Williams™ Pinball: Elvira and the Party Monsters & Scared Stiff | Xbox Review
I’m apparently in the minority when it comes to the character Elvira from the 1980s. Of course, I remember her. How could you forget her greatest assets? But my memory of her focused more on beer advertisements and Halloween promotions. I legitimately had never heard of “Elvira and the Party Monsters” or “Scared Stiff” until I heard they were being added to Zen Studios‘ Pinball FX client. Despite having no good nostalgia for the source material or experience with the tables in real life, I’m always up for trying new ones.
Elvira and the Party Monsters
This one released in 1989 and was designed by Dennis Nordman and Jim Patla. It was made shortly after the merger between Williams and Bally, so it has the unique design of having portions of the table designed by both legendary companies. Regardless, it definitely has that late 80s style, complete with more innuendos than you can count.
It’s usually very difficult for me to get into tables when I have very little interest in the property. It genuinely perplexes me that we got not one, but three physical pinball tables based on this character. “Elvira and the Party Monsters” is a solid table with some fun ramp shots, but there’s not much that stands out to me in terms of originality outside of the character. With that said, the table is fun enough, just nothing to write home about.
Scared Stiff
Pretty much the same is true for “Scared Stiff”, which is a follow up to the aforementioned “Elvira and the Party Monsters”. As the name suggests, you’ll be greeted by innuendos, but not nearly as direct as in the previous table. This table is a bit more interesting in design. There’s a see-through snake body that acts as a return ramp making for fun lead-up shots. There’s also a spider-web on the back glass that acts as a spinner for special modes. It’s interesting to see a bit more functionality and fun mechanics here, even if (again) I have very little connection to Elvira herself.
If you had to choose between either of these two tables, this is the one I would suggest. There’s simply a lot more happening on it, and the innuendos make me less worried about my wife wondering what the hell I’m playing in the basement.
Final Verdict
Both “Elvira and the Party Monsters” and “Scared Stiff” are $9.99 each, which seems a little high considering the other Williams volumes have a price tag of $14.99 for three tables instead of just one. Still, there’s a lot of detail put into these tables that make it super easy for pinball fans to play these at home. The extra animations make for a lot of fun, and I could see myself busting these out again around Halloween time. Like I’ve said in other reviews of Pinball FX tables, I’ve yet to play a bad one. These are solid tables that just make it hard for me to get into them because of my lack of interest in a sex symbol from the 80s and 90s.
This review is based on an Xbox copy of Williams™ Pinball: Scared Stiff & Elvira and the Party Monsters provided by Zen Studios for coverage purposes. It is also available on PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store.
Williams™ Pinball: Scared Stiff & Elvira and the Party Monsters
$9.99
Pros
- Zen Studios' Quality Continues
- Fun Throwbacks
- Still Fun Without Nostalgia
Cons
- Theme Might Not Interest Younger Audiences
