Re-Pac Attack
The Pac-Man World games were always something of a guilty pleasure for me during their run. It made logical sense to put Pac-Man into a 3D platformer, but each one grew weirder and weirder as they went on. Pac-Man World 2 could have just been a bare bones remaster, but instead Bandai Namco went the extra mile. Retooled the game and added some quality of life improvements to create a fun romp with a few hangups throughout.
Starting with the most obvious change, the visuals have seen a massive overhaul. The game runs at a smooth 60fps on Xbox Series X and the character models have received a nice upgrade. The world just feels more vibrant and alive. The core design has not been as improved as some levels still feel flat and uninspired. This is harder though as the game’s structure was designed as a linear platformer, so changing more would have required more time to mix up the gameplay itself. It works and looks good, and it runs smoothly, the game looks and feels like my younger brain remembers.
MSRP: $29.99
Platforms: PlayStation (Reviewed), Xbox, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $29.99
There are also new features specifically designed for this version. First up, each level has a set of challenges to complete. These are standard fare with things like collecting all the fruit, but they do come with a purpose. These will unlock new mazes, costumes, and figures for your collection. It is a nice addition that makes revisiting levels actually mean something. I still didn’t do it most of the time though simply because it doesn’t keep track of it. So each time I went back into a level, it all reset.
Some of the levels and bosses have also been re-tweaked for this version. This makes for a nice change up for those that remember the original. Finally we have a co-op mode that is designed for younger players where the second player can join in as a Pac-Drone that simply shoots pellets at items and enemies. These are pretty common and help with parents who want to play with their kids.
Pac-Man has some new moves here as well. The flip kick and butt bounce are the highlights and somehow they made the aiming of the bounce work. The controls are stellar with great response time and making the platforming feel just right. They did a great job of tweaking the game to feel modern while still retaining that classic feel.
The thing I loved most about this sequel was its variety. The game takes a lot of cues from other platformers and introduces new biomes regularly. The levels are a lot of fun and I found myself just having a good time while traversing them. There is nothing wholly original or special about any of it, it just works. There are some awkward spikes in the difficulty at times, but those can easily be overcome. It definitely feels out of that era where games didn’t understand pacing quite as well.
In practice, I found myself replaying levels for better times, extra missions, or simply to admire hidden routes. It doesn’t have the level-by-level breadth of Mario 64 or Banjo-Kazooie, but for a franchise like Pac-Man it’s a respectable package.
Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac on Xbox Series X is not a flawless remake—but it’s a surprisingly heartwarming one. It enhances visuals, smooths out rough edges in control, and layers in replay value without losing the core DNA of the original.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
