Pac-Man is one of my favorite classic series. The gameplay is incredibly easy to learn and accessible, yet becomes surprisingly challenging the further in you get. Meanwhile, the aesthetics perfectly reflect the eye-catching neon sensibilities of the 80s. When I was a kid, I was delighted by the bright pink mazes that Mrs. Pac-Man was endlessly forced to wander. I wanted to wander them with her!
It says a lot that the very first Pac-Man game is still so fun, even after forty-three years. Nearly the entire core Pac-Man experience was already in place here - the mechanics, the characters, the sound effects, the iconic little tune that plays when you start a new game.
In fact, the only thing that’s really missing is environment variety. One of my favorite things about Pac-Man has always been uncovering new mazes. I love basking in the different wall colors and twisting hallways they offer. Disappointingly, there’s only a single blue level for Pac-Man to explore in his first game - and I can’t deny that playing this level over and over again is a bit repetitive. Still, Pac-Man’s addictive gameplay and brilliant presentation always seem to distract me from these scarce flaws. It’s the perfect blueprint for future releases to expand upon, even if it’s not perfect in and of itself.
Yet I do still think this game is genuinely perfect in some ways. For example, one of my favorite things about it is the sleek and simple visual presentation; there’s a clear emphasis on making sure the gameplay is easy to parse, yet style is never forfeited in the process. Its bold, rudimentary shapes and colors make for a very inviting and memorable visual style. Even Pac-Man and the ghosts have barely changed in the decades since, because their designs were so iconic right off the bat!
Even the fruits and doodads that briefly appear in-level have become a staple of the series. You begin with a cherry, which evolves into a strawberry, a peach, an apple, a bunch of grapes - then, when the devs ran out of fruits, they chose a Galaxian, a bell, and, lastly, a key. These serve as a valuable source of bonus points if you can eat them in time, and are worth even more the further you advance. Their cute little sprites are honestly the most visually complex part of the game, and I’ve always loved discovering them, just as I do the mazes.
And exactly like the visuals, Pac-Man’s audio design does a perfect job of pairing itself with the gameplay. A lovely hypnotic loop begins as soon as a level starts, emanating from the ghosts chasing you endlessly. As you advance, you’ll overcome this sound with the satisfying chomps of pellet eating; this audio cue smartly rewards you for your progress, while also making you feel like you’re really getting the better of your pursuers!
What’s almost better, though, is how this comforting chomp is taken away abruptly when you travel down a pellet-less hallway. The ghosts’ loop once again fills the air, immediately making you feel more tense. It pushes you to get back on track as soon as possible. Then, of course, there’s the jackpot-like loop that plays after you eat a power pellet - and the ensuing ‘WHOMP’s as you get revenge on the ghosts! These details, along with everything else about Pac-Man’s presentation, feel so purposeful and rewarding (despite the obvious limitations of its time.)
Well, so far I’ve rambled this long about how the game looks and sounds, but I’ve barely touched on the gameplay. I honestly doubt I need to explain how Pac-Man works to anyone, but just in case, I’ll go over it briefly. You advance by eating all of the dots in each level, but you must avoid the ghosts chasing you along the way. As I’ve said, you’ll grab fruits and use the power pellets to chomp ghosts whenever you can. You have a limited number of lives - two, and a third when you reach a score of ten thousand - and your goal is simply to get as many points as possible!
The first level starts off deceptively easy, as both Pac-Man and the ghosts move very slowly. The ghosts also leave their starting room one by one at a steady pace. This is the perfect time for new players to get a feel for the maze and figure out the best pathways to take. However, things will become much more challenging as you advance, as the game speed increases with each new level. You must keep sharp and be ready to adapt.
The trickiest thing about the gameplay, though, are the ghosts themselves. The four antagonists - Inky, Pinky, Blinky, and Clyde - are not only set apart by their colors, but by their personalities as well! Pinky and Inky both try to position themselves in front of Pac-Man, while Blinky opts to chase from behind, and Clyde switches between chasing a-la Blinky and… running away from Pac-Man himself, haha. I love that they went so far as to make one of the ghosts a scaredy-cat. That’s such a cute characteristic.
