🧟 Zombie Rollerz: Pinball Heroes | Nintendo Switch | Review | 7/10 | "Lots of fun is pinball. And zombies!" 🧟 @ZingGames #IndieGame #IndieGameDev

Pinball. Who doesn’t like pinball? The clanking, the bumpers, the desire to be on that top score leaderboard, the dreaded tilt. Lots of fun is pinball. And zombies! Who doesn’t like zombies? Well, obviously I’d rather they weren’t in my house or attempting to eat what little brains I have left, but as a cultural concept, zombies are great!

So naturally, when I heard that there was a zombie pinball game, I wanted in. Then I looked a bit closer... zombie pinball roguelike with tower defence elements, kinda?! WTF?! (Note to parents and younger readers – by this I mean Wow, That’s Fun?!). 

Naturally, I was fascinated and needed to know more. If you’re fascinated and need to know more, well, read on.

That’s kind of the point of me sitting here.

Whilst I’m not one to teach folks of any age to suck eggs, we need to do a little basic admin here. If you’re not familiar with the concept of pinball, here are the basics. You use a plunger to launch a ball onto a table, which is covered in targets, hazards, bumpers that throw the ball around, as well as various other fun features to play with. Pinball’s other essential feature is a set of flippers at the bottom of the table near the player, which can be operated independently to send the ball in the direction (hopefully) intended by the player. Zombie Rollerz expands on this mechanic by filling the table with zombies, all of whom are keen on putting a wrinkle in the fabric of your day. Use the ball, the environment, or power-ups to give them a slap and put a stop to them. You can even just belt them with the flippers if they get close enough. Put a stop to enough zombies and bosses, and you win upgrades for your character. 

To start with you follow a short tutorial that explains these points and some more of the game’s mechanics. Once that’s done, the roguelike element kicks in. Your character (initially limited to a choice of 1, with more to unlock through achievement during play) appears on a map, which is randomly generated, ensuring that no two playthroughs are the same. Big tick for replay value, right there. 

Move your character around the map however you choose. You might uncover a camp of locals who want to help you in your fight against the zombie horde or find a shop to spend points and power up your character. Maybe go over to that locked spot and use an item to open it and see what’s behind it. In this game, the words of Rufus from Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure are worth remembering: “Now, most important, no matter what you do, no matter where you go, that clock, the clock in San Dimas, is always running. Got it?”

When you’re moving, so is the zombie horde. Each day that passes, they draw closer. So it pays to plan out where you intend to go on your run through. This isn’t the sort of game where you can do everything in one run, you need to pick and choose what you can fit in whilst continuing to advance toward the next battle, boss, or map area. 

Anyway, when you’ve been shopping or exploring or a mixture of the two, at some point you’ll hit a battle. And that’s where the tower defence/pinball part comes into play. Launch the ball onto the table and use a combination of the flippers and the environment to try to lay zombies to rest in a number of inventive and entertaining ways. Hit the right spot on the table and you might even get to move to a bonus level for additional loot to put in your arsenal. When the battle is over, move on. Progression allows you to upgrade your character, their abilities, and to unlock more characters to play as. 

All good roguelikes require multiple runs, it’s kind of the point. In Zombie Rollerz, you have a finite amount of health. That health bar gets knocked down during battles, and when it’s gone, it’s gone. As is all the stuff you accumulated. Each encounter could kill you, and then back to the start you go, with a brand new map, empty pockets, and perhaps this time, a better strategy. Like all roguelike games, it’s got that “one more run” addictive quality to it. While there’s nothing here that requires the sort of timing FromSoftware demands from its players, you are rewarded for paying attention, rather than just mashing buttons and hoping for the best. 

So, what’s the verdict? Zombie Rollerz is a fun, pick up and dive in-game that is extremely accessible and pretty addictive. It’s simple to play but rewards you when you use a little bit of strategy and tactical thinking once you get the hang of it.

Graphically it’s well polished and smooth, the controls are intuitive, and there’s a bit of humour thrown in for good measure. I didn’t know what to expect from a combination of zombies, pinball, roguelike and tower defence.