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DEMON'S TILT (PS4)
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Publisher: FLARB, LLC.
Developer: Adam Ferrando (WIZNWAR). Released: December 2019. Genre: Pinball. Other versions: PC; XONE; SWI. Posted 17th January 2022. By Tom Clare © 2022 |
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One of the biggest positives from the last decade of video gaming is a rekindling of passions for fringe genres that, around the turn of the millennium and the growth of gaming as a mainstream pursuit, had begun to be cast aside. Nowadays, it’s fallen to small or independent developers to capture the zeitgeist of former favourites. A new era of creators has reintroduced and reinvigorated older concepts, so they can be enjoyed by long-standing fans as well as a new audience. Demon’s Tilt does it for pinball games what Horizon Chase Turbo did for checkpoint racers. It’s absolutely brilliant.
Demon Tilt’s table is a three-tiered goliath, a loving ode to Compile’s Crush pinball series that helped make the PC Engine such an alluring prospect for import gamers around the turn of the nineties. DT’s table is a biological entity, not just static nuts ‘n’ bolts. Trains of miniaturised minions maraud around the table and can be smashed through with a well-timed swish of the flipper. Many of the entities you encounter won’t take hits lying down though. There’s a range of bosses who spew pink bullets in all directions. Whilst these don’t damage the player, they present a big risk, manipulating and stifling pinball movement, which leads to some heart-in-the-mouth moments as you scrabble to prevent the loss of those all-important balls.
The top tier is the place to be. Learn to time the nudge function and you'll be earning some massive scores.
It shares with Compile’s games an arresting sense of style and eye-catching imagery. A slew of bosses render the bottom tier a hazard and these include a triple-headed homunculus and a giant calamari, among others. You want to be keeping away from here as much as possible, as this is where you’ll lose your ball and there are no extra lives to be earned. The middle tier is dominated by the head of Lilith, the High Priestess (inescapably reminiscent of Devil’s Crush), whilst the top section is adorned with the heads of a lion and a snake. This section has the most widely spaced flippers, but smart use of the nudge capabilities will keep you flying around its loops, racking up big points, which is mega-satisfying. The ritualistic theme combines well with the table’s haunting announcer calls and spooky, hypnotic music. It’s very atmospheric.
As with the best pinball games, there’s much more to Demon’s Tilt than simply pinging a ball around the angles. Finding the most effective ways of scoring is an absorbing and enjoyable task, as you try to balance building a multiplier with completing ‘rituals’. These consist of all manner of sub-quests, such as destroying a specific number (and type) of smaller enemies, nailing certain loops and ramps, hitting bumpers and finding secret routes. This means there’s always something to aim for, and no two games are ever entirely alike. The nudge function is fantastic. It plays a much more active role than in most pinball games, purely because it’s so responsive. Its directional nature means you can influence the pinball’s heading quite significantly, even if you haven’t quite nailed the timing on the flippers. Quick reactions can also save you losing lives. As you better come to understand the game’s nuances, you’ll likely do as much nudging as flipping.
As with the best pinball games, there’s much more to Demon’s Tilt than simply pinging a ball around the angles. Finding the most effective ways of scoring is an absorbing and enjoyable task, as you try to balance building a multiplier with completing ‘rituals’. These consist of all manner of sub-quests, such as destroying a specific number (and type) of smaller enemies, nailing certain loops and ramps, hitting bumpers and finding secret routes. This means there’s always something to aim for, and no two games are ever entirely alike. The nudge function is fantastic. It plays a much more active role than in most pinball games, purely because it’s so responsive. Its directional nature means you can influence the pinball’s heading quite significantly, even if you haven’t quite nailed the timing on the flippers. Quick reactions can also save you losing lives. As you better come to understand the game’s nuances, you’ll likely do as much nudging as flipping.
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There are just a few small blemishes. The pinball physics are good, but not perfect. There’s little wrong with the ball movement in terms of erroneous collisions, but it doesn’t travel with the fluidity and accuracy of the genre’s high watermark, Pro Pinball. Multiball jackpot runs are a hassle because the table is tall and narrow, so when the camera zooms out to track more than one ball, it can be quite difficult to keep an eye on everything that’s going on. It’s also a shame that the player is disproportionately penalised for having strong runs on early balls, as with the running multiplier being reduced by two-thirds after losing your first ball, you are not always left in a position to fully capitalise on jackpots or complete ritual words earned just prior to losing a ball.
Aspects of the presentation could also have been better organised, particularly for console versions. The pause menu is cluttered with a myriad of visual options that would have fit better within a sub-menu. As a consequence, the ‘Restart’ option, the most common reason for surfing this particular screen, requires scrolling through a bunch of other options to reach it, whilst some of the scoring statistics appear tiny, even on a large display. It’s important to note however that these factors won’t impact your enjoyment of the game to any significant degree.
Aspects of the presentation could also have been better organised, particularly for console versions. The pause menu is cluttered with a myriad of visual options that would have fit better within a sub-menu. As a consequence, the ‘Restart’ option, the most common reason for surfing this particular screen, requires scrolling through a bunch of other options to reach it, whilst some of the scoring statistics appear tiny, even on a large display. It’s important to note however that these factors won’t impact your enjoyment of the game to any significant degree.
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Jackpots, massive points and pinball-ten-pin-bowling. What's not to love?
Whilst it features just one main table, Demon’s Tilt fares reasonably well for longevity. There are a couple of additional modes, the first of which includes some novel bonus mini-tables that includes more bosses and (my personal favourite) a game of ten-pin bowling. For those who truly master the game, there’s also a single-ball Hardcore mode to test your mettle. Trophies prove a good yardstick for your progress, with the trickiest challenge being to top one billion points. Whilst this can be a gruelling endeavour, it kept me coming back, day after day, until I was able to beat it.
Pinball games are no longer the common fixture they were twenty years ago, so fans will be all the more grateful for this excellent throwback. It may not have dozens of tables like Pinball Arcade, but sometimes, it’s the simplest elements and not the statistics that make a game sing. Demon’s Tilt is a great deal of fun and ultra-addictive. For all the teething frustrations you’ll experience as you battle to learn its intricacies, you’ll keep coming back for more. As the announcer utters in garbled appreciation: “spellbinding!”.
Pinball games are no longer the common fixture they were twenty years ago, so fans will be all the more grateful for this excellent throwback. It may not have dozens of tables like Pinball Arcade, but sometimes, it’s the simplest elements and not the statistics that make a game sing. Demon’s Tilt is a great deal of fun and ultra-addictive. For all the teething frustrations you’ll experience as you battle to learn its intricacies, you’ll keep coming back for more. As the announcer utters in garbled appreciation: “spellbinding!”.
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VERDICT
"Absorbing and enjoyable... Demon's Tilt's arresting sense of style and eye-catching imagery meld with a superbly playable pinball experience, making it a must for fans of the Crush series." OVERALL: 8/10 |
MORE PINBALL GAMES THE INSPIRED DEMON'S TILT REVIEWED
Alien Crush (1989, PC Engine)
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Devil's Crush (1990, PC Engine)
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