Pac-Man fans have been eating dots and chomping ghosts for years and there’s no sign that our collective appetites will be satiated any time soon.
But what happens when Pac-Man fans challenge each other to find out whose hunger reigns supreme? This is the question we can finally answer in the arena of competitive eating, offered by Pac-Man Mega Tunnel Battle: Chomp Champs coming to PS5 and PS4 with cross-play on May 9. Early access starts May 2 for those who pre-order the Deluxe Edition.
Pac-Man Mega Tunnel Battle: Chomp Champs is an online-only 64-player Pac-Man game, played across just as many interconnected mazes. Eat everything in your own maze
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The developer behind the title is Amber Studio, an incredibly diverse team with Pac-passion and excited by the challenge of bringing this gameplay to a wider audience.
In Chomp Champs, every choice made was geared towards bringing more players into the action. For example, a tutorial maze was added at the start of the game to help new players ramp up and get comfortable. Different game modes are included so that hard-core competitive players and casual fans can all find a mode to enjoy.
While there have already been multiplayer Pac-Man games where players compete to be the last Pac standing, what sets Chomp Champs apart is that you can directly travel to other mazes and interact with other players. There’s a variety of mazes like the Autumn maze, showing how Pac-Man’s world changes throughout the seasons, or you can feel some nostalgia with the Mr. Driller maze.
In each match there are 64 players, each with their own maze laid out in a grid connected to neighboring mazes by Mega Tunnels. When the tunnels open you can take the action to your neighbor which opens up a world of crazy gameplay possibilities.
As the match goes on, the lowest-scoring mazes get slowly eliminated from the playing field. The maze border flashes as a warning, so players know to get out of that maze before it’s too late. Each time a maze is eliminated the remaining mazes click together.
The development team even included a classic visual effect used here which is a tribute to the 256 glitch from the original Pac-Man arcade game. This lets you know that the board has changed, and you have a new neighboring maze to explore. As mazes get eliminated, players have fewer places to go, eventually bringing all remaining Pac-Man players together for the final showdown until only the Chomp Champ remains.
There are seven Power Items in Chomp Champs – some are straightforward easy-to-use boosters, while others will take some practice to truly master. Get more lives with an Extra Life or protect yourself with the Pac Shield. Use Speedy Pac for a burst of speed to escape danger or win the race to a Power Pellet. Use Ghost Attract strategically to set up a big ghost chomp combo or lure ghosts to other Pacs. Speedy Ghost can be a double-edged sword because it makes the ghosts faster for you and your opponents in the same maze. But if players combine it with other powerups they can keep safe while making opponents struggle in the chaos. These strategies are possible because you can hold up to two Power Items. Use them at the time of your choosing to turn the tables!
The customization system in Chomp Champs gives you so many ways to express your personality. You can select your home maze, your player icon, and your Pac-Man’s outfit to create a ton of unique combinations. You have several customizations available as soon as you load the game for the first time. But there’s more to be unlocked by redeeming Tokens earned in Elimination mode.
There are also six exclusive customization items available as part of our Chomp Challengers Pac pre-order bonus and more than 20 customization options available via the Deluxe Edition, including seven-days early access.
In playtests, we’ve seen players who love to eat their neighbor’s Power Pellets, steal their Power Items, or even eat their neighboring Pac-Man. Others team-up and help other players by eating ghosts and saving them from trouble! Some players just really enjoy showing off their cool customizations and funny reactions. We tried to give players as many ways as possible to express their Pac-Man personalities in the game.
Since mazes are interconnected players can explore the arena, visit or check out their neighbor and continue from there. Each match plays out a bit differently, so expect the unexpected in Chomp City!