A new Pac-Man battle royale game known as Pac-Man 99 is releasing on Switch today. In what appeared to be a surprise announcement on its Twitter feed yesterday night, Nintendo of America announced that “PAC-MAN is back in a new 99-PAC-MAN battle royale!” The new multiplayer take on the classic is not only a Nintendo exclusive, but also only available to Switch Online members and will go live later today. Head below for more details and the debut trailer.
Pac-Man 99 battle royale
Just as the Super Mario Bros. 35 battle royale game was disappointingly taken down from the eShop, Nintendo’s larger plan is seemingly coming to light with the release of another one of its battle royale games for Switch Online members only.
The new Pac-Man 99 battle royale game will be familiar to anyone who played Super Mario Bros. 35 or Tetris 99. You’ll be avoiding Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde as well as chowing down on the usual pellets through the iconic maze-like stages, but with an interesting multiplayer twist. Your Pac-Man will be directly competing with presumably 98 others, sending them obstacles and new challenges based on your performance.
Along with what Nintendo refers to as “preset strategies,” players will be eating Power Pellets and entire trains of Ghosts to send Jammers and obstacles to the other players in the battle royale match:
Eat a Power Pellets to turn the ghosts blue and make them vulnerable. Eat them to send Jammer Pac-Man to your opponents! The more ghosts you eat, the more Jammers you’ll send! Gain the upper hand by switching between eight different preset strategies: speed up, send extra Jammers, and more. Switching at just the right moment could give you an edge over your rivals!
The Pac-Man 99 battle royale game is set for release on the eShop for FREE with a Switch Online membership tonight at 9 p.m. ET.
9to5Toys‘ take
Well, as sad as it was to see Mario 35 disappear, Nintendo is looking to make up for it with its new Pac-Man battle royale. NAMCO will also be selling in-game goodies like custom themes based on Xevious, GALAGA, Dig Dug, and more at $1.99+ a pop via the eShop, but none of that stuff is required and can just be ignored entirely.
And remember to dive into our hands-on video review of all the 40th anniversary Pac-Man gear and arcades right here. Then head over to our games/apps guide for all of the best deals and news coverage across every platform.
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