Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac | REVIEW | PC/STEAM

''PAC IS BACK!''

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Developed: NOW PRODUCTION

Published: Bandai Namco Entertainment

Genre: Platformer

Release Date: Sept 25th, 2025

Platforms: PS4/PS5/Xbox Family/NSW/NSW 2/STEAM

*REVIEW COPY PROVIDED TO ME BY BANDAI NAMCO

Pac is back in another remaster of a classic platformer title and it is developed by NOW PRODUCTION and published by Bandai Namco. With Pac-Man World Re-Pac being a success and Pac-Man in general basically making his big comeback as a of late, Bandai decided its now time to give some love and Re-Pac another platformer game, this time being Pac-Man World 2. But was this title worth remastering the same as the first one? or should it have just been a new game altogether? Only one way to find out, so lets chomp!

''He's happy about the destruction of his village''

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GAMEPLAY

I'm not really sure what has changed over the last several years that has made Pac-Man a household name again after all this time, but whatever the event was that triggered it, I'm actually pretty grateful for it because Pac-Man himself is one of the kings of gaming, right up there alongside juggernauts like Mario and Sonic. I reviewed Pac-Man World Re-Pac several years ago and I was pleasantly surprised at how well that game was treated by the developers, you could tell they truly cared about the IP and honestly it seems they show the same attention to this one too. Now if these devs just existed in the 90's then maybe we wouldn't have gotten the abomination known as Pac-Man 2 The New Adventures. In my review of Pac-Man World I literally complained about that game for roughly 4 to 5 minutes simply because Pac-Man was a super smug jerk face that always disobeyed your orders whenever he could because of his attitude. This is why I think I grew up to be the person I am today, for instance in games whenever someone is an ass to me or mouths off, I immediately destroy them and their entire village if I can just to prove a point to them that no one talks back or there will be consequences... and I think I learned that behavior from Pac-Man 2 The New Adventures due to the fact that whenever he showed me attitude, whined like a little baby and did what he wanted to do or was being sassy to me, I'd sabotage his life by getting doors slammed in his face, making him trip to fall off a cliff, getting bees and dogs to attack him as revenge, you name it, I did it. Its all your fault New Adventures, you made me the cynical woman I am today, just wait till the next time I play you, you'll get it worse next time, trust me, you little round piece of garbage. Anyways, I'm doing it again just like last time, lets move on. Here in Pac-World 2, you get the usual and familiar setup with the usual villains standing in your way, such as Clyde, Pinky and the rest of the gang invade Pac-Village as they try to steal the golden fruit of legend... which is a much better premise than getting your family kidnapped like its the Pac-Man version of Taken or something like the first game was, like seriously, who just steals a mans family on the same day of his party then stuffs them into cages for you to find? besides villains of Kirby of course and me in Minecraft when I don't want the villagers to escape, but that's besides the point, its about them, NOT ME. DONT JUGE ME. Little did the ghost crew know however is by trying to steal the legendary fruit, they instead awoken an even more evil ghost named Spooky who takes them in as his own personal minions using the fruit itself to control them and allow them to wreak havoc all over the place. Great job you dumb ghosts, you go to steal an item and that same item is used on you to control and brainwash you.. its like getting fired on your day off, how lame can you be?.

