Let's be real, the GAME BOY Color had just one great pinball game. We all know exactly what it is without me even mentioning it. There were a few others that were released, such as Disney's The Little Mermaid II: Pinball Frenzy and 3-D Ultra Pinball: Thrill Ride but none that matched the remarkable Pokémon Pinball.
Since pumping many hours into that game as a child, and still owning it physically today, it's one of those games that I absolutely adore, even if it is a little bit time-consuming! So, when I heard that 2nd Law Games were developing a new pinball game for my favourite handheld of all time, I had to pester them with a request.
"Please, can I try an early version?". I just had to see what they were crafting, especially after our editor in chief, Seb, gave high praise to their previous game, Self Simulated in our review, which was launched in collaboration with ModRetro. To my excitement, they agreed to let me look behind the curtain, offering a very early ROM file of their game, which is still deep in development. With their permission, we can show off a few things, alongside my impressions, in the hope that you enjoy it and subscribe to their Kickstarter page will be launching in the future.
It's called Self Simulated: Pinball Anomaly, which will launch on Steam, itch.io and Kickstarter in the future (no release date has been announced yet). It's a part of the fictional world that was originally shown off in their first game, so you'll see subtle nods, characters, enemies and more that you'll be familiar with if you played the original game.
What's most unique about this game is that it's technically a wave-based game that requires you to beat and battle enemies to progress. If you do so successfully, you move on to the next wave of enemies, alongside the addition of some fun mini-games. If you get to the end, you'll experience a fast-paced, exciting, yet challenging ending that I will not spoil, bit features an incredibly famous glitch in an incredibly famous GAME BOY Color game.
Gameplay Mechanics
- Authentic Pinball Table — Bumpers, slingshots, drop targets, and skillshot orbits — all faithfully recreated on Game Boy Color hardware.
- Nudge System with Consequences — Give the table a nudge to influence the ball's path and unleash Power-Nudges to defeat enemies — push too far and face an over-nudge penalty.
- Mini-Game Pinball Rooms — Special flipper rooms break up the main table with unique micro-challenges and variety mid-run.
- Chase Your Highscore — Classic score-chasing gameplay rewards mastery, pattern recognition, and risk — every ball matters.
One of my favourite mechanics of the entire game is that you can actually direct the "ball" mid-game, using directional nudges that launch the ball in a certain direction, allowing you more control and quicker battles if you manage to pull it off. Which, as mentioned, is something that was very time-consuming in Pokémon Pinball, and this extra mechanic simply provides quicker gameplay, which is mandatory in a game that could potentially become quite slow without it. You can even power up these nudges to increase speed and damage.
The leve design is very sleek, and although a little overwhelming at first, it becomes very easy to understand after a few games. Even some of the enemies that show up feature some hidden abilities that make them a little more challenging, like invisibility, for example, which I do like, as i can imagine simple floating enemies get dull after a few days, even if they're challenging in themselves.
I didn't notice the ball stuck in one place more than the other, which is proof of a well-designed pinball game. There was diversity in level exploration, and never did I feel like I could look away from the screen due to the pace of the ball and the fact that I could control it the way I pleased.
It's a very fresh take on GAME BOY Color pinball games, yet familiar enough that it's incredibly nostalgic. Enemy design is good, ball movement and velocity for the most part were smooth, I would have liked a quicker way to obtain some safeguards as I found myself losing balls quite often and 3 lifes went quick, but perhaps that's just me being a noob at the game, even if your nudges could technically save you if timed right, but I did struggle with that at times.
To combat my noobiness, they are actually offering accessibility options at launch that let players customise their experience through adding an additional 6 balls instead of 3, longer ball saves and reduced game speed, but that was not in the development kit, so it's good to see that there are options for those wanting something a little easier!
And the soundtrack pairs well with the fast-paced gameplay for now, though I would like to see the joy of multiple soundtracks available to choose from, which I believe may be a thing upon launch, as I could see a menu item for the soundtrack on my development ROM, so fingers crossed!
It's an all-round fun, pick up and play pinball game with a modern freshness yet iconic graphics and gameplay that will keep many retro handheld pinball fans very happy when it releases.
I asked the lead developer what made him want to build a new pinball game for the iconic Game Boy Colour: "I fell in love with playing pinball over the last few years. Naturally, I wanted to paly it on the go for quick on/off sessions. But I noticed there's only so many decent pinball games for the GB/C... so I had the idea of creating my own one, while using the Self Simulated universe".
As mentioned, this is still deep in development, so no release date has been announced nor has pricing, but what I do know is that it's coming in multiple languages, and 2nd Law Games also plan on launching physical editions via Kickstarter, which come with a rumble function when the campaign goes live. This is 100% self developed and self-published; it is likely they will not be partnering with ModRetro on this one as they want to do it in-house via crowdfunding, which I think is fair enough, seeing as they now have a tight-knit community behind them. This is one to keep an eye out for, guys!
