Nintendo Switch Online subscribers are getting another exclusive game as part of their subscription - a battle royale-style game called Pac-Man 99. This interpretation of the arcade classic sees 99 players pitted against each other by playing the game as usual, with every enemy defeated resulting in an attack on other players.
As Nintendo explains, there are two key aspects in winning a game in Pac-Man 99. First, when Pac-Man eats a Power Pellet, eating the ghosts results in Jammer Pac-Men being sent to other players. Like the ghosts, Jammer Pac-Man will chase the other players on the stage, and if a player gets caught, their movement speed decreases, making them more vulnerable to the antagonist ghosts.
The other key element is sleeping ghosts, lineups of tiny ghosts that can be collected every now and then. These sleeping ghosts will follow one of the four major ones as they hunt down the player, but upon eating a Power Pellet, every ghost becomes edible, resulting in more attack opportunities against other players.
The new launch comes just a week after Nintendo pulled the plug on Super Mario Bros. 35, another battle royale-style game where players played through levels of the original Super Mario Bros., with each defeated enemy being sent to other players" games. That game was a limited-time release in celebration of 35 years of the title and was removed on March 31.
Pac-Man 99 isn"t the only classic game reborn for Nintendo Switch Online members, however. Tetris 99 was released about two years ago and is very similar in spirit, though naturally based on Tetris instead. That title is still available at no additional cost, and Pac-Man 99 will join the party later today at 6PM Pacific Time.