Pinball FX3

Genre: Compilation / Pinball

Players: 1-4 Competitive (Local Alternating), Online Leaderboards

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Review:

Pinball FX3 is a free-to-play app to play Pinball using various tables you can purchase via paid DLC. It was released on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch in 2017. This game is a continuation of both the Zen Pinball and Pinball FX franchises, and on other platforms much of the content of earlier games in both series would transfer over to this release, although some earlier tables from those games are not available here. In addition, the Nintendo Switch version curiously does not allow players to purchase some tables that are currently available on other platforms, most notably all of the Marvel-licensed tables. I’m not sure exactly why this is.

One thing that sets apart the Pinball FX games (and Zen Pinball, for that matter), is that while some tables aim to accurately reproduce real pinball tables, others add in fantastical elements that wouldn’t be possible in real life, such as moving, fluidly animated characters who respond to and interact with your actions on the pinball board. Purists may turn their nose up at this, but purists can also just stick to the more realistic simulated tables if they prefer.

Of course, while most of the tables available in this Compilation must be purchased via DLC, there is something to play here even if you don’t want to spend any money – the game includes two free tables: Sorcerer’s Lair and Fish Tales.

Out of all the free tables offered in these free-to-play Pinball games, Sorcerer’s Lair has to be my clear favorite, with tons of wonderful detail, lots of moving parts and pieces, a completely separate area where you take aim at spiders that drop down from above, an animated tree that attempts to block your ball, and the titular sorcerer, who zaps your ball to make it disappear. My only real complaint is how often the precocious kid characters on this table talk about “Whisper” (a ghost that occasionally appears), which gets annoying quickly. Otherwise, this is an outstanding pinball table.

By comparison, Fish Tales is probably my least-favorite of the free tables in all of the apps. Based on a real-life table, this version adds a distracting animated fisherman character you apparently can’t turn off, and the board’s layout is extremely vertical in a way that I find tedious and boring. I’m still happy that this is here, because it adds variety to this package, but it’s unquestionably the lesser of the two offerings here.

The presentation in this Compilation is excellent, with highly-detailed 3D visuals and sounds that do a good job of capturing the actual real-life Pinball tables. In fact, I would say my impression of this Compilation is it is by far the best-looking of the free-to-play Compilations.

In the end, I would say that if you have a Nintendo Switch, you might as well download this game – after all, it is free, and what’s included in the free package is decent. And then, if you decide you want to get additional Pinball tables to add to your collection, you have that option, but even if you don’t spend a penny, you’re in for some great gameplay here.

tl;dr – Pinball FX3 is a free-to-play Compilation that includes two free Pinball tables, Sorcerer’s Lair and Fish Tales, and the ability to buy others via paid DLC. This is a well-crafted collection of Pinball games, and I think it’s the best of the free-to-play offerings. Even if you’re not a big Pinball fan, if you own a Nintendo Switch you might as well get this since it’s free. And if you are a Pinball fan, you still have some other good tables to peruse via paid DLC, though unfortunately not as many as there are on other platforms (no Marvel content? What gives!?).

Grade: A-

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