First Takes: Retro Atomic Zombie Adventureland by deeproot Pinball

SAMPLE OF INDUSTRY OVERALL IMPRESSIONS

Reviewer 37

A mixture of gimmicks that don't combine into a satisfying whole.

Many of the shots are weighted to the left side (many games have more valuable targets on this side as many players are right-handed). Very few games have so little to do on the right.

The display is a very odd size and extremely hard to read. What is being shown? What's my score? What's the score of the other players?

What is currently available? Text renders on top of text due to the choice of a tiny vertical display and a focus on background illustrations rather than communication with the player. Hopefully updates can correct this issue.

Picking and choosing on the pinbar is ok, though choosing with flipper buttons would be fine. Lockbar screen would be slightly faster for the player if picking disparate items, though however they are cloning the display and providing communication to the rest of the game introduces a lot of lag (you can see it 'catch up' in the demo video at various junctures).

The roto on the left is positioned poorly.

Light show is serviceable.

Music and sound effects are very nice and seem to fit the carnival (Cyclone/Comet/Hurricane) theme.

Reviewer 117

Up in the air on this one. When I can flip it is the next stage. Looks promising. Let's hope we can find out final pricing. Plus shipment waits.

Reviewer 173

There isn't a lot here for the casual player, and a lot of decisions actively turn them away, notably using the Pinbar to select skill shots and start modes. Hiding modes behind ticket count makes it difficult for a beginner to figure out how to make any progress.

Layout has some things that are fun and interesting but other things that are very, very problematic. Full plunging or autoplunging into the left outlane is very common. Blocking the mode start shot with a drop target on a timer is frustrating. A repeatable ramp that awards extra balls and specials is a huge problem for location play.