The Battle Royale genre has completely blown up in video games. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) was the one to kick the whole thing off, Fortnite made it mainstream, Call of Duty and Apex Legends became huge hits, and now Pac-Man 99 is out in the wild for us dads to show off our ancient arcade skills. You could say we’ve been training our whole lives for this moment.
Pac-Man 99 was just announced last night and will be only available to Nintendo Switch Online members starting today at 6pm PST. Much like Tetris 99 or (the now unplayable) Super Mario Bros. 35, Pac-Man 99 features the traditional Pac-Man gameplay with the added pressure of outlasting a ton of other opponents.
Ghosts are still present, as are Power Pellets, but there are new power-ups and strategies to watch out for. Every ghost you eat will be sent to attack other players as a “Jammer Pac-Man”. If you do bump into one of these Jammer Pac-Man, you’ll move much slower, and will be easier for an actual Ghost to catch up and sadly end your run. The key to securing your own victory is to go after “Sleeping Ghosts”. By chomping them, you will create a “Ghost Train” behind a colored ghost, and when you eat a Power Pellet, it’ll be an all-you-can-eat buffet, allowing you to satisfyingly overwhelm your opponents with Jammer Pac-Man.
You get all that? No? Me neither. Also, I wouldn’t recommend reading that out loud as it will make you sound like a complete madman.
Pac-Man 99 does include additional paid content that is optional. This content unlocks classic Pac-Man modes and NAMCO themes based on other arcade classics like Xevious, Galaga, Dig Dug, and more.
If you don’t have a Nintendo Switch Online membership, one month will cost you $5, and you get access to 90+ NES and SNES games too. Nintendo Switch Online definitely isn’t as extensive in features as PS Plus or Xbox Live, but it’s not a bad deal. You can even have a family plan so everyone has access for the same price. Might as well sign everyone up so you can show off your true gaming powers.
