Bethesda Pinball review for PS Vita, PS4, Xbox One

Platform: PS Vita
Also On: PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360
Publisher: Zen Studios
Developer: Zen Studios
Medium: Digital
Players: 1-4
Online: Leaderboards
ESRB: E10+

I ignored Zen Pinball 2 and its (many, many) tables for the longest time. Part of it was because of that parenthetical aside in the last sentence; with so many different tables, I had no idea where to begin. Part was because of a lack of interest โ€” and truthfully, lack of skill โ€” in pinball generally. Part was a bad experience with one of Zen Studiosโ€™ forays into non-pinball games. Basically, I had all kinds of reasons for never even giving the game a chance.

And then the Bethesda Pinball tables showed upโ€ฆand, well, Iโ€™m wondering what other tables to play, because Iโ€™m kicking myself for having missed out on everything so far.

Whatโ€™s odd is that Iโ€™d never considered myself a huge fan of any of the Bethesda titles included here. Sure, I have respect and admiration for the likes of DOOM, Fallout, and Skyrim, and Iโ€™ve spent my fair share of time with each, but I wouldnโ€™t put them anywhere near a list of my most favourite franchises. And yet, it seems that when you add pinball to the mix, I suddenly love everything about them.

Take Skyrim pinball, for example. Weโ€™re talking about a table that successfully incorporates dragons! Like, fully animated dragons, that swoop in and set the table on fire! If youโ€™re been playing other Zen Pinball tables all along that may not seem like the most impressive thing, but for a newcomer like me, thatโ€™s not the kind of thing Iโ€™d ever expect out of these games. That Zen Studios were able to include those in a table in a way that seems completely natural says a lot about how well itโ€™s done here.

The same goes for DOOM and Fallout. The latter includes some neat vault missions, plus the opportunity to buy goods and services in a way that seems both true to the games and true to what youโ€™d expect out of a pinball game. Likewise, DOOM has all the trappings of that iconic FPS, but somehow translated over to pinball. Itโ€™s not the kind of thing that makes much sense when you read it, but when you play it, it all comes together in a pretty amazing way.

In fact, thatโ€™s my verdict for the Bethesda tables as a whole: they all come together in pretty amazing ways, and they do so in a way thatโ€™ll particularly impress anyone who comes to Zen Pinball 2 from the games that inspired them. Now, if youโ€™ll excuse me, I need to go figure out whether I want to play pinball Portal, pinball Plants vs. Zombies, or pinball Avengers.

Grade: A
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