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PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS NOT A REVIEW – these are initial impressions of the game based on the reveal stream and images that have been released. Impressions are based on the CURRENT state of the game as of the reveal stream. An aggregate review of the game will follow in the coming months.
BIAS: There will always be bias, it would be silly and ignorant to pretend otherwise! Reviewers include people from all major manufacturers and hardcore hobbyists, and they have been encouraged to give THOUGHTFUL impressions.
REMINDER: The best way to decide if you like a game is to go find one and play it!
7.5/10
Reviewer 106: Wow! This game is a breath of fresh air for design! Unique yet familiar in feel. Great placement of features and a nontraditional bottom that really seems to work well. The shots all are smooth yet appropriately challenging.
Reviewer 142: All the shots look great and flow well except for the inner loop through the spinner and the portal shot from the upper flipper. Something is rejecting almost all the shots to the inner spinner loop and the portal shot from the upper flipper seems impossible. This is by far the best design to date Spooky has done.
Reviewer 200: It looks like a brilliant layout. New and refreshing with a touch of difficulty. The most noticeable innovation is that single pop bumper in the left sling area which looks like it adds a ton of fun. I don’t know yet what I think of the Danesi Lock 2.0. I don’t quite understand what advantage it adds over just a simple drop target lock and it takes up a ton of room. Yet shooting it as a horseshoe does look fast and furious. I am taking a star off for how the plunge sometimes goes around that little upper right horseshoe and sometimes doesn’t. That just looks annoying that it doesn’t always do as expected.
7.6/10
Reviewer 12: This playfield is absolutely jam-packed with fantastic custom illustrations. Lots of visual references from all four seasons are scattered across the playfield, backglass and cabinet art and yet it doesn’t feel too cluttered.
Reviewer 131: It serves the license well I think, but doesn’t blow me away.
7.9/10
Reviewer 55: Lots of creativity in the design of the Adventure rules. Each Adventure seemed very unique and interesting. (Love the plans to add new Adventures based on future content from the show.) The “Dimensions” concept is a fun and clever overarching rule design. However, the rules of the one multiball that is currently implemented seemed vanilla. Unfortunately have to deduct some points due to multiple hangs / reboots during the 2.5 hour stream. I am sure Eric and team will resolve these, but we’ve been asked to report on status as seen in this stream… so many fatal errors in a short period will frustrate owners and operators.
Reviewer 99: Right now the game is shipping with pretty basic code. One multiball, 6 adventures, and a lot of dimensions. But listening to Eric, the coder of the game, on the stream he has lots and lots more to put into the game. Then when we talk about the fact that the game is going to be allowed to be updated with content from future seasons of Rick and Morty I think this will eventually become great.
9/10
Reviewer 12: Apart from a few static custom illustrations, the main visual materials on the display are sequences clipped from the show. The animation clips are exciting and well-choreographed to match what is happening under the glass.
Reviewer 142: I know nothing about this show, but was blow away by the display work. Not surprised as Spooky has been awesome with this for their past two games.
Reviewer 165: Spooky picking up where they left off with Alice Cooper with more fantastic animations. Overall they looked great with clips from the show, but a couple modes just had placeholders during the animation. Looking forward to more progress as the game progresses.
6.8/10
Reviewer 55: The main toy/gimmick is the “Danesi Lock 2.0”, a U-turn loop that can also lock balls. I really appreciate the thinking of the design here … it’ll be interesting to see how this mech will be used as the game matures. However, what was demonstrated in the stream so far doesn’t do much new… it was simply a shot that looped around until it was qualified for lock. The secondary toy/gimmick was the Anti-Gravity Magna Save… great to see a return of the classic WMS style of Magna Save. Extra point for the embedded displays: besides the TNA-style ball save display, having another seven-segment display up top for mode info is great, and the Anti-Gravity status bar (though probably just an LED strip) looked good too.
Reviewer 4: May be the weakest part of the game. Which is saying something because it’s not lacking in this department either. Space ship looks good.
Reviewer 142: Love Scott’s innovative approach to taking stuff that’s been around for forever and make it feel new. Score would’ve been higher but there not a single Interactive toy on the playfield.
