PAC-MAN 256 - Endless Arcade Maze

The history of this game started 40 years ago with a PAC-MAN arcade machine by the Japanese Bandai Namco. The game has come through numerous incarnations, but today it went back to its roots. The current mobile version of PAC-MAN looks exactly like the 1980 game for arcade machines. However, it includes many exciting modern features too so that you don’t get bored after a few rounds. 

Plot – 10/10

The synopsis of PAC-MAN mobile sends us back to its origins. You play a small yellow-head character who can’t do anything but eat everything on its way with the quack sound. Although the concept sounds so weird and primitive, it’s still incredibly catchy and immersive. The average round of PAC-MAN has very simple rules. You have to control the character to eat all the points on the labyrinth. It could be easy, but colorful ghosts will do everything to catch it. Some of the collectible items are fruits. If you eat them, you can make ghosts vulnerable and hunt them while they’re white. Besides, they become much faster, so you have to foresee their direction to eat them. Simple tokens, big tokens, fruits, and ghosts will give you a different number of points, so you should eat as many of them as possible. To pass to the next stage, you have to eat all the tokens on the map and keep at least one life. Every stage you pass will give you 1 extra life, but the maximal number of lives is 3. 

Controls – 10/10

The developer preserved the classic layout of controls. However, instead of the joystick, you have to swipe the screen in the right direction to make PAC-MAN turn on the right path. You also should match the timings and swipe only when the character reaches the right turn. Otherwise, you can get stuck, and ghosts will catch you. 

Design – 10/10

The look of the gameplay of the mobile PAC-MAN hasn’t changed over 40 years. It’s still the same 8-bit labyrinth with blue corridors on the black background. And you know what? It’s a perfect combination of colors that includes something more that style. It wakes a very strong nostalgia feeling inside, especially if you remember times when arcades were popular. 

In-Game Purchases

All the original levels of PAC-MAN are available for free. You can also pass missions to unlock new maps and other items. If you don’t want to wait, you can purchase extra tokens and spend them to buy cosmetics and unlock maps faster.