Pinball FX – a rebooted pinball compilation by Hungarian developer Zen Studios – isn’t the most controversial release of the year, is it? Its middle name. As such, the studio is under intense scrutiny for not allowing the owners of previous efforts such as Pinball FX3 to proceed with the DLC. That’s a fair comment considering the meat and potatoes stayed pretty much the same.
If anything, this latest effort brings with it a number of nasty monetization schemes. The idea here is that it can be accessed in a single transaction. largely Currently 86 in total across all tables included in the game. More importantly, the team promises to add 34 more by the summer. many of pinball.
However, an annual pass retails for around £79.99/$99.99, which is an exorbitant expense regardless of the quality and breadth of content offered. We fully understand that modeling these tables at 4K is a significant cost and effort for developers, but the numbers break down mental barriers for us. that too No matter how good it is, there is a lot of value in digital pinball. You can get free daily passes in the new event mode (more on that later), but subscriptions are a waste to us.
Apparently Zen Studios already knew that, offering a more traditional a la carte DLC system as well. Multiple purchases are possible. High-profile tables like Indiana Jones and The Addams Family are available standalone and are fairly expensive, but given their legendary status among pinball fans, I think this is understandable.
The problem, as already mentioned, is that if you buy these tables for Pinball FX3, you cannot import them into the latest game. Unfortunately, the developers have already set the precedent in previous releases to future-proof the content. You can understand the studio’s desire to focus on its bottom line, which for most of the decade was pretty generous. can.
At least the core pinball is great, but the input lag is affecting our experience so far. Not playable However, I hope the devs tighten the controls and allow the flipper to snap just a little bit in future iterations. I also struggle with his default HDR settings as the title looks unintended. dark – but this can be resolved by increasing the brightness a bit.
However, once you overcome all these issues, the game becomes great. Each table has a cumulative progression system that rewards points earned on collectible items. You can use these to personalize your game room. This is a cute touch. A new event mode will also go along with this, offering a free Battle Pass. This allows you to complete mini gameplay challenges to fill your progress bar and unlock even more customization options.
Each table offers different modes, from classic gameplay to great variations like timed sessions and flipper limits. If you want more of an arcade experience, there are also power-ups you can use to maximize your score, and you can toggle all of those things as you create tournaments for friends, family, and strangers to try. With that said, most users choose to use the free tables to create their tournaments, but you can filter the content to find contests you’d like to participate in.
We’ve always enjoyed our table at Zen Studios, but the inclusion of classics like Williams and Bally completely changed our experience. I love boards like Pin Bot and I don’t think any of the included camera angles are ideal, but I had a great time playing them here. Added, but it’s just a standout table.
But, as already mentioned, the Budapest-based outfit also has some great original efforts. Inspired by the famous fairy tale, Grim Tales has a lovely Gothic theme and Adventureland is literally there. A board roller coaster filled with rails and giant animated objects. If you can get your hands on one of his in the aforementioned pinball passes, you’ll find a veritable treasure trove of content to dig into.
Conclusion
The slight input lag and dark visuals are a shame, but Pinball FX has so much content that pinball fans will have a hard time finding fun here. The biggest problem with this package is cumbersome monetization. The developer can’t decide whether to rely on a subscription-style pinball pass or traditional his DLC, and that hybrid approach is really nowhere near. Given that previously purchased content doesn’t carry over, it’s hard to recommend a large reinvestment here. Especially when the basic elements of playing many of these tables remain the same as in the past. game.
