Developer: Bandai Namco
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Switch 2, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Tested on: Switch 2
Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac – Review
Back in 2022, we reviewed Pac-Man World Re-Pac, a title that was so deserving of a second lease on life, as it’s one of Pac-Man’s real adventure titles outside of his usual maze setting. We concluded the game was quite nice, albeit still a product of its time and perhaps a bit too expensive. Even so, we had a lot of fun playing through the title. Now, with our Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac review copy coming in, we were quite excited to see how the second title in the series would hold up after a few snazzy upgrades and content additions.
Story
Blinky, Inky, Pinky, and Clyde, Pac-Man World’s resident ghosts, are up to no good, as usual, and this time they truly messed up. The ghosts sneak into Pac-Village and steal the golden fruit, which apparently had magical properties and kept the evil entity Spooky sealed away. The Pac-Knight defeated Spooky, but he was never truly vanquished and could only be sealed away. With this ravenous evildoer on the loose, Pac-Man will have to step up to the plate and become the next Pac-Knight.
While the story isn’t exactly ground-breaking here, the overall presentation was nice, and there was actually a lot more story content than initially expected. There are several cutscenes throughout the game’s six-hour span, and that’s a lot more than similar titles that were released during the PS2 era. We found the experience to be rather charming and still very relevant.
Graphics
Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac looks even better than the 2022 remaster of Pac-Man World. Of course, the latter was a PS1 release, whereas Pac-Man World 2 was a PS2 release, and thus, there is already more modern technology under the hood of this twenty-year-old classic game. We tried out the game on Switch 2, and we were quickly enamored by the bright and colorful themed worlds and their different enemies. The game has never looked better, and performance was also buttery smooth on Nintendo’s new hybrid console.
Sound
Catchy tunes and iconic sound effects truly take center stage in Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac, and we found ourselves vibing only moments into the game. It’s quite easy to bop your head to the beat, and there are so many recognizable SFX that truly set the tone for this remaster. Some music does get looped quite a lot, and every themed world often makes do with only one track. The latter was not necessarily a bad thing, as most levels are quite short, so you’ll play through them before the music becomes annoying. If you’re looking to find all collectibles, though, you will spend a bit more time completing the levels. An honorable mention goes to the voice acting, which was the icing on the cake here.
Gameplay
Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac is, like its predecessor, a fairly standard 3D action platformer in which you’ll have to do a lot of platforming, some mild puzzling, take out minions, and even defeat bosses at the end of a set of stages. There’s also a huge collectathon element in the game, which will reward you with snazzy outfits. To spice things up even further, there are also tiny classic Pac-Man segments that put you in maze-like settings while ghosts chase you. It’s a well-rounded experience with a few difficulty spikes, but the game does offer the option to lower the difficulty significantly if you simply want to focus on platforming and collecting. All in all, the controls are pretty tight, and the game offers very solid platforming action.
Outside of the regular platforming experience, Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac does offer a bit of extra content with expanded levels, mazes you can play through in the arcade in Pac-Village, and even a two-player mode. The latter wasn’t anything too special, as the second player is somewhat reduced to ‘supporting’ Pac-Man by attacking enemies or sucking up items. While not anything groundbreaking, it’s a fun addition for when kids want to join in on the fun. This, combined with all the collection options, will let you squeeze a bit of extra time out of the game. The game comes with a moderate price tag of €39.99 on consoles and €29.99 on PC, which feels reasonably fair, but it’s still on the fairly steep side. Nonetheless, if you’re a huge fan of platformers or loved the original, we reckon the price tag will matter a bit less when picking this one up.
Conclusion
Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac is a great sequel to 2022’s Pac-Man World Re-Pac, and it perhaps goes beyond what the first installment had to offer. We felt that this second title had a bit more meat on its bones and was simply a slightly superior upgrade compared to the original. If you loved the first game or are simply a fan of old-school platformers, then you can’t really go wrong with Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac. You’ll be treated to solid platforming mechanics, interesting boss battles, and a slew of collectibles to keep you entertained for several hours. While the game isn’t that long by itself, collecting everything will add a few more hours to the experience.
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