When it first launched the Nord 2 earlier in the year, OnePlus claimed its phone offered everything you need in a phone, without paying top tier prices. Now, it's back with a special edition, and has teamed up with Bandai Namco to launch it. 

It's called OnePlus Nord 2 x Pac-Man Edition, and isn't the first time OnePlus has teamed up with a pop culture brand to launch a special phone. In 2020 it released the Cyberpunk 2077 OnePlus 8T, and before that it's launched Star Wars, Marvel phone editions and McLaren F1 models

You could say that this is something of a tradition for the company, and one we hope continues, if only for the novelty of it. 

Unboxing experience

Even the unboxing experience with this special edition is different to the standard model. The box is covered in a Pac-Man themed cardboard sleeve, which - when opened - reveals a really colourful ghost-themed interior design. It's fun, and a nice contrast from the subtle white exterior. The phone box itself features a colourful Pac-Man logo on the front, and a subtle maze themed pattern all over it. See more in our video below: 

Design 

As you'd expect, the Pac-Man Edition Nord 2 looks and feels a lot like the original Nord. OnePlus hasn't changed the materials, the shape or the size of the phone. And, looking at it from the outside initially, you may think the design changes are only subtle. 

OnePLus x Pac-man photo 2
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The rear class has a subtle yellow Pac-Man logo in the left corner, and if you catch it in the right light, you'll also spot the dots all over the back that it loves to eat. 

Other subtle changes include the 'OnePlus X Pac-Man' text printed near the camera module, and the alert slider on the left edge has been swapped out for a vivid blue one. Just to make it a bit less plain. 

OnePLus x Pac-man photo 1
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However, the biggest design change is undoubtedly the one you can't see in daylight. It's only if you look really closely you might see a very subtle maze pattern on the back. Turn the lights off though, and it becomes clearer.

OnePlus has only gone and put a glow-in-the-dark patten on the back of its special edition phone. One that looks like a maze, and spells out the word 'Nord' in block letters. 

One thing we will say is that the glow-in-the-dark effect isn't all that strong. In order to get it to show clearly, we had to hold the rear panel next to our bright studio LED lighting for a minute or so, and the brightness fades relatively quickly. Still, very cool. 

OnePlus X Pac-Man Software 

Combined with its design tweaks, OnePlus has also changed up some of the software elements to fit in with the Pac-Man theme, and there are a few things to find in here. 

OnePLus x Pac-man photo 7
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When you first power it up, the phone will be set to a Pac-Man theme. That means the lock screen and home screen wallpaper are Pac-Man inspired, with a cool animated wallpaper set as the default. If you dive into the wallpaper options, there are a few other options to choose from as well, but the rest are all static. 

Then there's the fingerprint unlock animation. The sensor logo is a Pac-Man outline in a circle maze, and when you press it, you'll see the Pac-Man munching dots and being chased by colourful ghosts.

OnePLus x Pac-man photo 10
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All the stock pre-installed OnePlus app icons have been themed to look like pixellated retro games inspired graphics too, and if you drop down the quick settings shade you'll see a Pac-Mac silhouette under the toggles which munches the dot if you swipe between tabs. 

There are a couple of other additions too. Head to the Gallery App, edit a photo and you'll find Pac-Man stickers in the stickers sections. What's more, the Pac-Man 256 game by the same developers who made Crossy Road is pre-installed. 

OnePLus x Pac-man photo 13
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Plug the phone into its Warp Charger and you'll get an animated Pac-Man graphic on the screen, and if you use it long enough, you unlock another sticker to use in the gallery. 

As you'd expect, there are also pre-loaded custom notification and ring tones, and they're preset as the defaults. So that's kinda fun. For the first few times at least.  

From a hardware perspective it's the same as the standard OnePlus Nord 2. It's 8.2mm thin, and has a 6.43-inch AMOLED display with up to 90Hz refresh rates.

It's powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 1200-AI processor, has 12GB RAM, 256GB storage a 4500mAh battery complete with support for the super fast Warp Charge 65 flash charging that can fill the battery in a about 30 minutes. 

The OnePlus Nord 2 x Pac-Man Edition goes on sale from Tuesday, 16 November and will set you back £499 in the UK