The Pinball Wizard
- October 27, 2022
- Frosty Pop
Get on Steam"The Pinball Wizard" is a virtual pinball game featuring the fictional character Frosty Pop. The game provides various pinball tables with unique themes and challenges. Players can develop skills, collect special balls, and unlock new tables while enjoying the dynamic gameplay and vibrant graphics .
Reviews
- Cute art style and charming graphics that enhance the overall experience.
- Fun and addictive gameplay with a solid mix of pinball and RPG mechanics, providing depth and progression.
- Works well on various platforms, including Steamdeck, and offers a good value for its price.
- The game is short and can feel repetitive, requiring grinding to progress effectively.
- Physics and controls can be frustrating, with issues like slippery ball movement and unpredictable mechanics.
- Some gameplay elements, such as the final boss and certain mechanics, are poorly designed and detract from the overall enjoyment.
- gameplay8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the fun pinball mechanics and light RPG elements, while others criticize the fundamental design flaws, such as the inability to counter enemies effectively once off the paddles and a lack of variety in enemies and environments. The game is described as simplistic and short, with a repetitive experience that fails to deliver on its potential, leading to frustration rather than enjoyment. Overall, while the concept is intriguing, the execution leaves much to be desired.
“The art is adorable, the gameplay is super fun and, most importantly, it is a pinball game.”
“Fun take on pinball with some light RPG mechanics.”
“The good: interesting game mechanics.”
“There are several mechanics that I could point to that very clearly show that the devs understood that the game had a fundamental problem, but it's like putting a band-aid on a major wound.”
“The gameplay is my main gripe. The game is simple; it gives you two paddles to hit your wizard around and bump into enemies, which you kill to get keys and move to the next floor. However, this entire concept is flawed by one major problem: once you're off of the paddles, you can't really counter enemies. It does give you two power-ups to use with some cooldowns to dash and hit enemies, but it does little to actually stop you from bouncing around after that. I managed to die in under a single second by getting bounced off of enemies, which, when angry, damage you too as well as them when you hit them. The game really needed a parry or some sort of control for the player to utilize to prevent being stuck and left for dead as they helplessly crash into things and die. The leveling and roguelite elements aren't much better either, as they mostly don't amount to much and are largely insignificant to counter the major problem I just mentioned. The variety is lacking, with every floor looking the same, only three enemy variants, and a boss that felt very basic and lacked creativity. Generally speaking, the game lacked a lot of spark as a whole; I managed to complete the entire thing in just 1 hour and 7 minutes on my very first playthrough completely blind, so it's very short to say the least, and I expected much more for a concept that could've been a huge hit.”
“However, the small enemies don't telegraph their attacks nearly enough to react via pinball mechanics.”
- graphics4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 75 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The graphics are highly praised for their cute art style, featuring clean and slick visuals that effectively support the game's aesthetic. Reviewers note that the graphics perform well without lag, contributing positively to the overall experience.
“Also, very cute art style.”
“Graphics-wise, this is the part I give my thumbs up. The enemies are cutesy looking, and everything has a nice look to it. It's clean, it's slick, and it works for what it aims to do. It doesn't suffer from any lag and looks nice at the same time, so I can't fault the graphics at all.”
“Love the gameplay - overall great idea and aesthetic.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be somewhat repetitive and excessive, suggesting that the difficulty may be intentionally designed to encourage level grinding. The unforgiving damage mechanics during enemy attacks further contribute to the grindy experience.
“This game is good for what it is, but it does get a bit repetitive and grindy.”
“The amount of damage dealt when hitting an enemy during their attacks is way too unforgiving; maybe the developers intended for the balancing issues to be smoothed over via level grinding?”
- music2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally considered fitting but unremarkable, with standard sound effects that neither enhance nor detract from the experience. However, there are notable audio bugs, such as sound effects playing during cutscenes even when muted, which can lead to frustrating surprises for players.
“The music and sound effects are standard; I didn't feel they stood out nor detracted from the experience.”
“The music is alright, nothing memorable but fitting to the game itself.”
“The music and sound effects are standard; I didn't feel they stood out or detracted. However, the audio is bugged, and even if you mute everything, any sound effects in cutscenes still play. I nearly got my eardrums blasted out when I was trying to listen to some music in real life.”
“The soundtrack is forgettable and lacks any real impact, making it easy to tune out while playing.”
“The audio mixing is poor, with music often drowning out important dialogue, making it frustrating to follow the story.”
