A Pac-Man Easter Egg can be spotted in the Stockholm subway. The titular character and three of the game’s ghosts can be spotted in the air vents. This is also not their first appearance in the Stockholm Metro; a station is decorated to emulate 8-bit video games, with Pac-Man among those immortalized.
Pac-Man is one of the most recognizable video game series in history. The humble, hungry circle known as Pac-Man is over 40 years old, which is hard to believe. Pac-Man himself is also instantly familiar with hardcore and casual gaming aficionados alike, alongside the four ghosts who chase him in his debut arcade title. Meanwhile, the Stockholm Metro received 40 new C30 trains earlier in 2021. Some are already being used by the public. While many would seemingly be right to assume that there’s not much in common between the two, one very cool feature hidden within the subway is sure to appeal to gaming fans.
Twitter user Fabiano Souza spotted that one of the train’s air vents has its holes replaced by Pac-Man and three of the ghosts. Due to the other holes remaining, it gives the illusion that Pac-Man is eating his way through the pellets of the vent. Naturally, Inky, Blinky, Pinky, and/or Clyde are hot on his trail. It’s worth mentioning that this is not the first time the Pac-Man nod was spotted; it was previously posted to Reddit in April. Despite this, the Tweet has gone semi-viral, racking up nearly 16,000 retweets and over 13o,o00 likes. The Reddit post saw similar success, reaching a staggering 64k upvotes and 94% upvote rate.
För The non Stockholmare we have a subway stop that is all about 80s video games. Super cool but also aligned. https://t.co/b8MsUG5XbH
— Christopher Neitzert 🌐🇪🇺🇺🇸🇸🇪🏳️🌈 (@cneitzert) July 26, 2021
A reply by Christopher Neitzert mentioned Thorildsplan Station, also part of the Stockholm Metro. The entire station is decorated to reference video games of the 80s. Alongside the Pac-Man ghosts, mushrooms similar to those from Super Mario Bros. can be seen. The new 8-bit aesthetic was commissioned in 2008 by artist Lars Arrhenius, according to Stockholm’s website. He was reportedly given free rein to make whatever he wanted, so long as all the work was done with tile. The result was a station that wouldn’t look out of place in Wreck-It Ralph‘s Game Central Station.
As for the air vents, it’s a small but appreciated touch, given the response to both the Tweet and Reddit post. Subways are considered unwelcoming places in many regards – just a way to get from point A to B. While the Stockholm Metro’s emphasis on art elevates that, it’s confined to the stations themselves. Having these whimsical little details makes the actual journey a bit more rewarding. There’s no doubt that video game icons like Pac-Man help to make a morning commute more bearable.
Sources: Fabiano Souza/Twitter, Christopher Neitzert/Twitter, Oluge2009/Reddit, Visit Stockholm
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