9.5/10
Reviewer 12: About as close to having a pinball machine re-create the fun and humour of watching an episode of Rick & Morty. The audio-visual experience pulls the player into the show’s bizarre and twisted world like stepping through a portal into the pinball dimension!
Reviewer 165: Incredible theme integration. Just missing a main toy to complete the package!
Reviewer 65: Seems like Spooky knocked it out of the park with utilizing the assets they were given! Having Justin Roiland do custom call outs and using clips from the show is exactly what this game needed and they seem to have delivered!!
9.6/10
Reviewer 4: Fantastic! From the non stop light show to the subtle light changes that help you, like entering a new dimension changes all the GI to a specific color, I don’t think there is a better light show out there.
Reviewer 200: Every other game producer should take a course from Danesi on doing lightshows.
Reviewer 55: Fan-freakin-tastic. Scott Danesi is a master of lighting effects. Great attention to detail throughout.
9.6/10
Reviewer 12: Fantastic original tracks by Scott Danesi which amp up the excitement of each level of the game and help build the mood and tempo. Three different subtle variations on the main R&M theme indicate what kind of play state (dimension) you are in home, negative or positive. I hope they release these tracks so we can have our own Rick & Morty rave parties!
Reviewer 165: Need to hear more of this but what is in it so far is excellent.
9/10
Reviewer 4: Callouts are so good it makes you feel like Rick is standing over your shoulder and harassing you through the whole game.
Reviewer 131: So far so good, custom callouts seem good, look forward to more being used (claimed: less than 50% currently implemented)
Reviewer 55: Excellent. Lots of variety of fun speech, and very well integrated into the game. Blows away most other pins already… maybe the best speech package since Medieval Madness? Then Eric mentioned having lots more speech assets that aren’t coded yet… wow. Great stuff here.
8.5/10
Reviewer 65: I think this is the best game Spooky has made so far! The lack of toys is completely forgotten about with the theme integration on the display, the rule set, and music and light show! There is a reason this game sold out in less than 4 hours!
Reviewer 189: Homerun for Scott Danesi and Spooky Pinball. Fun gameplay, short ball times. Operator’s dream game.
Reviewer 55: This seems to be a fun, funny, clever game with a great A/V and lighting package, built by people who love Rick & Morty, for people who love Rick & Morty. The only point I’m really deducting from overall impression is for what looks like a high rate of shot rejections, especially from the upper flipper. Congrats to everyone at Spooky for knocking this one outta the park.
8/10
Unique design that appears to always be brutal. From the looks of it I wouldn’t recommend this layout for beginners.
9/10
The artwork makes me feel like I’m apart of the Rick and Morty show. With everything pulled from the show (and even some inside extras) the art is spot on of what any pinball game should or could be.
8/10
Plenty of nuances that keep making me want to see more. This game is one you will have to pay attention to if you want to score big.
8/10
At first glance all the scenes are from the show and look great. Only concern is some modes, like Whirly Dirly that comes to mind, are very repetitive. But with how fast this game is, I doubt you will be watching the screen much.
7/10
May be the weakest part of the game. Which is saying something because it’s not lacking in this department either. Space ship looks good.
10/10
Could this game be any better integrated?
10/10
Fantastic! From the non stop light show to the subtle light changes that help you, like entering a new dimension changes all the GI to a specific color, I don’t think there is a better light show out there.
10/10
Scott Danesi does it again. Taking a production song and making it your own while staying true to the source material without loosing the original vibe can be difficult to balance. Scott’s renditions of these songs are a perfect blend!
10/10
Callouts are so good it makes you feel like Rick is standing over your shoulder and harassing you through the whole game.
9/10
Perfect game for any Rick and Morty fan! Really they couldn’t ask for better. As far as the pinball fan. It looks like it will please those looking for a challenge. Scott has taken his smart and brutal designing skills to the next level. No pinball machine is perfect but as far as custom callouts, custom music, brilliant light show, and brutal design, it’s hard to argue this game doesn’t meet alot on the check list of what makes a great pinball machine.
