A brand new Pac-Man game, Pac-Man 99, launches today exclusively on Nintendo Switch, and you can play it for free if you’re a Nintendo Switch Online subscriber.
Like the eponymous Tetris 99 and the now-defunct Mario 35 Pac-Man 99 puts a large-scale competitive spin on the original Pac-Man arcade game. The core of Pac-Man gameplay is here: you move Pac-Man through a maze-like level, eating dots and fruits while avoiding ghosts. When you chew a power pellet, Pac-Man is put on the attack for a few seconds so that you can bite those ghostly pursuers and temporarily remove them from the level.
But Pac-Man 99 has a new threat to contend with: 98 other players.
Each person in a match plays their own Pac-Man level, and if caught by a ghost, they lose the match. Players can influence their opponents’ gameplay by eating ghosts to send a “Pity Pac-Man” to another player’s board. Touching a jammer Pac-Man slows Pac-Man’s movement, making it easier for the ghosts to trap you.
Pac-Man 99 also introduces new power-up items that provide additional play options styles, such as collecting ‘ghost train’ combos that increase a player’s personal score, pelt opponents with extra Jammer Pac-Men, or speed up the game for an extra challenge and higher rewards.
Each Pac-Man 99 the match lasts until one player remains – but you also get rewards if you don’t win the round. The points you earn during gameplay unlock in-game items such as avatar icons.
Pac-Man 99 has other game modes if you don’t want to play battle royale matches, including CPU battle and single player. However, these additional modes are not included in the base and must be purchased separately. You can also buy unique themes that change the game look. There are more than 20 available at launch, and each game is based on other Namco arcade games such as Dig Dug, Galaga, Tower of Druaga, and Xevious
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Some call Pac-Man 99 the “replacement” for Mario 35, since it only arrives for a week after Nintendo was shut down Mario 35’s servers and both games share similar gameplay conceits. However, it turns out Pac-Man 99 is here to stay, and not a temporary event like Mario 35 used to be. That said, since Pac-Man is now the third retro title to get the Battle-Royale treatment on the Switch, you’ll wonder if we’ll see any more games in the “99” series. I could go for one Donkey Kong 99 or Legend of Zelda 99
Pac-Man 99 will unlock on April 7 at 6:00 PM Pacific / 9:00 PM Eastern. It is available for free download on it Nintendo Switch eShop for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers, and you can download it early so you can start playing right away when it’s available.
The Nintendo Switch Online service costs $ 4 for a month, $ 8 for three months, or $ 20 per year. You can also sign up for one bundle that supports up to seven accounts for a one-time payment of $ 35 per year.