A new playable Pac-Man game has arrived as today’s Halloween-themed Google Doodle, celebrating both the spooky season and the classic arcade icon.
Experience Pac-Man in Spooky Style
The interactive game, PAC-MAN: Halloween 2025 Edition, revamps the familiar maze format with festive Halloween graphics. Players guide Pac-Man—decked out in a pixelated purple witch hat and sporting additional costumes—through eight themed levels. Haunted houses, pumpkins, cobwebs, and spooky lighting create a charmingly eerie atmosphere. As usual, the iconic ghosts Blinky, Inky, Pinky, and Clyde provide plenty of pursuit, but in this edition, grabbing eyeball-shaped “power pellets” turns the tables and lets Pac-Man hunt them down.
Controls and Player Experience
Players can use a mouse, trackpad, or arrow keys to maneuver Pac-Man through the mazes, snag pellets, and avoid (or chase) the ghosts. Those with small laptop keyboards may find gameplay a bit tricky, but using a standard keyboard or mouse ensures smooth play. The doodle provides nostalgic sound effects and music, faithfully recreating the arcade experience while offering fresh Halloween twists.
Celebrating Pac-Man’s Legacy
This isn’t the first time Pac-Man has starred in a Google Doodle; the tradition started with a playable anniversary Doodle back in 2010. PAC-MAN: Halloween 2025 Edition commemorates both Halloween and the 45th anniversary of Pac-Man’s arcade debut, created in partnership with Bandai Namco, and can be played for free on the Google homepage for a limited time. For those who miss today’s doodle, archived versions are always available in Google’s Doodle archive.
Whether you’re a retro gaming fan or simply looking for a fun way to enjoy Halloween, this charming, spooky Doodle makes for a perfect break.