I have always had a soft spot for pinball machines. I was first introduced to a pinball machine when I visited my friend’s house. His father had an old sit-down pinball cabinet from the 1960s, and it was incredibly simple compared to today’s standards. It only had a ball shooter, bumpers, slingshots, and flipper bats. The tactile sensation, along with the dings and flashes, brought pure enjoyment to my young heart.

As the years rolled on, technology advanced, creating new and wonderful ways for the player to interact with the pinball machine, and my favourite machines are The Getaway and Addams Family. This advancement also spelt the beginning of the end of pinball machines. More and more arcades were shutting as pinball machines became few and far between, with people staying home to play the digital representations of what was once an arcade staple. No longer being the same and feeling more like a program, I always wondered if they would ever find a way to recapture what pinball machines once were. Developed and published by The Fully Arcade, Arcade Sundown is a unique concept on pinball machines that has my old heart feeling young again.

Arcade Sundown comes with a single-player option; this is where you can get a bit of a story. Two girls named Allison and Cam go to a shutdown arcade called Dino’s Saloon to steal money, and during their heist, they find a still operational pinball machine. When investigating the machine, they are surprised by an orc/monkey-looking monster. This monster shrinks them down, making them the size of the pinball on the table, before explaining to them that to escape, they must play pinball, and they must win.

The gameplay is simple – score high enough to move on to the next table. To move on from the first table, you need to score 60,000 points, the second table requires you to score 90,000 points, and so on. With six tables to conquer and an ever-increasing target, learning ways to maximise your points is paramount as each table has a time limit. As you are the size of the pinball on the table, you need to grab the pinball and either lead it or throw it into the various point-gaining items, be it targets, drop targets, lanes, or slingshots.

Everything will earn you points, but the big score comes from the multiplier when you get the pinball to contact the highlighted bumper. Once you touch the pinball, the multiplier will begin to count, and this makes going for the other score-making items worthwhile, rather than going straight to the highlighted bumper.

All this sounds easy, right? Well, while attempting to score, there’s an opponent on the table with you, tasked with preventing you from getting a high score and moving on. To do this, they will block your path and try to touch the pinball themselves. If they succeed in touching the pinball, your multiplier will disappear, and you have to start over. There is also a risk vs reward system by holding out for higher multipliers.

The higher it gets, the more aggressive and the more opponents will appear on the table. Each table has a theme and unique opponents, and it can come with a pinball variation. It could just be the classic pinball, or it could be a walking pinball, or a mind-controlled pinball, and you’ll have to vary up your tactics to get those high scores.

Arcade Sundown also comes with cooperation and multiplayer game modes. Arcade League is a single-player and second-player game where you can team up to score as high as you can, hoping to reach that coveted top rank.

The local multiplayer allows you and one other to compete against each other, with up to four players on the table at the same time. Different game modes are available, such as a free-for-all, a knockout, and a team mode. All the modes allow different pinball combinations, and either a points-based or goal-based winning condition, and this can get super hectic as four players compete for the pinball.

Just like regular pinball machines, the graphics are bright and colourful. With three-dimensional table graphics being cartoony, they still retain that realistic appeal, and the story parts of Arcade Sundown are presented in a hand-drawn comic book style. Regardless of whatever you are looking at, the graphics are purely delightful to see. The audio is just as delightful as the graphics, with bold and bombastic sound effects, once again matching that of regular pinball machines. Each table also came with subtle differences in music, not only making the gameplay exciting but also matching the table’s theme.

Arcade Sundown is a fresh take on a classic form of entertainment. Currently, with only six tables to play on, my time with Arcade Sundown was very short. Chasing that rank one on all tables in Arcade League would extend your playtime, but once that is done, you’ll be left playing local multiplayer or waiting for more tables to be released. Arcade Sundown certainly would benefit from an online option, and I hope The Fully Arcade team are considering it.

Written by: Ashley Barnett-Cosgrove