7/10
The playfield layout appears to be designed with a bit of a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde approach; the shots on the right half of the game are decidedly easier to make and do not put the ball in immediate danger if missed. However the shots on the left half of the playfield are significantly more difficult and punishing- two of which can only be accessed by the upper right flipper. During the stream it became quite obvious that everyone shooting for the left loop were getting unfortunate lip-outs or rejections around the spinner. I would say on average only 1 out of 5 shots cleanly made into that loop successfully traveled around and back to the upper flipper. The left lane shot to the garage hole was almost entirely ignored. During the entire 2.5+ hour stream this shot to the garage was only accomplished a handful of times.
9/10
This playfield is absolutely jam-packed with fantastic custom illustrations. Lots of visual references from all four seasons are scattered across the playfield, backglass and cabinet art and yet it doesn’t feel too cluttered.
9/10
Despite some obvious bugs and glitches which cropped up during the reveal stream, the code and rule set design already seems very well-developed. Each of the six Adventure modes (potentially more coming) have their own unique shot progression and feel thematically tied to the adventure you are on. Although there currently is only one multiball available, it looks just a fast and fun as TNA’s multiball. Additional game/score modifiers such as changing dimensions, colleecting Mega Seeds and spotting Mr. Meeseeks (which can either multiply or divide the value on a particular shot) add other interesting tasks to be aware of other than just modes and multiball. Kudos to Bowen Kerins, lead rules desginer and coders Chris Nietzold, Eric Priepke & Jimmy Lipham.
8/10
Apart from a few static custom illustrations, the main visual materials on the display are sequences clipped from the show. The animation clips are exciting and well-choreographed to match what is happening under the glass.
7/10
The “Danesi Lock 2.0” is an ingenious example or repurposing common game mechs such as drop targets, up posts, optos in a new configuration so that they function in an entirely novel way. The 3D Smith family house and garage in the back of the game adds to the “world under glass” feeling. Rick’s ship/car may be illuminated and wobbles atop a spring, but unfortunately doesn’t affect the ball in any meaningful way. A very strategically placed glowing plastic crystal shard helps prevent airball drains down the left outlane. Despite all these physical features, the game offers very little in terms of thematically integrated mechanical action.
10/10
About as close to having a pinball machine re-create the fun and humour of watching an episode of Rick & Morty. The audio-visual experience pulls the player into the show’s bizarre and twisted world like stepping through a portal into the pinball dimension!
10/10
Absolutely stunning light shows! From the brilliant multi-coloured swirls of the attract mode, to the waves and pulses of coloured light which punctuate every significant moment of in-game play, this game makes full use of it’s RBG lighting package.
10/10
Fantastic original tracks by Scott Danesi which amp up the excitement of each level of the game and help build the mood and tempo. Three different subtle variations on the main R&M theme indicate what kind of play state (dimension) you are in home, negative or positive. I hope they release these tracks so we can have our own Rick & Morty rave parties!
10/10
I can’t even imagine flipping this game without the custom call-outs primarily voiced by Rick & Morty’s creator, Justin Roiland. Other pinball manufacturers should make note of how much of an impact on the excitement and overall fun factor that having original voice work can add to the pinball experience.
8/10
Very impressed with how much fun and excitement is packed into this game despite not having custom/expensive mechanisms implemented on the playfield. The ball geometry on the left loop and left lane to the garage still look a bit too difficult for average players and still seems “clunky”. Truly this is an example of Spooky Pinball playing to their strengths as a pinball manufacturer.
8/10
Overall playfield layout is distinctive… this is not a fan layout. Great to see the pop bumper in place of the left slingshot. I like that the left ramp feeds the upper-right flipper. Always love games with an upper flipper with multiple shots dedicated to it, although those shots (loop, garage) look difficult enough — lots of rejections — that they may be frustrating for many players. “Danesi Lock 2.0” is an interesting combination of a U-turn loop (sometimes) and a two-sided ball lock (sometimes).
7/10
I found the playfield artwork to be pretty unremarkable. The backbox and cabinet artwork are more interesting to my eye (though of course cabinet artwork is often hidden for games in a lineup).
