Bandai Namco has opened pre-orders and shared launch details for Pac-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) was announced this past October and is essentially a Pac-Man battle royale, kind of like the short-lived Pac-Man 99, which was de-listed that same October. Whereas Pac-Man 99 was a Nintendo Switch exclusive, Chomp Champs is 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 Champs may sound like a downgrade, since Pac-Man 99 saw 99 players duking it out at once, but each player was consigned to their own maze. In Chomp 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 Champs will 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, including Dig Dug, Katamari Damacy, and Klonoa. It also comes with seven-days early access if you really can’t bear to wait any longer to start playing.
Chomp Champs launches 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.
