Pinball M Xbox Review 7.5/10 "The spookiest balls around" 👻 @zen_studios #IndieGame #GameDev

Zen Studios have release Pinball M, a game that delivers horror thrills to pinball-lovers around the world through a pretty cool mix of franchises:

– Wrath of the Elder Gods: Director’s Cut – experience the eldritch horror unrestricted for free

– Chucky’s Killer Pinball: Step into a twisted realm where the innocent becomes sinister, and the playful turns menacing. Navigate through an eerie playfield where Chucky lurks in the shadows, ready to pounce.

– The Thing Pinball: Use your pinball skills and battle against the shape-shifting alien through the arctic chill of U.S. Outpost #31. Can you trust anyone, even yourself?

– Dead by Daylight™️ Pinball: Become the hunter or even the hunted in a thrilling fusion of classic pinball and the excitement of one of the most popular horror games ever created.

– Duke Nukem’s Big Shot Pinball: Enjoy the biggest, grooviest, most BADASS pinball table ever made packed with guns and babes. Push start and play with balls of steel!

Purchasable separately or as a discounted bundle, Pinball M does a great job of capturing the vibe of each franchise in their unique tables, and also include ‘campaigns’ which effectively modify your gaming experience or set high-score targets – but for me, the main thrill was racking those points up to unlock different colours and themes, adding longevity and a touch of RPG-action to the classic pinball action.

Whilst each game has its own variation and style, I was especially drawn to The Thing – one of my favourite films – as the way that the artic outpost is captured and presented - including quotes from the movie – almost had me popping on mittens and earmuffs to play.

The four tables (five, including the free Eldritch table) each had character and worked well when being played in rotation, as they had their own approach and feel. That said, as well as the franchises, characters and atmosphere are presented here, a couple of them do feel quite busy, resulting in a loss of real estate at the main body of the table, and I couldn’t help but feel that a touch more room for the ball movement would have been a boon in some instances.

That said, the addition of the various modes and unlockables add shelf-life to Pinball M, and whilst this doesn’t propel the genre forwards, it does a fantastic job of capturing what draws us to certain tables in pinball arcades – our personal connections to the themes.

SUMMARY

This is one that I’ll be keeping installed for a while, as the darker edge to the artwork and ambience goes a long way, especially for a horror fan such as myself.

I’m just wating on the Nightbreed table now…