Pinball FX VR Review – Virtual Pinball at it’s Best

Pinball FX VR Review

Pinball is one of the most iconic arcade experiences a gamer can have. The combination of electronic gaming with the tactile feeling of navigating a metallic ball around a field of obstacles. The lights, the sounds, the challenges. A good pinball machine can make someone come back for another round, again and again. Zen Studios is no stranger to pinball games. They’ve been developing pinball games for almost 20 years, and they’ve done it with so much finesse that they are easily the premier developer in pinball video games. Their latest effort, Pinball FX VR, looks to combine their passion for pinball with the unique abilities of VR. Make no mistake, Zen Studios is no stranger to VR, as they’ve ported some of their previous pinball games to a variety of VR headsets over the years. However, Pinball FX VR is a culmination of all these efforts, and the result on the Meta Quest 3 is pretty good!

The base game of Pinball FX VR includes three machines to enjoy; Noir, Curse of the Mummy, and Sky Pirates: Treasures of the Clouds. These three machines are Zen Studios’ own creations and each have their own unique theme. Noir is a take on the detective genre. Curse of the Mummy takes us to the tombs of Egypt. And Sky Pirates: Treasures of the Clouds is a steampunk inspired adventure in the skies. All three of them feature an assortment of challenges and mini-games, including a Sky Pirates mini-game that has you shooting cannons at an opposing ship.

Every pinball machine features the classic pinball experience, but also a variety of different options to customize your pinball experience. Arcade let’s you utilize different abilities, such as the ability to slow down time. These abilities might give you just the edge to complete the various pinball challenges. For those that really want to figure a machine out, there is a mode that will give players a full hour to experience the machine, without any fear of running out of balls. While these won’t count towards completing and challenges or achievements, it might give you the skills to be more successful in the standard mode.

Personal Pinball Arcade

Beyond the three pinball machine’s, you’ll have access to your own personal, and customizable, arcade. You’ll have a couple mini-games, including a dart board. There’s a trophy wall, where you can show off your grandest accomplishments. There are also plenty of different areas where you can place unlockable items from the pinball machines on display.

The machines look incredible in playing mode. With certain elements of the pinball machine appearing on the outside of the machine. Like the detective from Noir standing to the left of the pinball machine as you play it. And as you complete certain tasks, he’ll make comments or perform certain actions. It’s a fun way of expanding the pinball experience, without impacting it in any negative way. My only complaint is that the characters mouths don’t actually move when they talk. It’s a small detail, but one that is noticeable enough that I wish they would have taken care of.

Another oddity is the advertised Mixed Reality Mode. Despite my best efforts, the only thing I could find is an option menu called MR Mode with some settings to tweak. Maybe there’s some trick to unlocking it, but regardless, I couldn’t make it happen and that’s a bummer. Another missed opportunity is the lack of hand-tracking controls. While, this is probably ideal considering how important timing is, it still would have been nice to have the option to go controller-free.

Pricey Pinball

Generally in reviews, we tend not to discuss pricing, however, in a game like this, I feel that it is warranted. The base game is available for a very reasonable $13.99 (CDN), and this includes the three original titles Noir, Curse of the Mummy, and Sky Pirates: Treasures of the Clouds. Unfortunately, the pricing for additional pinball machines are each $13.99 (CDN), however, you can save a bit of money if you purchase one of the two different bundle options. As of this writing, the DLC tables include Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure, The Addams Family, Star Trek: The Next Generation, World Cup Soccer, Twilight Zone, Xena: Warrior Princess Pinball, Knight Rider and Battlestar Galactica.

The DLC tables are all digital recreations of real world pinball machines. And they look amazing. They’ve also added some out-of-table elements, such as the three base tables. Sadly, no, you won’t see a life size Xena standing beside the Xena: Warrior Princess table – a missed opportunity for sure. I imagine we’ll see many, many more DLC tables added to the mix in time, and personally, I hope we also see some beloved favourites from past Pinball FX games like Family Guy, Bob’s Burgers, Star Wars and Duke Nukem’s Big Shot Pinball.

Pinball FX VR does many thing right. Visually, the game is excellent. The tables, including the digital recreations of iconic pinball tables, all look great. The gameplay is as smooth and accurate as ever – Zen Studios definitely excels in this area. I truly felt like I was standing at a pinball machine. The three games included in the base game are pretty good, and the optional modes and my desire to get all the achievements should keep me coming back. The cost of DLC is a bit of a bummer, and it’ll be hard to justify purchasing every new DLC machine as they become available – especially if you’ve already purchased the machine for a previous Zen Studios release. The Mixed Reality mode is a mystery and I hope a future patch makes it accessible (or at least clarify how to access it). If you’re a pinball fanatic and want the best pinball experience on the Meta Quest 3, Pinball FX VR is a no-brainer.

***Pinball FX VR for the Meta Quest 3 code was provided by the publisher.***