The Walking Dead Pinball
Overview -
Telltale Games is wrapping up its second season of 'The Walking Dead' in a week or so, no doubt plunging poor Clementine into the most dastardly of scenarios. You'd think that spending the waiting period playing a round of pinball might lighten up the mood a bit, but that's just not what Zen Studios, in collaboration with Telltale, wanted for poor you. With 'The Walking Dead Pinball,' headed to every version of Zen Studio's pinballing platform, they wanted you to again feel all the horrible feels of the stellar first season in snippets of the dire, the surreal and the touching, all the while chasing a high score.
Video Review
I'm always appreciative of a table that tries to contextualize the score hunting, and Zen has, yet again, done a wonderful job of taking advantage of the license at hand, as the payoff really isn’t the score here. The payoff comes to those with remembered fondness for the original game. Admittedly, that's probably a lot of people.
As a complement to the very best parts of 'The Walking Dead: Season One,' 'The Walking Dead Pinball' is surprisingly competent, even clever, in the way it brings those memories back. Fully animated figures of Lee and Clementine sit at the bottom corners of the table, interacting in accordance with the back-and-forth of your silver ball.
Missions will see Lee walk over to Clementine to protect her, while the "Make them Smile" objective has them actually kicking a soccer ball back and forth while you try to hit your own soccer ball up required ramps. That Zen was careful enough with the property to concentrate specifically on the smaller moments between Lee and Clementine is a welcome touch, as it reminds us all just how important that relationship was to the original game.
But it's not just Lee and Clementine that go recognized. So many moments from the season pop up here and there, whether it’s physical replications of the Everett Pharmacy and St. John Dairy Farm on the table itself, or the toll of the bells as you lure walkers away. The table even gets a little creepy with the lights turned out and Clem and Lee grasping at each other, the responsibility fallen on you to save them by completing objectives.
Audio Review
Yes, that biting theme song is there, and yes, you remember to trials of Lee and Clementine intimately when the violins cry. Thankfully, the arcade dings and dongs are kept to a minimum in favor of a subtler tone. Sound bites from characters happily range from the major to minor. I may wince every time I hear Kenny go all belligerent, but I know plenty of you out there will cheer with joy. Even Omar and Charles the hobo get their licks in. It's a loving little package.
Final Thoughts
Not really a downside, but the overall familiarity of this table requires a stronger appreciation for the tribute aesthetics for prolonged enjoyment, especially for those who own the 'Plants vs. Zombies' table. Myself a fan of the goofy 'PvZ' turn, 'The Walking Dead' is darker, somber, atmospherically unique, nostalgic enough to put the sort of smile on my face only a recollection for horrified enjoyment of 'The Walking Dead: Season One' can bring. Lee and Clementine forever.