Of course being the brave hero our round plump boy is, he knows its up to him to bring down this new threat to Pac-Village and the rest of the world as vines of thorns and other menacing villains popup across the land as a consequence for the fruit being used by Spooky. Not too ground breaking right? story wise, well what do you expect, this is just a 3D platformer, you won't get something super in depth overall, but its just enough to start a narrative to give our main character the incentive to want to go on the journey, otherwise...you know.. we wouldn't have a game. If only we could've done the ''no game'' part with New Adventures, then that would've been great. Moving on. Straight forward story aside, this title excels at its overall gameplay with fluid feeling platforming that feels even more polished than Pac-World remake was several years prior, all without sacrificing any of Pac-World 2's core gameplay for its level design and secret routes to take. The levels themselves are linear and not as ''open'' as some platformers or even sandbox platformers you see nowadays, but it honestly works in the games favor as it allowed the developers to focus much more on the finer and minute details that a lot of other ''bigger'' structured games cannot do or didnt do, giving it the edge of fidelity and creativity, especially compared to the original Pac-Man World 2 from 2002. Pac-Man here in this entry doesnt do anything ground breaking as far as his move set goes with his usual jumping, butt stomping and standard timing and aiming your precision jumps to land on platforms or strike an enemy, however, everything feels way more finer tuned, smooth and responsive, making it feel like a brand new game compared to the original release or even compared to Pac-Man World 1's remake. From the way you can now perfectly time your booty stomping onto enemies or obstacles in your way by jumping from a higher advantage point, using your pellet throwing to your advantage with precision that feel fast and reactive to use against enemies that you are scared to get super close to by firing off at them as a ranged attacked, changed rolling mechanic that this go around doesnt just roll at a leisurely speed and instead uses momentum to boost you forward at an even more rapid rate as you zoom roll down slopes and ledges with faster speeds that help taking out enemies or speed trials. The games new found smoothness helps out immensely the further you get into the game as each levels difficulty become more challenging due to item placement and other secrets to find that in previous titles would be harder to get due to placement and stiffness of controls but here, because of the great controls and how responsive they are, you feel much more encouraged to scan your environment, jump and hover and WANT to get every item you come across since it no longer feels like a chore, especially when taking on the last few sections of the game and the post game section of the title that is for more veteran leveled players. Not meaning to brag but, I'm a veteran obviously... a veteran at smashing Pac-Man's face into a door, HOW'D YOU LIKE THAT CHUMP!?.

What if you aren't a veteran though, just not good at platformers overall or even just want to let your kids have a shot at playing? is this title suitable for them or people that aren't highly skilled? absolutely. Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac features an easy mode that allows players of all ages and skill to be able to enjoy their experience so that no one is left behind, so that they too, along side you, can smash your way through level objectives, time trial ranking runs, fruit hints, engaging boss fights, worlds that use their own varied mechanics like auto scrolling sections or skill based timing for enemy types or bosses themselves as you near the end of the game. Beyond platforming, much like Kirby And The Forgotten Land recently with a village to hang out in between missions, so to does Pac-Man World 2 with your hub area being Pac-Village, only this time I don't have any resident NPC to light on fire like I did in Kirby, so rest easy Pac-friends, you all get to be spared from my wrath, all of you except PAC-MAN HIMSELF, GET HIM BEES. As you push through the main game itself, more things will unlock in the Pac-Village such as more residents to chat with if you feel like it, new treasures to find and even mini quests for you to take on should you need a break from the overall campaign like new takes on arcade classics, capsule toy dispenser, again, similar to Kirby, collectible medals, decorations to be found for village customization that for people like myself, can waste hours doing this alone, obtain different costumes and even a co-op option for a second player should your kids or friend want to join in on the fun. Its replay ability and accessibility at its finest and gives you more incentive to keep playing, long after the game is over, which to me, is a the mark of a TRUE platformer through and through.

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''MASSIVE FART STOMP''

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OVERALL:

At the end of the day, Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac is one of those rare cases where the remake actually surpasses the original title in every facet possible. Sure some platforming may get a tad bit repetitive here and there or Pac-Village side content might not be as robust as you'd want it to be beyond what it currently is, but even still, as an overall package, with its precision platforming with more responsive controls, updated fidelity and level design that keeps the core of the original intact while also expanding upon it, fun boss fights, difficulty that moves at a level doesnt cheat the player, great amount of replayability both during your main playthrough itself and its post game, co-op that allows family, friends or kids to play alongside you or each other, a campaign mode that doesn't overstay its welcome which ensures multiple fast playthroughs for those that love speed running platforming games, etc etc, its all superb and a blast to play. So if you're looking for an absolute SOLID platformer that doesn't involve the Nintendo label and forges itself on top as one of the current generations most fun 3D platformers out there, then you owe it to yourself to give this one a shot, I guarantee you and your family will not regret it. So with all that having been said, my verdict is clear, GameNChick says... ATTACK HIM DOGGY! BITE HIM BITE HIM. Oh... I mean, GameNChick says BUY NOW

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