Just in time for Halloween we have these two classic, spooky pinball tables, each one featuring busty horror host, Elvira. Let’s take a look at each table, and find out if they’re worth adding to your virtual pinball hall!

Elvira and the Party Monsters (1989)

Arriving just before dot matrix screens and other advances in technology brought pinball games into what was arguably the golden era of table design, Elvira and the Party Monsters is a great deal of fun, with relatively straightforward goals and a really enjoyable theme overall.

Zen Studios have given the table their usual lick of technological polish, with lovely animation on all of the table elements and even Elvira herself looking over the proceedings as you play.

Though devoid of facial animation to match her dialogue (as is the case with all of the characters standing next to your machines in Pinball FX VR), she is certainly animated in other ways. Ahem.

Scared Stiff (1996)

Seven years later, pinball machines were benefitting from some really cool advances in technology, including mini games (and more besides) on dot matrix screens, embedded in the backglass of just about every table that was being released.

Scared Stiff is no exception, and in addition to that it’s got some really lavish-looking new table elements, including a brilliant, skeletal ramp on the playfield and a fantastic spider spinner on the backglass.

The gameplay has a theme which sees you trying to complete the goals to collect cheesy horror movies; it’s a raucous, fast-paced and feature-packed experience.

You’ll also find Elvira lurking next to your table in this DLC pack; she’s a great addition, even pointing at your ball launch button if you happen to stall too long.

My Verdict

As a pinball fan, with a huge appreciation for Zen’s adaptations of real, classic tables, both of these releases are essential, in my opinion.

Pinball FX VR is the absolute next best thing to finding the increasingly rare tables in the real world, and what’s more, not only are they enhanced, but they’re not subject to the same, heartbreaking disrepair you can often experience when discovering pinball machines in the wild these days.

The VR experience, including playing tables in mixed reality in your room, is so satisfying, and really does feel incredibly close to the real thing.

At first, it does feel a little cheap of Zen to split these tables into two DLC packs and charge such a high price for each table, but licensing costs aren’t cheap, and getting Cassandra Peterson’s voice and likeness fully licensed once more almost certainly added to Zen’s development budget significantly.

In my opinion, both tables are well worth picking up, but if you can only get one, Scared Stiff has always been a favourite of mine, and would be my recommendation out of the two.

Here’s hoping that Zen tackle two of my favourite ever tables next: Monster Bash and Creature from the Black Lagoon. Though not available in VR, they have already recreated them for the standard console and PC versions of Pinball FX, so hopefully it won’t be long before they make the jump into the virtual world!

Hi! I’m Jason, and I write for midlifegamergeek.com, every single day. If you’re interested in supporting original, regularly published, human created content (which has never been plagiarised or otherwise copied from the hard work of other writers), you can donate and help me to keep this site running.

Not only do I earn no income from my writing here (though I may earn small fees from affiliate links posted on my pages; as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases from these links), but it seems that my work has, at times, been stolen and re-used by lazy, morally bankrupt idiots.

There’s no pressure of course, but I’d be truly grateful for any support that you could offer – and it’s easy to do so at either of these links: Ko-Fi.com/geekmid or PayPal.

Any donations are truly appreciated – and I also appreciate you taking the time to read my articles. Remember: this whole article was by Jason Brown, and appeared on midlifegamergeek.com. Take that, Skynet!