Possibly the best Pacman game out there.

✓ Procedurally generated
✓ Progression system
✓ Power-ups
✓ Local multi-player
✓ GNU/Linux support

PAC-MAN 256 Is a port of a free to play mobile game developed by Hipster Whale, the talented studio behind the very addictive Crossy Road.

This particular PAC-MAN title is based around the infamous level 256 glitch in the 1980’s classic, PAC-MAN. The glitch occurred when the player makes it to level 256, where the right-hand side of the screen would turn in to a jumble of letters and numbers.

This is a very unique take on the PAC-MAN formula where you will be challenged to continuously move upwards in a never ending battle with the maze, ghosts, power-ups and the infamous level 256 glitch that is following behind.

The aim of the game, like most PAC-MAN and arcade titles is to chase the highest score possible. There are many ways to increase the score multiplier as such as eating many ghosts in quick succession, as you would expect from a PAC-MAN title. The core mechanics that you would expect from a PAC-MAN game are here and they work well, controlling PAC-MAN feels as tight and responsive as ever.

Hipster Whale evolve some of the original core PAC-MAN gameplay elements; collecting 256 pac-dots in a row will erupt 256 pac-dot chain that explodes the screen in celebration all while eliminating all ghosts on the screen. I found myself obsessively attempting to earn the 256 pac-dot chain as it was both satisfying and rewarding.

Each ghost has their own idiosyncrasies where for example, the pink ghost will chase PAC-MAN if you appear in its line of sight, the orange ghost will continuously move down the screen while the blue ghost will always hug a maze wall and move in a counter-clockwise rotation. Learning how each ghost works is imperative to your success in PAC-MAN 256.

Unlike previous titles in the series, PAC-MAN 256 features an array of power-ups that add new elements of fun, tactics and hilarity as you see a large PAC-MAN stomping around the maze squishing ghosts like a out of control bulldozer.

Power-ups can be that can be upgraded using coins that are earned within the game and not purchased with real money, unlike the mobile counterpart. Upgrading a power-up will make it more powerful; for example, leveling up the Laser power-up will allow the laser to last longer, giving PAC-MAN more protection from those ever pesky ghosts. As well as earning them in game, you will be rewarded with free coin gifts at random intervals after several runs through the game. This makes this version of the game far more generous with the coins than the original mobile game.

On top of the generousness of the in-game currency; upgrade times have been significantly reduced from the mobile game. Within PAC-MAN 256 on mobile devices, it would take anywhere from a few seconds to a few hours to upgrade the power ups. In the PC version of the game, these updates happen instantaneously.

The audio should be commended as it sticks to the classic and iconic PAC-MAN sounds and music that PAC-MAN fans have come to love over the years. It does not feel outdated and in fact feels right at home in this zany take on the franchise.

A local multiplayer mode is also featured in the game where up to 4 players can share the same screen in a frenzy to earn the highest score. Unfortunately, no online multiplayer is available.

As expected, there is not much in the way of graphics options however the game can be played in both windowed and fullscreen with a range of different screen resolutions available to chose from. In-game effects can also be turned on or off.

A option to change the skin of each maze is available and this provided me with many extra hours of enjoyment as I waka-waka’d my way through a office, garden, classic 80’s PAC-MAN and even Crossy Road.

At £3.99, this game includes no micro-transactions, no advertisements and comes with all add-ons that were available for purchase in the games mobile version. If you have any interest in PAC-MAN or are just looking for a quick and fun time killer, I would need to recommend you check out PAC-MAN 256 and its unique take on the classic yellow icon.

Review hosted: https://theandrewangle.wordpress.com/2018/10/18/pac-man-256-review/

"support-pacman256@bandainamcoent.eu"

As few people already said that, my story is same. Bought Humble Bundle because of Ace Combat and played this instead (laughing out loud). You might ask what so good about it and why's it even worth mentioning. Maybe there's none.
Maybe it was just throwback to childhood where Pacman was serious thing and with Donkey Kong like king of the gaming.

