Balls of Steel Reviews

I want to recommend this, but can't currently. Firstly, it doesn't feature any video settings. Not being able to orient a pinball game with a vertical resolution really detracts from the experience. Secondly, the controls on gamepad (and in general) are a bit of a mess, and need some customization options; no analog plunger detracts from the experience, and without it, some sort of visual or audio-based cue would have been appreciated for the sake of timing skill shots. Thirdly, the loss of the Duke table as many have mentioned is a sad thing, as it was a standout table. The 2 new additions are okay; I like the Centipede table's layout quite a bit, actually. The sound design...not so much. There's a horrid noise that plays whenever you nudge that makes me want to rip my ears off. And for anyone who has never played the original...this was never the pinnacle of pinball physics; I always preferred games like Epic Pinball and Pinball Dreams over this. That said, there are worse pinball physics out there, and in general if you like pinball, you'll like these tables. Lastly, I hate that there's no leaderboards nor achievements for this. You can save scores locally (whoopdie-doo) but that's about it. I only recommend this currently if it's on sale (and as of writing this review, it is). Pass otherwise.

Atari and pinball are 2 of my favourite things. Seeing a Centipede and Missile Command pinball, I decided to get it. I've never played the original Balls of Steel, so this is my first experience with it. Comparing it with recent/modern pinball sims, this one's physics aren't the greatest, but seeing as this is a rerelease(?) of a game from the 90s, I'm willing to give it some leeway, as the physics aren't that bad once you get used to it. So far I've played 3 tables: Centipede, Missile Command, and Firestorm. I found myself super hooked on Firestorm, with Missile Command coming in second. It's a great choice for the new tables of Centipede and MC to have the full table visible, as I was always bothered by the scrolling aspect of some pinball games where you can't see everything at all times, although it's not so bad here. Missile Command has some good gameplay mixed with cool aesthetics, whereas Centipede's table seems a little more bland, although the graphical work is great there. It's got the 90s pinball features of various modes, with some games featuring video modes, so a 90s pinball fan would find themselves right at home, although it does lack the flashing lights. It's becoming one of my favourite games rn for the Firestorm and Missile Command tables. I find the lack of a 3-ball setting a bit annoying though (it seems you can only play at 5 balls). One more thing I wanted to mention is that I wish the "mission start" intense music would play throughout the mission rather than changing to a more casual track, which feels kinda less appropriate.

At release I would have struggled to recommend this re-release of Balls of Steel, as it was a somewhat buggy affair with limited graphics options. However, as of late-May 2025, it's enjoyed an update that has really turned this around. It's now a much more playable title, with full-screen (and sideways view) options for all tables, better resolution and several bugs fixed. As for the underlying game, it's all there and quite solid - though this game does not include the Duke Nukem table from the original due to licensing issues, it instead has the table that one replaced, Devil Island, which is great to see reincorporated into the Balls of Steel package. Darkside is an all time classic table and the other BoS tables are all enjoyable. The new tables, based on Atari properties, are solid and enjoyable 2d virtual pinball from the classic era. BoS was, in many ways, the last hurrah of the 2d pinball game - a genre unto itself - and it's wonderful to see it represented to faithfully here for a new generation of players.