Pinball M review

Adding a few curious but unessential features to Zen’s interpretation of pinball.

With the debut of Pinball FX, Zen Studios suddenly found themselves being referred to as villains. The once beloved builder of digital pinball had long permitted players to import any purchased tables into new iterations of their base game, barring any expired licensing agreements. This generous standpoint helped cultivate a dedicated fanbase.

But with the release of their fourth pinball platform earlier this year, that business model halted. A messy ticket system to buy tables was introduced- seemingly to conceal the price increases. Meanwhile, an exorbitant ($14.99 a month) subscription model was implemented, that expected additional money for cosmetic details. Abruptly, years of goodwill were tarnished by a reckless change of policy.

All Killer, No Filler?

For Pinball M, Zen has rolled back most of their pricing changes and returned to a traditional model where you can purchase individual tables without being stuck with leftover tickets. Likewise, the Pinball Pass is gone as well. But the developer’s flirtation with the dark side lingers with the release of a new front-end and its accompanying collection of four mature-rated tables. Each celebrates a different bad boy, from killer doll Chucky, the shape-shifting antagonist from The Thing, Dead by Daylight’s Trapper, as well as everyone’s favorite potty-mouth, Duke Nukem.

The creation of a new platform instead of Zen age-gating new tables for its existing one will undoubtedly be contentious. Sure, Pinball M is a bit more graphic. The ball sporadically leaves splashes of blood in its wake while sound snippets include a few expletives. But it rarely feels spicy enough to truly warrant an entire front-end. But with a 4.8GB installation footprint, having another platform isn’t an absolute deal breaker but it is an unnecessary inconvenience, when the game updates could have been added to Pinball FX.

Even Pinball Offers Campaigns

On the upside, Pinball M offers an inventory of interesting, if unessential features. Sure, you can opt to play a classic game, which emulates the experience of playing on a real-world table. But you can also play a game with power-ups, gaining access to active and passive assists like slow-motion, extra scoring for ball travel, or longer ball save periods. But that’s all been a part of Zen canon for a while now.

More interesting is the inclusion of Campaign Mode, which builds on the Switch version of Star Wars Pinball’s Career Mode. Here, you’ll be presented with varying daily challenges that might task you to earn a high score with a limited number of flipper uses or reaching a specified score in the shortest time possible. Satisfyingly, you’re ranked against other players, and earning a spot in the top 10% feels persistently rewarding. But more importantly, Campaign Mode might alter how you play, with some score-based challenges likely encouraging you to take more high-risk shots since balls can be unlimited.

Superfluous Microtransactions Have Been Removed

Table play is rewarded by a steady distribution of in-game currency that can be used to unlock everything from profile banners and cabinet, ball, and flipper skins, as well as decorations for your virtual arcade space. Seeing your replica table gradually become surprised by posters or horror-themed trimmings is enjoyable, especially when you aren’t paying real-world money for the privilege.

For competitive types, Tournaments permit players to easily host or join matches. Pleasingly, the rule variations from the Campaign mode allow for some playful deviations, while Arcade Mode allows for customization of active and passive perks. Matches are all asynchronous, lasting from an hour to a month, and can be open to the public or password protected. Zen’s matchmaking has always been one of its strengths, and that remains to be the case with Pinball M.

Pinball, as any aficionado will remind you, is a highly competitive game. As such, it is disappointing to witness a few minor glitches that could impair a spot at the top of the online leaderboards. Habitually, flippers will become stuck, mirroring the experience of playing an actual poorly maintained machine. A few times on the Wrath of the Elder Gods table, the ball became snared in Eldritch tendrils, while overlapping messages made the simulated LED display difficult to read. 99% of the time, the five launch tables play fine, but the infrequent bug should have been quashed before launch.

Zen and the Art of Table Design

As for the tables, they’re mostly what you’d expect from Zen at this point. Given that most Zen tables reflect late-era design, The Thing’s retro stylings are a standout. Yes, it feels like playing on a machine released alongside John Carpenter’s 1982 film, with its open midfield and lack of contemporary novelties. It’s good enough to make me long for an analog-style Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Phantasm machine.

Meanwhile Dead by Daylight’s hook is that you get to either play as Trapper or any of four survivors, with the latter each offering their own abilities. As a table, it plays fine, but it’s a bit too homogenous, much like the source material. Conversely, Chucky’s Killer Pinball succeeds given the puckishness of property. Expect everything from a slashed doll face that watches you play to fittingly devious wire ramp. It’s also a surprisingly tough table, with drains racking up faster than the homicidal doll’s bodycounts.

Beloved boomer shooter star Duke Nukem’s table might be the most fun. The virtual machine is packed with references from the character’s 3D outing, revisiting the old Million Dollar cinema. Duke’s B-flick inspired action abounds, with everything from a simple first-person shooter bonus sequence to that old stripper animation. The only issue is that the audio varies widely in quality, mixing scratchy Jon St. John clips and retro explosions with cleaner sound recordings. Rounding out the list of launch tables, is the aforementioned Wrath of the Elder Gods. It’s a reworking of one of Pinball FX’s virtual machines. While the Lovecraftian theme is cool, it’s a good but not great effort. As such, it’s easy to see why it’s a free pack-in for Pinball M, while the other tables will set you back $5.49. At least it’s not the butchery from Pinball FX.

Pinball M was played on PC with review code provided by the publisher.