The original Pac-Man World 2 was a huge part of my gaming childhood. The integrated television show, 3D graphics, and cheeky characters blended my love of television and gaming. I spent hours exploring Pac Village, interacting with the Pac-villagers, and playing as much as I could.
So this ground-up remake of the original game was pure music to my ears. Not only that, I could also play it on the Switch 2, a console that I have been wanting to spend more time diving into platformers on the go.
In that way, Pac-Man World 2 Re-PAC feels like the perfect fit for this console, while I’m sure it would be perfectly fine on PS5 and Xbox, there is something about being able to take my little Pac buddy everywhere and dive into a different location in the village, eat some ghosts, and relive some childhood memories.
Chomp, Chomp, Chomp
The remake itself is a complete from-the-ground-up job. The characters and world have been redesigned to fit the 2025 gaming landscape, and if you are a fan of the original game, you would know that the dark, drab-looking characters and world worked back in 1994 but have not aged so well over the years.
Pac Village is bright and feels lived in, with each character interaction bursting with light and colourful details that shine both on the Switch 2 screen and in docked mode on the big screen.
When it comes to gameplay, it does stick pretty close to the original game; the addition of a shadow to your character does help with the many platforming areas of this game. You can see the outline of your character as they land, which, if you have played the punishing and unforgiving original first iteration of this game, you know just what an incredible addition this is.
In the second hub world, you basically spend each level jumping on different platforms placed high over a forest. Without this outline, it would be nearly impossible to get through each level. It was horrendously painful in 1994, and this addition makes it feel less so now (thank you to the game dev who had this idea!).
Regrettably, the camera is still as frustrating and fiddly as it was when the game originally came out. You can control the camera with the second thumb stick, however it has no issues zipping around too quickly and can easily get stuck at an awkward angle that is hard to recover from.
There were times I was standing on a platform in the forest and needed to move the camera to see my objective, only to get caught up under Pac-Man and unable to move it, so I just had to leap and either die or pray I landed where I was supposed to. It is a minor flaw in an otherwise perfect re-up.
It does run at 30fps in Quality mode when docked in 4K mode. If you are a frame rate connoisseur, you can set it to 60 fps at 1080p in handheld mode. It really depends on what you want and are looking for as to what you get here. I played between the two modes and enjoyed the game primarily in 60fps handheld mode.
What’s New?
A bunch of new features and missions have been added to the Re-PAC. There is a mission mode, which you can choose. There is a time trial and a collectathon where you need to collect all the fruit (there is A LOT, and not always in the easiest-to-reach areas).
The levels are quite lengthy, particularly in the later moments of the game, so this really does just add some replay value after you have finished the main campaign and unlocked the village. There are some great rewards for completing these challenges, including new pac-man mazes, figurines to display around your village and costumes to deck out your character with.
If you have a younger gamer, there is a Pac-Drone feature where a second player can join and shoot pac-pellets at enemies and break boxes. It’s a great way to introduce the next generation of gamers to Pac-Man and platformers.
There is an additional “Fairy Mode” which makes players invincible, and you can also skip portions of the stage if you get stuck. The remake brings back Martin Sherman, who provides the voice acting for Pac-Man, the entire game has full voice acting which also helps the game feel more relevant in 2025.
If you are a fan of the blue blur Sonic the Hedgehog, there is some crossover content coming on November 11 that adds a further three stages, a Sonic costume and a further 20 figures. Sonic’s racing game Crossworlds also now features Pac-Man as a playable racer and themed track if you need more Pac-Man in your life.
Final Thoughts
Pac-Man World 2 Re-PAC comes in at A$54.95, a lower price than most Switch 2 games. While this game definitely has a short time for its main campaign, coming in around 7 hours, there is plenty of replay value here with additional content and challenges that should keep you coming back for more.
Pac-Man World 2 Re-PAC is the shining example of how older games should be remade, completely from the ground up, modernising where needed while still retaining the Saturday morning cartoon quality of the characters and gameplay that made it such a classic in the first place.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Highlights: Visually stunning; Solid platforming; Additional missions
Lowlights: Difficulty can be frustrating; Camera controls are touchy
Developer: Now Production
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X, PC via Steam
Available: Now
Review conducted on Switch 2 with a release code provided by the publisher.
Featured header image also provided by the publisher.