7/10
Lots of creativity in the design of the Adventure rules. Each Adventure seemed very unique and interesting. (Love the plans to add new Adventures based on future content from the show.) The “Dimensions” concept is a fun and clever overarching rule design. However, the rules of the one multiball that is currently implemented seemed vanilla. Unfortunately have to deduct some points due to multiple hangs / reboots during the 2.5 hour stream. I am sure Eric and team will resolve these, but we’ve been asked to report on status as seen in this stream… so many fatal errors in a short period will frustrate owners and operators.
10/10
Looks great. Attractive and creative visual layout of the on-screen elements. Lots of fun video content.
8/10
The main toy/gimmick is the “Danesi Lock 2.0”, a U-turn loop that can also lock balls. I really appreciate the thinking of the design here … it’ll be interesting to see how this mech will be used as the game matures. However, what was demonstrated in the stream so far doesn’t do much new… it was simply a shot that looped around until it was qualified for lock.
The secondary toy/gimmick was the Anti-Gravity Magna Save… great to see a return of the classic WMS style of Magna Save.
Extra point for the embedded displays: besides the TNA-style ball save display, having another seven-segment display up top for mode info is great, and the Anti-Gravity status bar (though probably just an LED strip) looked good too.
10/10
Top notch. I have never seen the Rick & Morty TV show, but this game makes me want to check it out. (Contrast with Stranger Things, which I have also never watched the TV program, and that game gave me no reason to change that.) From the many named/iconified player Mortys, to the “Dimension” concept, to the “Plumbus” tilt warning, on and on, it’s clear that there’s a lot of love and passion for this theme from the design team. I’m guessing fans of the show will be thrilled with this game.
10/10
Fan-freakin-tastic. Scott Danesi is a master of lighting effects. Great attention to detail throughout.
10/10
Excellent music and sound effects. Having different versions of the main theme music based on overall game status is a great idea, reminiscent of Whitewater.
10/10
Excellent. Lots of variety of fun speech, and very well integrated into the game. Blows away most other pins already… maybe the best speech package since Medieval Madness? Then Eric mentioned having lots more speech assets that aren’t coded yet… wow. Great stuff here.
9/10
This seems to be a fun, funny, clever game with a great A/V and lighting package, built by people who love Rick & Morty, for people who love Rick & Morty. The only point I’m really deducting from overall impression is for what looks like a high rate of shot rejections, especially from the upper flipper. Congrats to everyone at Spooky for knocking this one outta the park.
5/10
The layout isn’t one that really stands out and gets my attention
5/10
The cabinet artwork looks good, the playfield artwork is ok. I wish it popped a little more
10/10
I think where this game shines is really the code! The theme integration and rules really make up for the art and what seems like just an ok layout. It looks like Spooky made a good move having Eric Priepke code the game!!
10/10
The animations look top notch! Very impressed with what spooky has done!
5/10
Not really much going on here. The ball lock is interesting, and I really appreciate the pop bumper replacing the left sling, it’s very unique and a nice change of pace!
10/10
Seems like Spooky knocked it out of the park with utilizing the assets they were given! Having Justin Roiland do custom call outs and using clips from the show is exactly what this game needed and they seem to have delivered!!
10/10
It’s Scott Danesi, the light show is amazing!
10/10
Again, this is a Scott Danesi game, he clearly knows how to make amazing music that totally enhances the game!
10/10
The callouts are great! When you get the show creator who does the main voices for the show you get what you need to be in the game.
9/10
I think this is the best game Spooky has made so far! The lack of toys is completely forgotten about with the theme integration on the display, the rule set, and music and light show! There is a reason this game sold out in less than 4 hours!
9/10
The layout has some unique shots, and the horseshoe lock (Danesi 2.0), is new and unique and appears to be used in multiple ways throughout the game.
9/10
The artwork is done by the official artist of Rick and Morty so hard to complain about anything on the machine.
7/10
Right now the game is shipping with pretty basic code. One multiball, 6 adventures, and a lot of dimensions. But listening to Eric, the coder of the game, on the stream he has lots and lots more to put into the game. Then when we talk about the fact that the game is going to be allowed to be updated with content from future seasons of Rick and Morty I think this will eventually become great.
