When I started playing Pinball M, I had kind of forgotten how much I love pinball. It’s usually the first thing I go for in any arcade, provided there’s no Bust-a-Move cabinet to play on, and I don’t even know how many hours I sunk into the 3D Pinball for Windows. The only other thing I couldn’t figure out was what the M stands for since it doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the game’s theme.
As a kid, I used to love pinball games, spending hours with Kirby’s Pinball Land and Pokémon Pinball on the Gameboy, but as I got older, the idea of pinball as video games has always been a bit weird to me. It always felt like a cheap gimmick—it’s part of the reason I never really played Metroid Prime Pinball, Mario Pinball Land, or Odama despite hearing they were really good. I hoped Pinball M might remind me why I fell in love with the silver ball in the first place, but it didn’t really move the needle—or, in this case, the flipper.
That isn’t to say that Pinball M is a bad game, it’s just somewhat unremarkable. Taking cues from collection packs like the SEGA Genesis Classics or the Game Room (ask your parents), Pinball M gives “players” a collection of horror-themed pinball machines, complete with little rooms they can customize and play in. I say “players,” but realistically it’s payers since the game only comes with one machine at launch, with others to be added as paid DLC—outside of the paid DLC that was included for this review.
That might have been what immediately rubbed me the wrong way about Pinball M. Even with the aforementioned SEGA Genesis Classics or any other “collection” type game where you need to buy the actual content separately, I’ve never accepted games that don’t actually come with content. There’s a cynical air that permeates the entire experience—but hey, I guess it’s cheaper than investing in actual pinball machines.
“I will say that Pinball M‘s audio/visual design is probably the game’s standout.”
Anyway, I will say the machines themselves are fairly creative and incredibly animated. The only cabinet available with the game—that you can play unlimited for free as the game’s store page makes a specific point to inform you—Wrath of the Elder Gods: Director’s Cut, which is actually a piece of DLC from Pinball FX, is interestingly designed with eldritch tendrils wrapping around the table and horrific sound effects on every bumper.
Furthermore, each table—at least the ones that were available for this review—has unique gimmicks and missions that play well with the table’s theme. The Dead by Daylight table lets you choose at the start between the Killer or four Survivors, each with unique abilities and missions to complete during play, while the Duke Nukem table lets you access a little FPS minigame if you meet certain conditions.
I will say that Pinball M‘s audio/visual design is probably the game’s standout. Every table is overflowing with detail and life, emulating the feel of real pinball tables. The bright lights and sound clips from each table’s associated property bring a genuine feel to each game, and additional touches like the blood splatter on the Chucky table or the quiet, unnerving ambiance of The Thing table add a lot of charm to the experience.
“Pinball M isn’t a terrible game, but it’s definitely one I can’t get behind.”
The only thing I wish is that the screen, which conveys information or little video clips from the tables’ associated properties, was integrated better into the whole experience. It’s tucked away in the corner and is a little too tiny to accurately see any of the missions being given to the player when you hit various lanes or bumpers—especially with the fast-paced nature of pinball, where taking your eye off the ball for a second can result in a loss.
I’m not sure if there was a better way to integrate it into the table itself—maybe designing the backboard a bit better so it was more clearly in view—or if the whole pretense should’ve been dropped and the tables themselves could’ve been more animated or more clearly communicated its requirements to the play.
Also, I have to lament that Pinball M does not utilize the PS5 controller’s adaptive triggers. For a game like this, getting that nice, responsive click of the paddle button could’ve been so easily replicated on the PS5 controller and added that extra level of detail. That goes double for the controller’s haptic feedback, which could’ve really simulated the shakes and bumps of the table.
Pinball M isn’t a terrible game, but it’s definitely one I can’t get behind. While it does a solid job of adapting a handful of horror properties—just in time for Christmas, no less—personally, I cannot in good conscience, condone a game that releases with virtually no content and then asks players to pay for every single piece of it, especially if Zen Studios plans to monetize this game as much as they did with Pinball FX.
