Pac-Man World Re-Pac is a 3D platformer developed by Now Production and published by Bandai Namco. While Pac-Man World only has a short runtime, it's still a fun platformer that has improved on the original version of the game, thanks to some QoL features that tone down its more frustrating moments.
Despite the name, Pac-Man World Re-Pac only features brief segments of the classic Pac-Man gameplay style in its stages, and it's closer to the 3D platformers on the PS1 than it is to its source material. The story of Pac-Man World Re-Pac involves Pac-Man's family being kidnapped ahead of his birthday party, with the villainous robot Toc-Man teaming up with the ghosts to nab Pac-Man's relatives. It's up to Pac-Man to go through different levels and free his family, before a final showdown with Toc-Man.
The player can choose between different worlds in Pac-Man World Re-Pac, but the stages in them must be completed in linear order. Pac-Man must jump and ground pound his way through stages, and use the familiar fruits and keys from the arcade game to unlock doors. Pac-Man can also fire his pellets at enemies and will occasionally find a Power Pellet that lets him turn into his familiar giant sphere form, where he can devour enemies. The levels in the game usually follow similar patterns, but they have plenty of unlockables and secrets to find, so players should explore as much as possible.
Pac-Man World Re-Pac is a remake of Pac-Man World, which was released for the original PlayStation in 1999. This version of the game has had its visuals completely remade and looks great, with Pac-Man's cartoonish world brought to life in a much more appealing way than the original. The QoL improvements are the big selling point, including a new floating move that is similar to the one Princess Peach uses in the Super Mario Bros. games This is especially useful in Pac-Man World Re-Pac, where many of the platforms are thin and the camera angle can make it hard to judge the distance of jumps.
Pac-Man World Re-Pac adds Easy Mode, which can be accessed at any time, and extends the length of the floating move after a jump. In Pac-Man World Re-Pac, the most significant source of character deaths is falling off the stage, so the addition of the floating move, as well as the abundance of lives/checkpoints means that things don't become too frustrating. The QoL improvements really do improve the game and people familiar with the original game will find a lot of differences.
There are some segments of classic Pac-Man gameplay that mix things up, as there are hidden maze items spread across the stage that will throw the player into different Pac-Man maps that use the new visuals. These will often include new elements, such as fire-breathing statues that can harm Pac-Man if he approaches them. These stages offer some needed breaks from the regular gameplay loop and they help the stages from feeling too samey over the course of a single run. Pac-Man World Re-Pac also has some great boss battles, with an unexpected kart racing sim being the highlight of the bunch.
It bears mentioning that Pac-Man World Re-Pac is short, with a non-completionist run-through that can easily be finished in 4-5 hours. Even a full completionist run will only add a few extra hours to the runtime. In some ways, this works in the game's favor, as it stops the stages from becoming too samey. People who are purchasing the game just need to be aware that it's not an expansive platformer in the mold of one of the Super Mario Bros. games and all of its secrets can be revealed in a relatively short period of time.
Pac-Man World Re-Pac is a great remake of a good game. The visual overhaul of the graphics looks great and the new QoL features help iron out some of the rough edges that are present in many games of its era. The sameness of the stages and the short runtime are blows against the game, but it's still a fun experience, and worth checking out for fans of platformers.
Pac-Man World Re-Pac is available now for Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Screen Rant was provided with a code for the PS5 version of the game for the purposes of this review.