Pac-Man Mega Tunnel Battle Chomp Champs review: Behind a clunky title hides a chaotic, fun experience

Pac-Man Mega Tunnel Battle Chomp Champs brings back one of my favorite childhood classics in a way that I genuinely did not expect. When I think Battle Royale, this is not a franchise I often think about - but I do now! I scoffed at this idea, but I’ve never been more glad to be wrong. The “Classic video game turned into a Battle Royale” has been popular over the last few years, with F-Zero, Mario, and even Pac-Man himself getting in on the action.

However, unlike Pac-Man 99, Pac-Man Mega Tunnel Battle Chomp Champs keeps true to the classic formula that I loved about the original game. It just adds 64 other players, and their own maps to the mix.

I think that’s what has enchanted me so much about this particular battle royale - it’s a unique take on a now standard genre of multiplayer game. Now, if you want to combine a Battle Royale with Pac-Man, you don't have to buy a backbling in Fortnite.

Pac-Man Mega Tunnel Battle Chomp Champs brings a new level of chaos to the classic formula

It's over for that Pac. (Image via Bandai Namco)

The concept of Pac-Man Mega Tunnel Battle Chomp Champs is a very simple one. You (and a party if you wish) dive down into a customized Pac-Man map and have to survive or defeat 64 other players.

You don’t have to chomp the other players if you don’t want to - but it’s more fun to do so. It obeys the standard rules of the original game: Each Ghost has its own AI, and you can only defeat them by eating a Power Pellet.

You can even refresh maps, to throw players off. If you eat all the pellets on a maze in Pac-Man Mega Tunnel Battle Chomp Champs, it resets, and the map complexity rises. It’s like going to the next stage in a typical Pac game. This is a great way to score points and keep cruising around safely if nobody is nearby.

This is important, because occasionally, portals open that can take you to other mazes, and you can invade the mazes of those players. You don’t have to chase them down, but you can - the fewer Pacs in the game, the better your odds of winning.

Each player starts with two lives, and you can gain more via item drops. You can only eat players if you have a Power Pellet though - you can dive into a maze with one already active and chomp players, and it’s a valid strategy.

You can repel ghosts with this power, which can come in serious handy. (Image via Bandai Namco)

However, there are plenty of other new power-ups you can get that occasionally float through a Maze. Some stun all enemy players/Ghosts, and some attract ghosts to you or make them run away. You can get a shield, and speed boost for Ghosts. How these are used will show who the Pac-Man Mega Tunnel Battle Chomp Champs masters are, and who are just Ghost food.

You have the standard mode (Elimination), and upon reaching account level 10, you can jump into Ranked battles! In Ranked Mode, you need to be in the top 32 to “win”, but why stop there? It’s all about being the Last Pac Standing.

The gameplay loop for Pac-Man Mega Tunnel Battle Chomp Champs is simple, but fun. The average match time for me was somewhere between three to six minutes, with some going much longer when I and the other last player simply refused to give up.

Also read: Pac-Man World Re-Pac: A classic Pac-Man title is back and better than ever

The other half of the game is customization

Sometimes, the backdrops can look a little visually overwhelming, but I love them. (Image via Bandai Namco0

The gameplay of Pac-Man Mega Tunnel Battle Chomp Champs is incredibly solid. It’s exactly how I expect a classic Pac-game to play. I love barging into other people’s mazes and ruining their strategy and movement by just stealing pellets. But what I also love about the game is the customization!

You can put cool costumes on your Pac, give them rad glasses, and other little cosmetics. These cost coins that you gain from playing through matches, and it’s not too hard to stack enough of them for items. You can also change the cosmetic of your maze - which is an important thing to have in the game.

It would be so bland if every Pac-Man Mega Tunnel Battle Chomp Champs maze looked the same - other than what level of complexity it was in! My maze of choice is either Sushi or Galaga. But there are some fantastic options, and it’s so cool to watch all the various Pacs dive into the map when the queue pops.

This gives the game some seriously great coloring and variation. You never know what you’re going to see in the next maze. The iconic music and sound effects are here, too. If you’re a classic fan of the Pac-franchise like me, it’s a must-play.

In Conclusion

This game is pure, unfiltered Pac-Man chaos. (Image via Bandai Namco)

I adore Pac-Man Mega Tunnel Battle Chomp Champs, let me be clear. It’s a lot of fun to just bounce into a few matches, and then go about what I was doing. Especially if I’m waiting in a particularly long queue in another game. However, for the asking price, it’s still quite a bit on the bare-bones side. There are two match types, and I worry it could get repetitive fast, and leave players feeling resentful.

So it’s important to know what you’re getting into. The game isn’t super expensive at $19.99 for the basic edition. However, there’s no campaign, or extra silly modes at this time. There is hope that more gets added to the game. Honestly, I’d have paid the money for this if I weren’t doing the review.

It’s got plenty of replay value in trying to climb the ranked ladder, and it would be incredible fun with my friends. It’s colorful, it’s bright, and it does exactly what I expect it to do: give me a quality Pac-Man Battle Royale. Plus it has crossplay, so I don’t have to stress out about what platform my friends get it on - they can all get dunked in Pac-Man equally.