Pinball Arcade Review

Rolling Thunder. 

Turn down the lights, put away your quarters, and plunge into Pinball Arcade. This is a totally authentic pinball simulator that serves up some of the best and most famous pinball tables from classic makers like Williams, Gottlieb, and Bally. New to PC and PS4, this sorta free-to-play edition is the best version of pinball you’re likely to play without setting foot inside a smoke-filled bar or lovingly polished collection.

Multitable Madness

Pinball Arcade includes one free table, Tales of the Arabian Nights, and it’s easy to see why it was chosen to demonstrate what this sim can do. Not only is
it an exhilarating table with flashy effects and deep gameplay, but it’s also one of the most gorgeous tables that Pinball Arcade has to offer. Its richly hued intricate artwork on the playing field really pops on a 1080p screen. Even if you don’t get any more tables, Tales of the Arabian Nights alone is well worth the download.

But if you do decide to plunk down some coin for extra tables, which you can purchase a la carte or in series collections, the selection of tables includes some of my favorites of all time. For example, Funhouse - also known as “that one with the ventriloquist dummy head” - has never looked or played better. It’s still a rush to make Rudy the dummy fall asleep with his snoring mouth wide open, and then gag him with a ball after lining up the perfect skill shot.

There’s a wide assortment of memorable tables ranging from licensed tie-ins like Star Trek: The Next Generation, Twilight Zone, and Elvira and The Party Monsters to milestones for the genre like Black Hole, the first pinball game to charge 50 cents and feature an extra inverted playing field. For my money, though, the most spectacular continues to be Medieval Madness. Make sure you do what I do and toggle the in-game room light to low so you can really enjoy its amazing light effects.
New tables are being added all the time based on public demand. The downside is that the assortment leans towards newer boards with lots of bells and whistles, and neglects vintage classics from the 50s, 60s, and 70s.

Skill Shots

The PC version of Pinball Arcade looks good, but the PS4 looks downright stunning with nearly photo-realistic detail and flawless frame rate. The ball physics, flipper strength, and even plunger mechanics are exactly how you’d remember them from the arcades. This simulation is so detailed that there’s a “Call Attendant” option in case your ball ever gets stuck. In some ways, these tables look too pristine -- much better than you’re likely to see them in actual arcades.

The one flaw that affects almost every pinball sim is still on display here, though, and it’s that there never seems to be a perfect viewing perspective. You’re either too close, too far away, or part of the board is obscured. It doesn’t help that rendering a vertical board on a wide screen makes the table smaller. It’s definitely not a reason to skip Pinball Arcade, but is a reminder that there are some things a sim can’t duplicate.