Let’s just stipulate that nothing is sacred and everything from your childhood, your parents’ childhoods, and your kids’ childhoods is going to be trotted back out and made into a weird video game at some point, usually in a genre that peaked three years before. Then we can safely move on to our subject here, which was yesterday’s announcement that Pac-Man 99 has arrived on the Switch, and yes like Tetris 99 before it, it’s a battle royale. But hey, this one almost makes sense.
“PAC-MAN 99 is the latest entry in the long-running PAC-MAN franchise with an online multiplayer experience unlike any other in the series’ history,” Bandai Namco says. “Ninety-nine PAC-MAN players compete against each other until one remains. Chomp down on Power Pellets to activate special power-ups and send Jammer PAC-MAN to opponents’ mazes to become the last PAC standing.”
“Knock out other players by sending Jammer PAC-MAN to opponents’ mazes by touching a Power Pellet and defeating ghosts. Jammer PAC-MAN will clog up the competition’s maze and slow their PAC-MAN down, making it harder for them to avoid ghosts and clear out their maze of Pac-Dots. In addition to making ghosts vulnerable, Power Pellets also give PAC-MAN special abilities including increasing his speed or sending more Jammer PAC-MAN to other players’ mazes. Each ability comes with a drawback so choose your strategy wisely.”
It’s live now and free-to-play, though naturally there are paid DLC on offer, bought individually or in bulk for $30.
