I admit it. When this review came along, my gaming patience was being tested to its limit by Silksong’s brutal difficulty. So I rolled pretty enthusiastically towards an alternative I hoped would be more relaxing. (I genuinely regret the hours I spent defeating The Last Judge.)

Pac-Man World 2: Re-Pac seemed the ideal pellet-shaped breath mint to freshen things up. But while this ground-up remake will likely please fans of the 2002 original, it’s ironic that I found myself haunted by similar frustrations that I was experiencing elsewhere – including bosses that crossed the line from being challenging to becoming a bit of a chore. For newcomers more generally, you’ll have to decide whether the price point of £34.99 at launch fits your budget for what is, at its core, a six-to-seven-hour experience in a genre where there are so many other options.

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Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Docked)

First, let’s address the concerns of those primarily interested in the quality of this refresh. For the most part, the new additions are incredibly positive. The inclusion of a landing target as you jump — a circle that shows you where you’re heading and makes platforming pain-free — is extremely welcome and gets rid of some of the frustration a game with its heart in the early noughties might give its players.

The graphical upgrade impresses, too. This is no ‘sharper’ re-release like we’re getting elsewhere with certain galactic competitors. In comparison, the older version now looks a little primitive, with some garish shadows. Finally, Pac-Man and the inhabitants of Pac-Land have been brought to life in a way that more lives up to the franchise’s promise, longevity, and sense of fun. From the sun-drenched town that serves as the level hub (and gives access to retro-inspired challenge mazes), to the longer draw distances, everything looks good. Only some moments of retro game design — camera frustrations, mostly — undermine the overall impression.

Performance on Switch 2, except for two very brief stutters, is 30fps in 'Quality' 4K docked mode, or 60fps at 1080p (docked or handheld). I didn’t have the chance to play on the original Switch, but 30fps is the max there in any mode. A word of caution, though: anyone planning to play this game on Switch Lite might find the presentation too small. I’m not sure it would be comfortable. The presentation here doesn’t suit small screens quite like other platformers.

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Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Handheld/Undocked)

This second ‘Re-Pac’ (the previous Pac-Man World: Re-Pac came out in 2022) has a decent amount of other new features. Now a second player can join in as a ‘Pac-Drone’ – ideal for a young child or anyone else happy to limit their gaming to shooting pellets at boxes and enemies. Changes to cut scenes and the level design also show up. The final boss, for example, is noticeably different to the original; the battle takes place in a slightly remixed arena with new enemies and attacks, and a more ambitious sheen to the presentation.

Then there are additions like the new mission mode. Here, the game asks you to fulfil three optional challenges on every stage, usually to pick up all the fruit (over 20 items – there’s a lot of fruit) and to achieve a medal on the time trial, plus one more random task.

For me, the levels were just too long to make going back and collecting such a high number of items actually fun, especially when the collectables reset every time you play, so there’s no chance of diving back in for a solitary melon or a strawberry. But there are scenarios (playing with your children, maybe) where the extra content will be appreciated, I’m sure. Gather all the collectibles and you’ll end up unlocking new mazes, costumes, and figurines to display around your home village.

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Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Docked)

During its stronger moments, Pac-Man World 2: Re-Pac really is a lot of fun. I enjoyed the submarine and swimming levels. I enjoyed skating away from a giant snowball. I enjoyed all the moments when Pac-Man gulped down a giant pellet and turned into a chomping head, reminiscent of his classic games, and turned the tables on the otherwise invincible ghosts. I liked the sense of momentum and the surprise that the platforming was much more challenging than I expected (one famously difficult lava level used up over 20 lives). I had my work cut out for me at times, and that was fine.

At a lower price, I might recommend the game more readily, but even then I would still lean into framing the review as assessing a slice of gaming history that’s been refreshed and renovated, rather than a game that truly earns its place alongside contemporary heavy hitters like Donkey Kong Bananza. There’s no shame in that, but let’s be clear – at its heart this is a much better-looking and smoother-playing version of a 23-year-old game. This story of the demonic Spooky stealing all of Pac-Land’s golden fruit, and the short little adventure that ensues, is a little old-school.

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Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Docked)

And, via moments of cumbersome difficulty reminiscent of a game from 2002, that’s my cue to tie this review back to the opening, specifically my self-indulgent use of Silksong as a reference. Let me say that I was grossly mistaken: I might have thought I was escaping frustration by playing a colourful Pac-Man game – surely it would be easy, right? But boy was I wrong during the finale. And not necessarily in a ‘fair’ kind of way.

I’d already had a little trouble with one of the bosses in the middle of the game, where I fell off the arena multiple times via a camera quirk that a modern platformer wouldn’t allow. I felt the same kind of unfairness here, too. Principally with some jumps I had to make rapidly in order to damage the boss – they erred on the side of being frustrating more than challenging and came after a sequence of attacks that were difficult to avoid and left me with barely any life left.

In a yellow-tinged irony, this boss had more than a passing resemblance to the Last Judge – and here’s the thing, I literally couldn’t kill it. I could not complete this game.

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Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Handheld/Undocked)

I don’t know what I was doing wrong. After 30 attempts, dying every time, having to go through the three stages of the boss fight over and over again, losing all my lives, suffering eight Game Overs, switching in desperation to the kid-friendly ‘fairy mode’ (that makes you invincible), and somehow still failing to succeed (I made the sequence of jumps once, then died at the top by flying off the arena), I was thrown back to the very start once again.

And I just had to stop. Honestly, maybe it’s time to go back to Silksong.

Conclusion

I don’t want to let my moan about the final boss overshadow the review. There’s still a fun game here, and a lovely remaster of a well-loved platformer. The things it does well — the personality of Pac-Man, friends, and enemies in the cut scenes, the variety in the gameplay — shine brightly. For those with nostalgia for the original, I’m sure you’ll enjoy your ‘Re-Pac’-aged version. It’s been made with love. For non-fans, however, this is a more difficult purchase to justify.

Arguably, the price is a little steep for what’s on offer, and some lingering retro-frustrations in the execution of the 3D platforming and boss fights might sit badly with an audience expecting a game with the finesse of more modern alternatives. Sure, even Donkey Kong Bananza has its share of cheap deaths, but the truth is Pac-Man World 2: Re-Pac isn’t in the same league. Short, sweet, prettified, retro, and not for everybody; those are the keywords here.

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