Gameplay wise, the physics just feel right, rivaling the main "Triple A" pinball offerings out there, the weight, the momentum, everything clicks in all the right ways...there are no empty barren tables, another problem with many indie pinball games, every table is chock full of multiple flippers, ramps, bumpers, spinners, targets, kick-out holes, missions,..there is never a dull moment, as any well designed pinball game table should be.
Each table is significantly distinct from each-other, no falling into samey / copy-and-paste / uninspired layouts or designs to pad things out here, when i say you get 5 different tables, i do mean different.
When doing original videogame pinball tables, conceptually you can go wild and do things only possible in fiction, this game is a prime example of that, take the Bass Hunter table, a water tank based table, filled with water and actual fish, that actually works great in fiction, if you think about it pinballs have a lot of glass and are a rectangular container, so it even makes a lot of sense, while not going so crazy as to detract from an actual pinball feel and into something that gameplay-wise does not feel quite right, the balance between creative freedom and the essence of traditional pinball is a line that in original tables is sometimes skewed, yet Slot Shots Pinball nails that sweet spot, i dont fully enjoy games like, for example "Adventure Pinball Forgotten Island" as much, for that reason...Yoku's Island Express is a great game, but it is its own thing, and so i personally feel similarly. Not so in slot shots pinball, everything you would want is there, event triggered minigames, multiball, a slots machine system that also plays a key element in scoring, you name it, it has got it...most importantly a proper, solid, feel of what the actual pinball physics feel like.
The graphics on Casino and Neon Nights 2 in particular are chock full of bright, vivid and full of colorful palettes and neon visuals.
The progress the studio has made ever since their first title, Neon Night, is both astonishing, and from a player standpoint, incredibly promising, if there was that much improvement in such a period of time, it is not hyperbole to say this is a studio to look out for and keep an eye on, specially impressive in a market saturated with original pinball outings, like zen pinball fx, pinballistik, zaccaria, even The Pinball Arcade took a shot at a single non-recreation table, dr. who: Master of Time, but unlike pinball arcade, with Slot Shots Pinball you do not have to worry about 90% of the better, most interesting tables just being gone one day all of a sudden, and everything rendered unplayable, including the ones that were kickstarted by fans, as the developer of Slot Shots Pinball Collection owns all copyright.
The pricetag is also great, for the price of a single table in the aforementioned game, you will get 5 tables at the time it is out of early access, and is currently still a deal as you get 4 tables as of this writing (The latest one having been released just today, a retro videogame themed table that will hit you right in the nostalgia if you grew up playing certain game involving sewers, and turtles that can attack ;), certainly a bang for your buck.
The games visuals design are not quite like anything i have seen, giving it personality over other pinballs from the art direction alone.
Highly recommended if you have the slightest interest in pinball, and likewise, maybe even more so, if you have already played all past videogame pinball offerings as you will experience something fresh.
