Pinball Spire | Switch Review
Last October, I stumbled across the trailer for Pinball Spire and knew I had to play it immediately. At the time, it was only available on Steam, so I picked it up there and played on my Steam Deck. I enjoyed it so much, despite its short length, and assumed it would stay on that platform for the foreseeable future. Thankfully, the game is now available on Nintendo Switch, so I had to play through it again. I’m happy to report that the game is still super fun to play, and I hope Apparition Games has more in the hopper for games like this one.
Pinball with Purpose
If you’ve ever read my reviews or heard me on our podcast, you know I’m a wee bit obsessed with pinball. It might be the nostalgia from playing The Getaway: High Speed II at my local arcade as a kid. Maybe Pinball FX cemented my love for the silver ball by introducing the quarterless digital world of racking up high scores. Regardless of the origin, I’m always looking for a new experience, and Pinball Spire scratched that itch.
This isn’t your traditional digital pinball game, however. There’s no high scores to beat and no “game over”. Instead, you’re working your way up to the top of a “spire” because…reasons. There’s a thin story present, but it’s clearly not the reason to play this one. All you need to know is that your goal is to keep moving up as much as possible.
Figuring out exactly how to do this is the fun part. In my experience, one of my favorite aspects of pinball is discovering the mechanics of a table while I play. Much like a real table, I can see where I need to go. In Pinball Spire, there is almost always a small path at the top of the screen leading to the next area. But it’s usually blocked, and you have to figure out how to open that path and continue upwards. You’ll do this by hitting various bumpers or triggers in increasingly difficult ways. If you’ve ever played classics like Mario Pinball Land or Metroid Prime Pinball, you’ll know exactly what I mean. The difference here, however, is that you simply keep moving up and up.
High with a Little Help from My…Power-Ups
Another interesting aspect of Pinball Spire is that you earn XP, which grants you “levels” as well. This increases your mana meter a little bit each time. Yes, you have abilities beyond your left and right flipper. Your most useful is one that allows you to slow down time to line up your shot in just the right way. There’s even a little guideline that helps you shoot the ball exactly where you want it to go. And that’s just the beginning. The game doles out these abilities along the way, giving it a bit of a gear-gated aesthetic. Another ability allows you to give your ball a burst of speed to rush through obstacles. Each of these power-ups give a little extra life to traditional pinball and keep the game fresh and exciting from start to finish.
The game looks and feels very pleasant as well. There are multiple features of the look and sound of Pinball Spire that probably didn’t need to be there. But I’m glad that they are. Yes, the game is pixelated, and it’s video pinball. The physics are nearly as realistic as what Zen Studios might put together, but that’s not what Apparition is going for here. The lighting affects are a big stand out. Sources of light, like torches, offer illumination that fades the further you get from the source. It’s a nice touch that goes a long way in providing a certain mood.
I was also shocked by the quality of the soundtrack present in the game. You wouldn’t expect an epic score in the background of a digital pinball game, but it’s truly a remarkable selection of music that doesn’t repeat itself too often. This could have easily been a chiptune selection of music, but the choice to offer a more intricate selection truly added to my enjoyment.
Pinball Spire Final Verdict
If you’re a hardcore pinball aficionado, this isn’t going to blow you away by any stretch of the imagination in terms of fidelity. But it’s a charming little title that deserves some love, especially since so much love was put into designing it. The lack of pressure from racking up a score and avoiding draining your ball is refreshing, and the paths the ball takes might make you nostalgic for Sonic Spinball. I did run into one instance of a massive drop in framerate while playing my pre-release copy, but the developer was already working on a fix for this before time of writing. By the time you check this out, it could already be remedied.
Look, I get it. I’m a massive pinball nerd, so I’m obviously a little biased. I’ve played more than my fair share of digital pinball in my days, but not all of them have been winners. Pinball Spire‘s only real downfall for me is that there isn’t more of it for me to play. The fact that I’ve played through this game twice now on two different platforms is a testament to its quality. This definitely falls into the category of a solid “weekend game” for me, and it’s appropriately priced for just that.
To hear me talk more about Pinball Spire on Steam Deck, be sure to listen to the October 24th, 2025 episode of The Gaming Outsider Podcast around the 1:01:49 time stamp.
This review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy of Pinball Spire provided by Apparition Games for coverage purposes. It is also available on PC; as of this writing, the game is exclusive to those two platforms.
Pinball Spire
$14.99
Pros
- More Purpose Than Score
- Rewarding Gameplay
- Gorgeous Soundtrack
- Tiny Touches That Matter
Cons
- Physics Could Be Smoother
- One Instance of Massive Frame Drop
- There Isn't More to Play
