinematic. Here, Pac-Man’s birthday celebration is disrupted by a gang of ghosts, who kidnap all of the party-goers. Namco’s beloved mascot springs into action, attempting to free his friends across 23 stages and 6 different worlds. These milieus might fault some insipid names (“Ruins Area”, Space Area”, etc) and fall back on cliched locations, but they have some creative boss battles. One even ditches the platforming for a Mario Kart-like showdown against evil clowns.

The moments leading up to that confrontations aren’t always as good. Pac-Man World is at its best when it’s almost like the original maze game. Periodically, mini-games will task you with gobbling down successions of dots. Devouring a power pill to turn your ghostly pursuers into enfeebled targets still feels fun. Sure, you’re not in mazes all of the time, but these moments feel the most like the source material.

But when it comes platforming, Pac is only satisfactory. Sure, he has a respectable set of abilities, from butt bouncing to defeat most non-metallic enemies, ledge grabs, and a rolling proficiency ability not unlike Sonic’s Spin Charge. But navigation has its quirks. Don’t position yourself precisely before rev-rolling up a ramp and you can be propelled into danger. In other moments, the spatial depth of the game’s many collectibles can be confounding.

No Warp Doors, Either

Those collectables can be a nag, too. While Re-Pac’s levels are linear, they have gate puzzles that will send you back-tracking in Sisyphean fashion. There are a lot of different elements to grab too, with fruit that acts like keys, scattered letters that spell out PACMAN, and dots to accumulate for scoring. But despite the sadistic approach to level design, the game is forgiving. Pac-Man can lose multiple health segments before becoming a ghost himself. There are liberal check-points, extra heath pieces, and multiple ways to earn more lives. I just wish the end-of-stage slot machine didn’t feel so sluggish.

It’s hidden down at the bottom of the game’s menu, but Re-Pac offers two visual approaches for Switch owners. Resolution Mode outputs at 1080p but has a framerate that’s persistently shy of 30FPS. Performance Mode attempts to hit 60FPS and will habitually drop a bit. But it feels exponentially more responsive. I don’t know why the developers didn’t set it as the default.

Beyond that oversight, this is an attractive remake. Developer Now Productions offers upscaled resolutions and texturing that look closer to a modern Switch game than anything from the PlayStation-era. Reinforcing the idea that this is a contemporary game, there’s even Chogokin PAC-MAN cosmetic DLC that seemed to be limited to the physical edition. If you’re like me and really miss the old days, the original Pac-Mac is playable after completing the 6-8 hour trek.

Pac-Man World Re-Pac was played on Switch
with review code provided by the publisher.