Bandai Namco has opened pre-orders and shared launch details forPac-Man Mega Tunnel Battle: Chomp Champs, a contender for the most unnecessarily long-winded game title ever.
In case you haven’t heard of it,Chomp Champs(I’m not writing out its full name every time) wasannounced this past Octoberand is essentially aPac-Manbattle royale, kind of like the short-livedPac-Man 99, which wasde-listed that same October. WhereasPac-Man 99was a Nintendo Switch exclusive,Chomp Champsis a multi-platform title and sees up to 64 players battle it out to see who can be the last Pac standing. And yes, there is cross-play, so you aren’t restricted to only playing against people on the same platform as you.
Chomp Champsmay sound like a downgrade, sincePac-Man 99saw 99 players duking it out at once, but each player was consigned to their own maze. InChomp Champs, all players share the same set of interconnected mazes, and can use special items to either sabotage each other or make avoiding/eating ghosts easier. You can even eat other players if they get in your way.
Chomp Champswill offer two gameplay modes: an arcade-style Elimination mode that anyone can participate in, and a dedicated Ranked mode that pits you against opponents of a similar skill level. You can also customize your Pac-Man with a variety of cosmetics, likes hats and sunglasses, which you unlock with Tokens you earn from the Exhibition mode. Bandai Namco hasn’t mentioned anything about being able to purchase cosmetics or Tokens with microtransactions, although there are exclusive cosmetics for those who pre-order the game or buy the digital deluxe edition.
Despite the higher price-tag, long-time Namco fans may be tempted by the deluxe edition since some of the cosmetics are based on other Bandai Namco IPs, includingDig Dug,Katamari Damacy, andKlonoa. It also comes with seven-days early access if you really can’t bear to wait any longer to start playing.
Chomp Champslaunches on May 9 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. The standard edition costs $19.99 / £15.99 while the digital deluxe edition costs $29.99 / £24.99.