This mechanic is one of my favorite things about Pac-Man, without a doubt. It’s such a clever idea, and it adds so much more complexity to the gameplay. I remember playing this when I was young and believing with all my heart that the ghosts acted differently from one another; I had a hierarchy in my mind, with Blinky on top as the leader, and Clyde on the bottom. It’s vindicating to know that I caught on to the mechanic, even down to Clyde being the worst one!
Another favorite detail of mine are the cutscenes sprinkled throughout the game. Three in total, these are awarded to players who make it to the second, fifth, and ninth levels; each is a short visual gag including Pac-Man and Clyde, with a cute little tune playing in the background. Although very simple, these are just another fun reward for players - not to mention a new idea and an impressive piece of worldbuilding for the time.
While I was researching for this review, I discovered some interesting facts about cutscenes in general and I wanted to include them here! The year prior to Pac-Man’s release, Space Invaders Part II featured similar humorous intermissions between levels. These are the first in-game cutscenes, as far as I know - however, I must also mention The Sumerian Game, designed by Mabel Addis in the 1960s (who was also a fourth-grade teacher at the time!) This is a text-based strategy game that includes the proto-cutscene, as it begins with an unskippable slideshow with synchronized audio to introduce its setting. These three games would provide the groundwork for cutscenes; the year after Pac-Man, Donkey Kong would be the first (again, as far as I know) to use cutscenes to advance a story.
In this way, and many others, Pac-Man is such a historically significant game. Not only that, but it’s genuinely fun and aesthetically pleasing. Still… I eventually did get a bit tired of trying to reach my personal goal of level nine so that I could see the final intermission.
To this day, one can squeeze a surprising amount of entertainment value from this very first franchise release; yet, playing the same level over and over again with small changes undoubtedly gets monotonous. The difficulty spike caused by the speed increase can be frustrating if you’re replaying multiple times, as well (and, well… if you’ve failed to beat them.) I’m still surprised how much mileage I got out of such a game, though. That’s a testament to how good it is in every other way.
Overall, Pac-Man offers a concept that’s entertaining, easy to grasp, and addictive. It was a coin-eater, for sure, and I’m thankful that I can play it as many times as I want for free now and appreciate how fantastic it is. I genuinely love its visuals and audio design, as well as the thoughtful gameplay. At the end of the day, you can never go wrong with classic Pac-Man.
Visuals: 4.5/5
Sound: 4.5/5
Gameplay: 3.5/5
Worldbuilding: 3.5/5
Replayability: 3/5
Overall Game Score: 4/5 [3.8/5]
It says a lot that the very first Pac-Man game is still so fun, even after forty-three years. Nearly the entire core Pac-Man experience was already in place here - the mechanics, the characters, the sound effects, the iconic little tune that plays when you start a new game.
In fact, the only thing that’s really missing is environment variety. One of my favorite things about Pac-Man has always been uncovering new mazes. I love basking in the different wall colors and twisting hallways they offer. Disappointingly, there’s only a single blue level for Pac-Man to explore in his first game - and I can’t deny that playing this level over and over again is a bit repetitive. Still, Pac-Man’s addictive gameplay and brilliant presentation always seem to distract me from these scarce flaws. It’s the perfect blueprint for future releases to expand upon, even if it’s not perfect in and of itself.
Yet I do still think this game is genuinely perfect in some ways. For example, one of my favorite things about it is the sleek and simple visual presentation; there’s a clear emphasis on making sure the gameplay is easy to parse, yet style is never forfeited in the process. Its bold, rudimentary shapes and colors make for a very inviting and memorable visual style. Even Pac-Man and the ghosts have barely changed in the decades since, because their designs were so iconic right off the bat!
Even the fruits and doodads that briefly appear in-level have become a staple of the series. You begin with a cherry, which evolves into a strawberry, a peach, an apple, a bunch of grapes - then, when the devs ran out of fruits, they chose a Galaxian, a bell, and, lastly, a key. These serve as a valuable source of bonus points if you can eat them in time, and are worth even more the further you advance. Their cute little sprites are honestly the most visually complex part of the game, and I’ve always loved discovering them, just as I do the mazes.
And exactly like the visuals, Pac-Man’s audio design does a perfect job of pairing itself with the gameplay. A lovely hypnotic loop begins as soon as a level starts, emanating from the ghosts chasing you endlessly. As you advance, you’ll overcome this sound with the satisfying chomps of pellet eating; this audio cue smartly rewards you for your progress, while also making you feel like you’re really getting the better of your pursuers!
