Episode 45: Walking Dead Pinball Returns for 2025 - But Should You Care?
The Walking Dead Pinball is officially back, remastered, polished, and ready to take another bite out of the hobby! 🧟♂️ But does this game really need a second run? In this video I give my initial reaction and honest assessment of Stern Pinball’s Walking Dead Remaster. We dive into what’s new, what’s changed, and whether this legendary zombie-themed machine still earns a spot in today’s crowded pinball lineup. The original TWD is a modern classic for a lot of player, brutal gameplay, high stakes, and some of the most chaotic moments in pinball. But with so many new releases and remakes hitting the market, the question is… do we need this right now? Let’s talk gameplay, code, art, sound, and where this remake fits in an era of high-end pinball, boutique machines, and constant new drops. Drop your thoughts in the comments, is this a hype comeback or a cash grab remake? 🕹️ LOOKING TO BUY A PINBALL MACHINE? Visit Flip N’ Out Pinball for new and used machines: 👉 🎯 WANT TO COMPETE? Find a tournament near you on the official IFPA calendar: 👉 📣 LEAVE ME A VOICEMAIL I might play it on the show! 🎙️ 🎙️ CHECK OUT MY PINBALL PODCAST – “The Flipside” 👉 • Spotify: • Apple Podcasts: 👉
Kineticist’s take
Walking Dead Remastered gets mixed community reception on technical upgrades but divided on art, price, and lack of show clips.
Synopsis
Retro Ralph, host of The Flipside Pinball Podcast Podcast, provides a live, unfiltered first reaction to Walking Dead Remastered (Premium/LE) announcement after avoiding all prior coverage. He discusses the new Spike 3 platform features (larger 18.5-inch HD display, external cabinet expression lighting, motorized crossbow, well walker solenoid enhancement), art package updates, and audio improvements. Community sentiment is mixed: some praise the technical upgrades and new features, while others criticize the colorful art direction (perceived as mismatched for the dark theme), lack of show video assets, high pricing, and overall value proposition compared to alternatives like Metallica Remastered.
Highlights
- Walking Dead Remastered features a new modular cabinet lighting system with internal and external expression lighting on all versions.
- The game includes a larger 18.5-inch full HD display with true color depth powered by Spike 3 technology.
- The well walker has been enhanced with a solenoid for active mechanical movement instead of passive ball-strike response.
- The crossbow mechanism now features a motorized ball-firing system with an encoder.
- Custom audio callouts include voice work from Merle and Michonne characters.
- The art package does not appear to feature foiling, which Stern associates with premium feel; foiling is not explicitly mentioned in marketing.
- Walking Dead Remastered lacks video show clips from the TV series, relying instead on custom animations.
- Only ~500 Limited Edition units are being produced.
- Stern's Spike 3 audio system has improved power handling compared to Spike 2, making default audio more acceptable without mandatory upgrades.
Entities
- Flip N Out Pinball· company
- Spooky Pinball· company
- Stern Pinball· company
- Beetlejuice· game
- Evil Dead· game
- Jaws· game
- Lord of the Rings· game
- Metallica Remastered· game
- Star Wars: The Fall of the Empire· game
- The Walking Dead Remastered· game
- Transformers· game
- Winchester· game
- The Flipside Pinball Podcast· organization
- George Gomez· person
- John Borg· person
- Lyman F. Sheats Jr.· person
- Retro Ralph· person
- Robert Laskey· person
- Zach Sharpe· person
- Zombie Yeti· person
- Spike 3· product
- Electric Bat· venue