Star Wars Pinball | Nintendo Switch | Review

---

Pinball machines are few and far between these days. You might find a dusty old one in your local pub, but it’s very unlikely you’ll stumble across the crème de la crème like a Star Wars-themed table.

---

​by James
Michael
Parry

---

​@james_parry

---

Developer: Zen Studios
Publisher: Koch Media
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Players: 1-4

---

Fortunately, thanks to the power of the Nintendo Switch, you can now carry 19 of those along with you in Star Wars Pinball. At first glance you might be tempted to make a snap judgement – either that the tables are going to feel samey quickly, or that the sheer number alone is overwhelming and you don't know where to start.

The game eases you in gently with its Career mode though, which has you take on each table in turn with a different imposed limit, whether that's time or pinballs or distance travelled. You don't need to be a pro to make progress here either, even just paddle flapping away you'll find the points wracking up, but to really get to the big bonuses – and more importantly experience the more visually interesting features of each table – you may want to refer to the table guide, which will take you through the various special missions and skillshots which can be played with on any given setup.

If linear isn't really your speed, you can also tackle the tables in any order with a standard three-ball setup, complete with the usual score challenges to boot. After a bit of flipping, you'll find you've picked up some holocron shards which can then be used to unlock force powers, giving you buffs and abilities used to tip the odds in your favour and help to reach even higher scores.

​​There are online leaderboards and a metagame within them which pits the light against the dark side of the Force for... well, it's not immediately clear what for. Of course, if you're on the go out in the middle of nowhere you might feel a bit more isolated. Never fear, as befriending fellow passengers on public transport has never been easier with hotseat multiplayer letting you take turns and challenge one another for the mantle of top scorer.

The level of detail and visual polish the game has to offer is only really shown off on a big screen however, if only because so much of the detail is otherwise packed into a small space. Even with a range of camera options (which annoyingly don't seem to remember your preference between stages), you can't get the full effect in handheld move.

One particularly neat feature is that you can encourage the screen to turn 90-degrees in either direction, meaning in tabletop mode (presumably with some makeshift stand option) or handheld portrait with an adapter, you can enjoy a more comfortable oblong, bird's eye view of proceedings.​

The highlight of the experience, and where Zen Studios really flex their creative muscles, is the scene mode, which has six scenes or characters showcased in micro-fights or challenges spread across the board, where your actions might cause blaster fire to be deflected or a door to be unlocked. The fun of reliving those iconic moments is a genuine thrill, even for a fan with more rewatches of the original trilogy than they might like to admit…

There's longevity here (unless you really, really aren't a fan of pinball), and plenty of nooks and crannies to explore within every table. You'll even stumble across the odd minigame, where you'll navigate an asteroid field or go toe-to-toe with Darth Vader in a lightsaber duel, and playing around with familiar characters (albeit with less familiar voice acting) is a delight.

Pinball is here, and the Force is with it.

Pros

• A vast array of tables from all across the galaxy
• Inventive ideas and even lesser films are spun in interesting new ways
• Gorgeous visuals, slick presentation and solid performance

Cons
​

• Slightly hammy voice work in places
• Camera can be uncooperative
• Force feedback is lacklustre

9/10