Now, should you really get sentimental over the game when you're reviewing it? Definitely yes. Why? Because main reason games are (and should be) here is not state of being perfect and without errors, but actually be able to stuck in your mind and bring you joy and smile on your face when you play them. So most definitely sentimental reviews are true picture of that certain game.

This Pacman is not really that extraordinary. Yes, there are powerups and some of them are really cool, you can do local co-op so if you have some mates who love nostalgia, then you can go back in time . Tradings cards are bonus. Game will last you between 2-3 hours, depends on how you play it. Overall gaming experience is pretty nice and game is really enjoyable.

I'm not sure if there is much more to say. If you got it in Humble, then good for you, if you played Pacman as child, then definitely play this game, if you want easy achievements then go for it and if you want only cards then you suck.

Bonus Point: Retro is Back

Categorize under digital crack. Power-ups, load-outs, rewards a plenty. One scrolling maze with another factor to consider, a "glitch" eats away the bottom. The ghosts Akabei, Pinkī, Aosuke and Guzuta, as usual all have their own behaviors.

Nice package by Bandai Namco. Steam integration, the works.

• Split Screen PvP
  
• Split Screen Coop
  
• Shared Screen PvP
  
• Shared Screen Coop
  
• Remote Play Together
  
• Steam Achievements
  
• Steam Trading Cards
  
• Steam Cloud
  
• Steam Leader-boards

First a quick disclaimer: Steam shows me as only having a short time on this game, but I've been playing the mobile version since it released (which is nearly identical to this one) and have racked up some really huge amount of time on it, so I'm going into this review having already played this game to death.

Now, onto the review.

Pac-Man 256 is a unique take on the old Pac-Man formula that changes things up quite alot, yet doesnt stray from the "core" of the Pac-Man gameplay formula. You could almost describe this game as Pac-Man + a Roguelike, as the maze is randomly generated out of a large variety of pre-made sections as you go along, with powerups and ghosts placed in random spots. The idea of the game is simple: You go through the maze as always, eating as many dots as you can, avoiding ghosts, and so on, but in this game the infamous Killscreen Glitch is constantly chasing you. A solid wall of total gibberish, this is always below your position, and it constantly advances, so you are forced to keep heading upwards further into the maze. There isnt anything you can do to stop the Glitch, so one way or another, it forces you to keep up a good pace; it's a mechanic that works out pretty well. It's also honestly just cool to see, they made it look particularly awesome, and the closer you get to it, the more messed up the screen and sound will get, and you get a rather disturbing sound effect if it manages to get you. So the only thing you can do is to keep moving... right into the clutches of the ever-familiar Ghosts.

All the usual cast is here, but there are some unfamiliar faces here too. Each Ghost has their own unique behavior pattern: Blinky (red) is the most determined and persistent of all of them (like he was in the original, and will simply chase you non-stop. Pinky (pink, of course) just sits there until you cross her line of sight, at which point she'll charge at you, moving much faster than you can until she hits a wall. Inky (blue) simply travels counter-clockwise around whatever maze wall he's currently attached to. Clyde (orange) never, ever moves upward, but always downward towards the glitch and will take downward paths even if you're right in front of him and it means that he misses you. Sue (purple) appears in groups, forming a slow moving wall that simply tries to block your path. Funky (green) forms a longer, fast-moving wall that bounces back and forth. Spunky (gray) is the lazy one, sleeping until you get near, at which point he goes all Blinky on you for a few seconds before going "feh" and falling asleep again. Lastly, Glitchy (???) is a corrupted mess of a ghost, spraying out wonky letters and symbols as he moves around, also having the ability to teleport.

Learning the behaviors of all of these ghosts is the key to mastering the game. The game will throw TONS of ghosts at you, but it is never unfair about this... there's always a way to dodge them, particularly if you learn how to manipulate certain ones into moving where you want them to.

