Review

Gameplay 89%

PinOut starts out like a traditional virtual Pinball, where you just touch the left and right side of the screen to use the flippers, but instead of winning points and trying to beat your previous score, here your objective is to get your ball as far away as possible.   Like a traditional pinball machine, you have a left and right flipper at the bottom of the screen, just at the center, and a few smaller flippers here and there, the will help you reach different paths. When you reach a new area, you’ll get the same flippers in the middle, and one or two smaller flippers above and at a side, depending on that particular level design. Your goal is to send your ball to the next area above you by making it pass though different paths while collecting glowing spheres, each one adds a second to the counter on top of the screen. Once it reaches zero, it’s game over, so collect every neon dot you can. After a certain distance, you’ll get into a checkpoint, which will give you more seconds to your counter, and you can start over from here when you run out of time (in the premium version). You can also collect a Power Up that freezes the time counter for 10 flips, another one that causes slow-motion for a while, or choose one at random. There’s also a mini-game you can play that gives you more seconds depending on your performance. Like a classic pinball game, there are bouncers and circular elements that make the ball bounce around, but you don’t get points here, they just slow you down so you have to be careful when you activate the flippers. Right at the bottom of the screen, you can see your distance and how close you are to the next area shown with a bar.

Graphics 86%

PinOut features 3D neon futuristic graphics, like based on the movie “Tron”. The walls of the board are light sources, and you can see many bright lines in the floor as you keep moving the ball forward.   The sphere you hit leaves a fading trail so you can see its trajectory. On the floor there are arrows that point out where you can shoot the ball so go to the next area, and there are power ups that affect the animation, like the slow-mo that makes everything go at half the speed for a while. While elements in the backgrounds repeat themselves, each new area has a distinct color and evokes a different feeling, and the level design gets more and more complex as you keep reaching new areas, with ramps, toboggans of several floors and weird curves where to shoot the ball.

Production Quality 88%

PinOut is not a pinball game in the traditional sense, so it may be a little weird at first that you’re not supposed to hit bumpers, springs and other elements, but to keep the sphere moving forward for as long as you can, while collecting dots that give you extra seconds.   The ball physics work just fine, and ffter a couple of rounds, once you understand how the game works, you’ll find yourself having quite a unique experience, that will make you play again and again trying to get just a little farther than the last time. There are a few power ups to collect, the music is pretty good and each area has its own, and there are plenty of levels to keep you occupied for a long time.

Value for Your Money 79%

PinOut is free on Google Play and the Apple App Store. You won’t see any advertising, but the free version doesn’t feature check points, so every time you lose you must start over, and playing the same 2-3 levels can get old fast. If you want to use check points and start again from level 3, you must pay a couple of dollars.

Launch Video

Summary

PinOut is a new original way of using the virtual Pinball style of games to create something different, that casual users and seasoned pinball table players can enjoy. The neon graphics are pretty good, and along with the catchy music tracks create a memorable experience. The only complain is that in the free version you must start over from the tutorial, and this game for $1 is totally worth it, for $2, you may think twice before getting the premium experience. Pros

• Classic Pinball gameplay with simple controls
• Great graphics and music

Cons

• No checkpoints in the free version

Game Help Guru Rating 83%