9/10
Display animations looked great especially for the code being so early.
9/10
Danesi Lock 2.0, the second ball trough accessed via the portal, and the pop bumper for a sling all stand out to me as unique toys/gimmicks. All seem to be incorporated well into the design and rules of the machine.
10/10
The theme will not be for everyone, but obviously is incredibly relevant and current. The machine sold out in 4 hours based on theme and the company producing the machine. Rick and Morty merchandise and apparel is available at so many chain stores that I think this game will really be a hit.
10/10
Did you see the start of the f*cking multiball?! 10/10 If there is one thing Scott Danesi knows its light shows.
10/10
Again a home run.
8/10
Some of the call outs got a little repetitive, but as explained on the stream, they have less than half of the callouts in the game at this time, plus future content.
8/10
I’m excited to get time on this machine, I think it has a lot of potential, and I should get to play on this week.
5/10
A slightly above-average layout with geometry that unfortunately just doesn’t seem to work. The left ramp looks annoying to shoot and the inner loop is a chatter factory with many unsatisfying failures to actually loop. Strange that the autoplunger seems to rely on chatter in order to feed the upper flipper; on times it didn’t chatter it went around that upper right U turn loop and failed to feed the skill shot. Very odd.
7/10
It serves the license well I think, but doesn’t blow me away.
6/10
Some fun ideas and moments in the game, but what is there right now seems repetitive and would get old quick if that’s all it was (I understand more will be added which should improve this score).
7/10
Seem to be decently done. Some odd glitches and bugs right now, but nothing super earth shattering.
3/10
Didn’t see any. The only toy of note is Danesi Lock 2, and that’s standard pinball parts. There’s also nothing particularly interesting done with anything associated with the U-loop right now. Assuming more interesting rules and ideas are coming later. If not, oof.
9/10
It seems to have integrated the theme quite well from what I can tell. Personally mostly apathetic about the theme itself.
6/10
Attract mode and certain big moments in the game (like MB start) have really compelling light shows, but everyday shooting-the-ball-around stuff is severely lacking.
8/10
I generally enjoy Scott’s music, and the sound programming they were talking about on-stream is intriguing, even if it wasn’t very noticeable right now.
7/10
So far so good, custom callouts seem good, look forward to more being used (claimed: less than 50% currently implemented). Props to the Wilhelm Dimension.
6/10
It’s going in a good direction content-wise, just needs to be much more varied than it is right now. Large portions of the game seem irrelevant at any given time, though the swaths of irrelevancy change as the game changes states. Playfield itself is nothing to really heap praise on, and it’s made much worse by the geometry that plain doesn’t work.
7/10
All the shots look great and flow well except for the inner loop through the spinner and the portal shot from the upper flipper. Something is rejecting almost all the shots to the inner spinner loop and the portal shot from the upper flipper seems impossible. This is by far the best design to date Spooky has done.
6/10
Weakest part of the game imo but it’s fine. I’m sure it looks better in person. Not a fan of the two tones playfield background colors of yellow and black.
8/10
Had no clue what was going on with the rules, but seems like stone and tons is there already and will have extremely high replay value since the shots do not seem nearly has frustrating as previous Spooky games.
10/10
I know nothing about this show, but was blow away by the display work. Not surprised as Spooky has been awesome with this for their past two games.
6/10
Love Scott’s innovative approach to taking stuff that’s been around for forever and make it feel new. Score would’ve been higher but there not a single Interactive toy on the playfield.
10/10
Don’t know the show, but seems like it’s integrated perfectly.
10/10
No surprise, Scott kills it again on light show.
10/10
Duh. It’s Scott. He’s a fantastic music creator.
6/10
Not a fan of the show, but I think these callouts can be good for anyone since they are custom to the game. Lower score due to them getting kind of annoying at times, but that’s the case sometimes when using direct audio capture for streams.
8/10
Very very promising looking. Can’t wait to play one!