What’s almost better, though, is how this comforting chomp is taken away abruptly when you travel down a pellet-less hallway. The ghosts’ loop once again fills the air, immediately making you feel more tense. It pushes you to get back on track as soon as possible. Then, of course, there’s the jackpot-like loop that plays after you eat a power pellet - and the ensuing ‘WHOMP’s as you get revenge on the ghosts! These details, along with everything else about Pac-Man’s presentation, feel so purposeful and rewarding (despite the obvious limitations of its time.)
Well, so far I’ve rambled this long about how the game looks and sounds, but I’ve barely touched on the gameplay. I honestly doubt I need to explain how Pac-Man works to anyone, but just in case, I’ll go over it briefly. You advance by eating all of the dots in each level, but you must avoid the ghosts chasing you along the way. As I’ve said, you’ll grab fruits and use the power pellets to chomp ghosts whenever you can. You have a limited number of lives - two, and a third when you reach a score of ten thousand - and your goal is simply to get as many points as possible!
The first level starts off deceptively easy, as both Pac-Man and the ghosts move very slowly. The ghosts also leave their starting room one by one at a steady pace. This is the perfect time for new players to get a feel for the maze and figure out the best pathways to take. However, things will become much more challenging as you advance, as the game speed increases with each new level. You must keep sharp and be ready to adapt.
The trickiest thing about the gameplay, though, are the ghosts themselves. The four antagonists - Inky, Pinky, Blinky, and Clyde - are not only set apart by their colors, but by their personalities as well! Pinky and Inky both try to position themselves in front of Pac-Man, while Blinky opts to chase from behind, and Clyde switches between chasing a-la Blinky and… running away from Pac-Man himself, haha. I love that they went so far as to make one of the ghosts a scaredy-cat. That’s such a cute characteristic.
This mechanic is one of my favorite things about Pac-Man, without a doubt. It’s such a clever idea, and it adds so much more complexity to the gameplay. I remember playing this when I was young and believing with all my heart that the ghosts acted differently from one another; I had a hierarchy in my mind, with Blinky on top as the leader, and Clyde on the bottom. It’s vindicating to know that I caught on to the mechanic, even down to Clyde being the worst one!
Another favorite detail of mine are the cutscenes sprinkled throughout the game. Three in total, these are awarded to players who make it to the second, fifth, and ninth levels; each is a short visual gag including Pac-Man and Clyde, with a cute little tune playing in the background. Although very simple, these are just another fun reward for players - not to mention a new idea and an impressive piece of worldbuilding for the time.
While I was researching for this review, I discovered some interesting facts about cutscenes in general and I wanted to include them here! The year prior to Pac-Man’s release, Space Invaders Part II featured similar humorous intermissions between levels. These are the first in-game cutscenes, as far as I know - however, I must also mention The Sumerian Game, designed by Mabel Addis in the 1960s (who was also a fourth-grade teacher at the time!) This is a text-based strategy game that includes the proto-cutscene, as it begins with an unskippable slideshow with synchronized audio to introduce its setting. These three games would provide the groundwork for cutscenes; the year after Pac-Man, Donkey Kong would be the first (again, as far as I know) to use cutscenes to advance a story.
In this way, and many others, Pac-Man is such a historically significant game. Not only that, but it’s genuinely fun and aesthetically pleasing. Still… I eventually did get a bit tired of trying to reach my personal goal of level nine so that I could see the final intermission.
To this day, one can squeeze a surprising amount of entertainment value from this very first franchise release; yet, playing the same level over and over again with small changes undoubtedly gets monotonous. The difficulty spike caused by the speed increase can be frustrating if you’re replaying multiple times, as well (and, well… if you’ve failed to beat them.) I’m still surprised how much mileage I got out of such a game, though. That’s a testament to how good it is in every other way.
Overall, Pac-Man offers a concept that’s entertaining, easy to grasp, and addictive. It was a coin-eater, for sure, and I’m thankful that I can play it as many times as I want for free now and appreciate how fantastic it is. I genuinely love its visuals and audio design, as well as the thoughtful gameplay. At the end of the day, you can never go wrong with classic Pac-Man.
Visuals: 4.5/5
Sound: 4.5/5
Gameplay: 3.5/5
Worldbuilding: 3.5/5
Replayability: 3/5
Overall Game Score: 4/5 [3.8/5]