Video Game Preview: Hands-On With Pro Pinball Ultra - Going Balls To The Machine Walls

Published February 8, 2016

When you fist think about it, the idea of a pinball simulator is probably not going to sit all that well with you all that well. I mean, we’ve all played a pinball game. Windows XP had that pretty cool Space Cadet pinball game that, while not necessarily being the most authentic pinball experience, it was still an enjoyable little game.

Now we’ve come quite a way since the times of XP, but we haven’t really brought any pinball with us. While some of you might think about them as non-factors, there’s just something about pinball games that make them enjoyable and there’s something about Pro Pinball Ultra that makes it worth keeping an eye on it…

Pro Pinball Ultra is currently in early access on Steam and while it seems early days for the game, I will admit that it was pretty solid. Don’t let the Early Access label scare you off, the game is technically sound and, from my experience, well put together. I’ll just put any suspicions to bed and say that while it is rather light on content there is still some room for improvement, the future looks bright for Pro Pinball Ultra.

At the moment there is only one table available, Timeshock!, and I’ll say one thing about it that I never thought I would in my life, it’s a good looking pinball table. Timeshock! is incredibly detailed with pleasant lighting effects that give the game a jovial feel. The presentation of the game makes it feel like you’re sitting in front of an authentic pinball table, lighting, sound effects and all. I felt mesmerised by the flashing lights and the captivating sounds of the pinball simulation. All in all, the presentation of the table was impeccable and while I’ve come to expect lackluster performance from early Early Access builds, Pro Pinball Ultra managed to exceed my expectations and has managed to keep me coming back to it. It also helps that there is also quite a few interesting ways to try and rack up points on the Timeshock! table.

While the game itself plays very well, there are still improvements that need to be made to the actual game systems. There isn’t anything inherently wrong with it, but there are changes that can be made to improve the player experience. I know there is still a lot that is meant to be coming to the game so I’m not going to focus too much on that content, but there are a couple things that I do hope they consider adding or at least changing.

First off I feel it’s rather silly to have downloaded the game, only to have to download more of the game within the games menu. I can see why this probably makes things easier for the development team, but it does become a bit of an annoyance. Another thing that I didn’t particularly enjoy is that the instructions for the game were placed in a sort of credits layout. While I know that they are quite manageable, I think it may be a better idea to have the instructions be just static text rather than scrolling away from the player. While neither of these detract all that much from the game, it does cause some annoyance that could be avoided pretty easily.

So all in all, while it is still early days for Pro Pinball Ultra, there is a lot of enjoyment to be had in the current version. The features that are already in the game work as one expects and so once more complex features they will only improve the game. I feel that Pro Pinball Ultra is a fun end enjoyable pinball simulation for die-hard fans of pinball and even the more casual players. In its current state it is well worth your time, but I would recommend however that you wait it out a little longer before taking the plunge into Pro Pinball Ultra. It’s fun as it is but once more features are added it will be a far more enjoyable experience.

Pro Pinball Ultra is available on Steam Early Access for the set price of $14.99/£9.99/€14.99/R159.00.

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BiPolarBear

Gaming Author at Geek Node

The best person to offer the worst opinion. Paul's interests include adding 100 hour JRPGs to his backlog and dark walks through dungeons. You'll probably find him rambling on about old man Nintendo or that crazy newfangled eSports thingy.