Episode 109 - A Casual Look Back at 2025 w/ Megan the Watergirl

Casual pinball player Megan reviews 2025 releases with focus on layout, art, and vibe: no industry knowledge.

Synopsis

Wedgehead Pinball Podcast 109 features casual player Megan reviewing 2025 pinball releases from a non-enthusiast perspective. Unlike typical pinball media dominated by obsessive hobbyists, this episode captures feedback from someone who plays ~1-2 times weekly without following industry news. Megan evaluates games using a layout/art/vibe rating system, offering valuable market insight on what casual location players actually want.

Highlights

• Megan gave D&D (Stern) 13/15 overall (layout 4/5, art 4/5, vibe 5/5), praising the storytelling and fantasy execution
• Megan gave Evil Dead (Spooky) 11.5/15 (layout 3/5, art 3/5, vibe 5/5), criticizing oversaturated colors but praising horror-comedy tone alignment
• Megan prefers muted, hand-painted art styles from early 1980s games over modern oversaturated color packages
• Recent pinball art is too busy and oversaturated; games should look like single comic book covers, not full comic books
• D&D Stern Insider integration is the first game where it feels like a necessity rather than optional feature
• Casual location players represent a 'silent majority' in pinball who don't follow news, tournament results, or designer credits
• Evil Dead skill shot is poorly designed and untimed, frustrating for casual players who expect 'gimme' skill shots
• Evil Dead color palette doesn't match the actual 1980s movie aesthetic, which appears more muted

Entities

• Spooky Pinball· company
• Stern Pinball· company
• Big Game· game
• Creature from the Black Lagoon· game
• Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant's Eye (Pro)· game
• Evil Dead (CE)· game
• Frontier· game
• Getaway· game
• Lord of the Rings· game
• No Fear: Dangerous Sports· game
• Seawitch· game
• Skateball· game
• Twilight Zone· game
• 81 Arcade· organization
• Wedgehead Pinball Bar· organization
• Wedgehead Pinball Podcast· organization
• Alan· person
• Alex (Waterboy)· person
• Connor· person
• Erica (Erica's Pinball Journey)· person
• Erin Winnick· person
• Megan· person
• Pirate Princess Jess· person
• Stern Insider· product