

A reviewer for IGN also compared it to Crash Bandicoot, described the gameplay as "simplistic route memorization-based", and said that the thing the game would be remembered for was its "extremely bizarre premise".

Writers for Famitsu called the game "super-simple", comparing it to Metro-Cross and Paperboy, and calling it a simplified version of Crash Bandicoot. The soundtrack for the game received a vinyl release in 2020 by the European label Chipped Records.
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In 2019, the game was featured in an episode of James Rolfe's comedy web series Angry Video Game Nerd, in which Butters reprised his role from the game's cutscenes. According to Uchikoshi, the game did not sell well. Despite this, the game is entirely in English, not Japanese (although with Japanese subtitles for dialogue). The game was released in Japan by KID for the PlayStation on Mawhile an American publisher was looking into acquiring the rights to publish the game in the United States, it remained Japan-exclusive. This was Uchikoshi's first job he had been hired to plan video game adaptations of board games, but ended up being part of the development of Pepsiman instead, which was already in progress when he joined KID in 1998. The game also uses 3D event scenes, which were modeled by Kotaro Uchikoshi, who would later be a scenario writer for visual novels at KID. It was made on a low budget, which led to the decision to make the low-cost video scenes of actor Mike Butters drinking Pepsi. The game was developed by the Japanese video game developer KID. The character, whose fictional backstory says he used to be a scientist who transformed into a superhero after coming into contact with "Holy Pepsi", was featured in Japanese Pepsi commercials and in the Japanese version of the video game Fighting Vipers he became popular in Japan, spawning related characters such as Lemon Pepsiman and Pepsiwoman, and Pepsi decided to promote the character with a video game.

Pepsiman is based on Pepsi's mascot of the same name, which was created for Pepsi's Japanese branch. In between stages, the player is shown videos of an American man (played by Mike Butters) drinking Pepsi and eating chips and pizza as he watches Pepsiman. Each stage ends with Pepsiman being chased by an object, such as a giant Pepsi can. Throughout each stage is a number of checkpoints if Pepsiman gets hit by obstacles too many times, the player is required to restart from the latest checkpoint. In some stages, Pepsiman's head becomes stuck inside a steel drum, which inverts the controls, and in some, he rides on a skateboard, which requires to player to avoid all obstacles. The player gains points by collecting Pepsi cans. The player does this by using four different moves: running, dashing, jumping, and super-jumping. The player takes control of Pepsiman himself, aiming to dodge obstacles, such as cars, construction cranes, and people, as well as Pepsi-branded obstacles, including a Pepsi truck. The game is played from a third-person perspective, with Pepsiman automatically running forward through the stages, sometimes running through homes and other buildings. The first three stages are based on real locations, San Francisco, New York City and Texas. Pepsiman is an action game that consists of four stages, each divided into smaller segments, and each involving the superhero Pepsiman saving a person who is dehydrated, such as a military man in the middle of a desert, by giving him a can of Pepsi. Here, he is jumping on an intersection in an attempt to avoid a moving car. A writer for Complex included it on a list of company-branded games that "didn't suck", commenting that it is not a bad game as long as the player can tolerate the large amount of advertisement in it. Reviewers frequently compared Pepsiman to other games, including Crash Bandicoot, and commented on its simplicity and its price, which was thought to be low.

While an American publisher did look into acquiring the rights to publish the game in the United States, it remained a Japan-exclusive game. The game also features 3D cutscenes, for which the future visual novel writer Kotaro Uchikoshi created 3D models. The game was made on a low budget, prompting the decision to make videos in-between stages that show a man drinking Pepsi, as they were cheap to produce. It focuses the player on avoiding obstacles by running, dashing, and jumping, while Pepsiman automatically runs forward through each of the game's stages. It was released in Japan on March 4, 1999, and is based on the eponymous Japanese superhero mascot for the American carbonated soft drink Pepsi. Pepsiman is an action video game developed and published by KID for the PlayStation.
