Pinball M Review (PS5) | Push Square

pushsquare.com:

Pinball M launches at a time when creator Zen Studios’ reputation has been dented. For well over a decade now, the Hungarian developer has dominated the virtual pinball market with its beautiful table layouts and feature-packed apps. But this year’s Pinball FX crushed consumer confidence by failing to carry forward previous purchases, and generally offering a turgid client with slow loading times and some notably absent features.

This new version will run concurrently with the existing game, and carries a higher age rating, allowing the developer to incorporate some more mature material. The structure is much the same, though: you can download the core game for free alongside a Director’s Cut of the existing Zen Studios original, Wrath of the Elder Gods. You can then purchase four further tables as part of the Death Save Bundle for $19.99/£15.99, or individually for $5.49/£4.49 apiece.

The tables, it has to be said, are bloody brilliant. Dead by Daylight Pinball takes inspiration from Behaviour’s asymmetrical multiplayer game of the same name, and sees you picking between a killer or survivor. You’ll need to hit lanes in order to either escape your pursuer or track down your prey, with all sorts of features from the main title replicated, like generator repairing and so on.

While a strong effort, the video game adaptations in this inaugural bundle only get better. Duke Nukem’s Big Shot Pinball is decorated with low-poly models from the source material, and even includes a first-person shooter minigame where you need to step into the sizeable shoes of eponymous aggressor and kick a whole lotta ass. It’s tremendous fun.

Then there are the movie tables, too. Chucky’s Killer Pinball has a huge layout, with the deadly doll