Well, here we are. Pinball FX3 is probably the most widely-regarded pinball game around. There are some with more prestige for licensing and accurately recreating real tables, or for having long legacies, but FX has spent the past decade, across 3 iterations, building itself up to be the de facto pinball game.
First: The content. It's magnificent. The tables are all original, not basedWell, here we are. Pinball FX3 is probably the most widely-regarded pinball game around. There are some with more prestige for licensing and accurately recreating real tables, or for having long legacies, but FX has spent the past decade, across 3 iterations, building itself up to be the de facto pinball game.
First: The content. It's magnificent. The tables are all original, not based on real tables, and do a wonderful job of covering every niche a player could want. There are some old-fashioned, back to basics tables. There are tables for beginners. There are complex, multi-tiered, evolving tables that go beyond what would be possible for real. There are tables full of flash and effects. It's reasonably priced too, you'll pay an average of maybe £3 per table, less if it's in a large bundle. There's plenty to be had too, with a couple of dozen tables. Not as many as on other platforms, for some reason the Marvel/Disney licensed content seems to be having trouble, but there's still way more than enough choice to be had.
On top of that, there's various progression systems around the game. While any table can be played in "classic mode," there's also a sort of RPG-lite mechanic where you level up by playing, completing quests, unlocking powers (score multipliers, multiball etc), and generally getting this extra layer added on to every single table individually. Throw in online score challenges and all these other little functions, you get so much more than the simple joy of playing pinball.
But then we hit the first big downer that professional reviews seem to not mention or care about: On other platforms, you can import your tables from one to another. Bought some Pinball FX2 tables on one system? They're imported to FX3 and then also imported if you get the game on another system. Switch is completely devoid of all that. I own two dozen tables on the PS4 and Steam version of this game but if I want them on Switch I have to rebuy them. This is just awful. I've heard it's Nintendo's doing, not allowing the developers to pull it off, but we're reviewing the game, not the developers here. It really sucks and I resent being asked to rebuy content that is being freely shared amongst all the other platforms because of Nintendo's greed.
Second: The system. This could easily be THE way to play digital pinball. In handheld/tabletop mode, hit the + button and it switches the view vertically, so you can see the whole table on one screen. Then you can hold the joycons however is comfortable for you and it's magic. It's so exciting and I really want it to be patched in to other Switch pinball games. But then we hit the second big problem pro reviewers ignored.
There are two big technical knocks on this game. In docked mode, the resolution is only 720p. In handheld mode, the game runs at 30fps and sometimes even dips below that, which feels janky for an attempt to recreate the smooth movement of a steel ball rolling and the precision needed in flipping. It's unacceptable. We've seen what the system can do. The same tables actually look better on the Wii U than they do on a docked Switch. NO GAME SHOULD LOOK BETTER ON A WII U THAN A SWITCH.
It's important to note that Nintendolife reached out to Zen, who say they're working to patch both these issues, bumping docked mode to 1080p and handheld mode to 60fps, but it's been a month and no signs of it yet. I asked them on twitter a few days ago if the patch is still underway and got stonewalled. I'm reviewing this based on what it is, and will revise if the patch happens, up to you whether you trust them to do it.
Conclusion? If you like digital pinball, FX3 as a game is the best there is for it. Unfortunately, despite the massive amount of promise, Switch isn't the system to get it on unless those patches happen. If you're already invested in their game and own a bunch of tables, Switch is an expensive place to move your game to. It's sad because it's so close! I'm giving it a 6 because the core game *is* good and vertical mode is perfect. It's just horrible having to play said game at a low FPS while paying twice for the privilege. If you're new to FX3, like pinball, and the patch happens, then it's a no-brainer.
Hell, it's free to try. There's one table free, and it's not a bad one. See how it fits you, but the combination double-dip and technical issues mean it's not for me, I'll stick with the Steam version wherever possible.
I also have to mention an elephant in the room. Stern Pinball Arcade. It's released around the same time as FX3, with the same "one table free, rest as DLC" setup, but it's a polar opposite. They license real tables and work to lovingly recreate every little detail of physical pinball without the flash and the levelling up and the bells & whistles of digital pinball. And it runs in 60fps, though without FX3's fantastic vertical mode. If you want something more authentic than FX3, do go take a look at it.… Expand
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