In 2019, Nintendo surprised gamers by turning Tetris into a Fortnite-style battle royale game. A little over a year later, it did it again, turning Super Mario Bros. into an intense 35 player retro platforming face-off. Now, the company has announced Nintendo Switch Online’s latest throwback battle royale game: Pac-Man 99.
Like the Nintendo Switch Online service’s other retro battle royale games, Pac-Man 99 asks players to outlast doezens of other players in the arcade classic — but there’s more to it than simply getting the highest score. Every time a player eats a ghost, it gets sent to another player’s screen as a “jammer Pac-Man,” which can lower a player’s speed and make them a target for ghosts. Managing power-ups and carefully targeting opponents will be the key to outlasting other players.
The game launches for free to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers on April 7th, 2021 at 6PM PST, but paid add-on packs, single-player modes and themes will also be available for purchase. Super Mario 35 may be gone, but it’s clear that Nintendo isn’t done with this unique game format just yet.