As always, you have the classic Power Pellets at your disposal, which do just what you'd think they do: They turn the ghosts blue and slow them down, and you can eat them until the effect wears off. Each ghost you eat in a chain will give more points than the last, and grabbing another Power Pellet while the first is still going will reset it's timer without resetting the chain, allowing for really big points. Fruits are also plentiful, and when you grab them you get some points and also a multiplier that lasts for awhile, multiplying all incoming points from any source. Which fruit you grab determines how big the multiplier is (with melons being the highest, at a x6 multiplier), and these are the key to REALLY big scores. Grabbing a fruit and then getting a high level ghost chain from a Pellet is the thing you most want to do.

Of course, with so many ghosts around and the ever advancing Killscreen Glitch, Power Pellets alone arent going to be enough. Fortunately, the game adds tons of different powerups to the mix. The great thing about these is that they give you all sorts of fun effects, but they dont go totally overboard. They never take away from the feel of a real Pac-Man game. If you've ever played any of the remakes of classic games that were popular in the late 90s, you probably know what I mean by remakes that go too far with new ideas, transforming an old classic into something kinda crappy. That never happens here, and these powerups only add to the game. There's all sorts of effects here... you have a laser that fires out in front of Pac-Man (with infinite range until it hits a wall), one item that spawns tornadoes that roam around hunting ghosts, another that puts out an aura around you, causing you to be able to grab dots and things in lanes you arent even in, or other loopy effects. You have a "loadout" of three powerups that you can choose before beginning a run, which determines which powerups will appear in that run. Power Pellets will always appear, and are the ones with the biggest scoring potential by far. Learning to use all of these different items is very important, and not all of them are easy to use to their fullest potential.

Unlocking powerups and enhancing them is a pretty slow process... the unlocking simply happens as you keep playing, but powering them up further requires coins, which are either found in the maze or given to you by the various "missions" that will pop up. Each time you enhance a powerup, it will either last a bit longer, or give more points, and each time the cost for the next enhancement will double. These get very expensive after awhile and the process gets slower and slower, so that can be a bit of an issue at times.

There is one other special mechanic: As you keep eating dots, you'll notice that there's a counter that keeps going up as you keep eating them. At certain intervals (16, 32, 64, so on) you'll get a small blob of points, but the real bonus happens if you can get your dot chain up to 256, which will give you a huge point bonus and clear the screen and next maze section of ghosts. Doing this is difficult though; if your chain is interrupted by running over an empty space, it resets back to 0. Getting a full chain of 256 is the most difficult thing to do in the game.

One other thing to keep in mind is that this is a port of a mobile game, and a bit of a lazy one at that. It does have it's issues, but fortunately not many... I found that they dont really impact my experience with the game much.

Also: This is a DIFFICULT game. You're going to die. Really often, and often really fast. The game gets brutal quickly. The ghost combinations and maze layouts work together to make your task as complicated and challenging as possible, and once you get hit, that's it, that's the end of your run. Getting a truly high score is no small feat.

Overall, this is a fantastic game, and expands really well on the old Pac-man formula without screwing anything up. For me, this is one of those games that I just keep coming back to constantly, and I can absolutely recommend it to anyone that likes Pac-man whatsoever.

In Pac-Man 256 you find yourself in an infinite maze with the pressure of a glitch in the matrix that destroys everything,
it won't make much difference whether our yellow pill taker takes a red or a blue pill, as long as it's in the direction away from the glitch all is safe and sound.
It is also possible to play locally with a friend and see who can get the furthest.

You can check out Pac-Man 256 gameplay here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GshqlTEfDHY

The game also has good support for ultra-wide resolutions although I don't think it brings much of an advantage to the gameplay of this game,
you can see an example of gameplay at 3840*1080 resolution here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wf-EmM-VKSY

Pacman 256 is different from traditional pacman games, But it is a very nice take on the game with a lot of powerups to take on the ghosts, leaderboards and even 4 player local coop with your friends.

The Original Pacman level 256 is and impossible to complete corrupted level due to the technical limits of the arcade machines. Half the screen got corrupted with strange letters, The Glitch is practically famous. And Pacman 256 goes beyond this level.