6/10
The lock looks fun and unique and the pop bumper looks to work well and add chaos without being frustrating. Biggest concerns are the shots from the upper flipper – the spinner loop shot is rejecting too often and the garage shot looks to be difficult. Is this a layout an asskicker or it is a layout that is frustrating?
8/10
As an animated show, the licensor is probably going to be pretty stringent with the art. Looks incredible.
7/10
Current rules and code is probably a 7 or 8 out of 10, as there is only one multi-ball and not a ton of modes yet. But the rule structure, with the adventures as modes and the different dimensions that have different scoring and playfield changes has HUGE potential. Love the direction, need more adventures and more multiballs!
8/10
Spooky picking up where they left off with Alice Cooper with more fantastic animations. Overall they looked great with clips from the show, but a couple modes just had placeholders during the animation. Looking forward to more progress as the game progresses.
6/10
The (free) topper looks super cool, and the lock mech and the garage shot with the staged ball are fun. Overall it feels a bit like it has a lack of toys though.
9/10
Incredible theme integration. Just missing a main toy to complete the package!
10/10
Scott Danesi lightshow. Period.
9/10
Need to hear more of this but what is in it so far is excellent.
9/10
I miss Jerry and Summer but incredible custom callouts from Justin Roiland!
7/10
This game has a ton of potential and looking forward to its development moving forward.
9/10
Overseeable, yet innovative layout
7/10
I suppose the artwork is spot on with the artwork of the show, but I’m not a fan of the artwork of the show, so that doesn’t make the game look good to me
8/10
It was clear that there is a lot more to come, but what’s there is already fun
9/10
Good use of assets
7/10
Can’t think of any toys. The horseshoe lock is innovative, but currently not used to its fullest potential
9/10
While I’m not familiar with the show, I’d say theme integration is spot-on. Especially with those voice calls.
10/10
Scott’s lightshows rule. He’s lightyears ahead of Stern’s lightshows.
9/10
Great voice calls and only half of them have been implemented. Don’t know whether the music matches the show, but I like it a lot.
10/10
Nailed it!
9/10
Homerun for Scott Danesi and Spooky Pinball. Fun gameplay, short ball times. Operator’s dream game.
8/10
It looks like a brilliant layout. New and refreshing with a touch of difficulty. The most noticeable innovation is that single pop bumper in the left sling area which looks like it adds a ton of fun. I don’t know yet what I think of the Danesi Lock 2.0. I don’t quite understand what advantage it adds over just a simple drop target lock and it takes up a ton of room. Yet shooting it as a horseshoe does look fast and furious. I am taking a star off for how the plunge sometimes goes around that little upper right horseshoe and sometimes doesn’t. That just looks annoying that it doesn’t always do as expected.
7/10
The artwork is good and definitely looks just like the show. I don’t really find it that engaging though.
7/10
It excites me that there are both adventures and dimensions to play. Then being able to combine those with multiballs will keep my interest level up. It sounds like there are many more adventures in the plans as well. Actually, I am worried that there might end up being too much to do in this game. With a ton of stuff like that I often find it hard to know what to do. It also seems like there were quite a few bugs in the code right now. I’d hate to have a low numbered game just because it will probably have some frustrating issues.
10/10
They look amazing. I love the match screen. It cracks me up each time.
8/10
I don’t see a big focus on toys in this game. Danesi and team seemed to focus more on gameplay instead of how do you squeeze in some cheesy molded stuff. I would much rather wonder at how the ball gets shot back from the portal instead of hitting a bobble. The few toys that are there definitely help make the theme.
7/10
Rick and Morty wasn’t something I was interested in before this game. I have watched a few shows and never really got into it. That being said, I still laughed at the callouts in the game.
10/10
Every other game producer should take a course from Danesi on doing lightshows.
10/10
Another area where Danesi shines. Just like TNA, the music is such a part of this game. Definitely helps you get in the pinball groove.
9/10
They made me laugh even though I am not much a fan of the show. I really like the idea of being able to scale the vulgarity to my liking.
10/10
Right now, with Danesi knocking out the playfield, lightshow, and music and callouts; I don’t see how this game won’t go down in pinball history as one of the best. I hesitate to say that without playing it, but will anyway.
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