In Pacman 256 you don't have to collect all dots, there are no levels, and there are more ghosts than the traditional few. It is just 1 endless level in which you have to escape from the corruption that is slowly eating up the level behind you, If you go in to the corrupted zone you are dead.

There are a ton of powerups, which let you shoot lasers, become a bomb, grow huge or spawn whirlwinds. Most of them are to squash the ghosts that are all over the place, You can find anywhere from 2 to 20 ghosts on the screen at any time so you practically need there powerups to kill the ghosts and keep on collecting those dots.

You unlock new powerups by eating pacdots, You can upgrade the powerups using credits, which you also find scattered around the level, But you also get credits for completing goals like use X powerup 5 times or get a streak, You even get some gifts for nothing sometimes. There are more than 20 powerups, and each powerup can be upgraded 7 times. These mainly add time to the counter and score you more points.

There is a lot to the game aside from the parts I listed here, You gain dot streaks by eating dots in a row which greatly enhance your score, Ofcourse there are still power pellets which makes the ghosts blue so you can eat them, There are global leaderboards, friends leaderboards, You can even adjust the general looks of the game, There are a bunch of themes which change the ghosts into go karts, or change you into a chicken.

The best thing about the game is the Multiplayer, You can play it with 2 to 4 friends, If one of you gets eaten by the corruption or a ghost you will be revived when someone picks up a pacman emblem in the maze. Powerups are still present, If one picks one up they count for all players. It is a great game to play with some friends.

Overall I think it is a very welcome Pacman, It takes some from the old and puts a great spin to it, The powerups and local multiplayer makes this a great game, I can not give it anything less than an 8, It is great.

Follow my Curator Page:
https://store.steampowered.com/curator/35216846/

11/11/2023: This game is featured, complete, on Pac-Man Museum+. Your purchase here does not transfer. However, there are some problems reported on Museum+, and I'm not sure if it's affected on 256 there. Buyer beware, even though this is still a solid game.

Pac-Man 256 is inspired by the Level 256 Glitch that appears in the original Pac-Man game. When one reaches level 256, the right half of the maze bugs out as a result of the game trying to spawn 256 "fruit" in the bottom right corner. Regardless of the level being impossible to complete, the maze is traversable.

In Pac-Man 256, not only will you be doing the same thing on Pac-Man, but you must escape from the Glitch at the bottom of the screen that's trying to kill you as well, all the while trying to get a good score. Each of the ghosts has its own pattern, so you'll need to memorize which ghost does what in any given situation. There are also additional features, such as a Pac-Dot chain, Ghost Chains greater than 4 ghosts, powerups that help kill off ghosts, and a leaderboard that records your top scores.

Pac-Man 256 can be brutal at times, but the replay value is worth the price. And this is unlike the mobile version of the game: Credits are removed, no advertisements, and no upgrade wait times are big perks when compared to the mobile version. If you're still unsure, give it a try on mobile if you can.

One of the very few games I've played on mobile and I liked it there and I liked it here but its pacman as an endless runner high score chase and well.. those old arcade genes still get the job done in spurts.

Geeze this game is addicting. Just complex enough to really get you hooked. I'm quite impressed, and super excited to try local multiplayer. One thing to mention is that I don't particularly care for the classic Pac-Man game, but I totally dig this. You don't need to love the original to consider getting this one. Apples and oranges, really (...Or should I say cherries).

Essentially, this title takes the basic concepts of Pac-Man and creates a modern endless-runner. True to Pac-Man roots, the ghosts all have different AI patterns tied to their colors. It's still a score chaser, but now abilities are added, which is awesome. Chasing your friends scores is super fun.

Pros:
+Super addicting and really fun
+Really easy to get into and understand, yet impossible to master
+Lots of neat aesthetic interface options
+Well worth the small asking price

Cons:
-A bit AAA with a mobile version that has in-app purchases; yeah it doesn't matter for the Steam version - but those who know me will understand this comment

Totally worth full price.