Pinball FX, the latest version of Zen Studios’ long-running pinball simulation, has two big fan-service crossovers coming: The Princess Bride and Goat Simulator. A trailer on Thursday showed off what they looked like and how they will play. They look great.
The tables launch Aug. 29 and of course they’re all uniquely detailed, with voice-acted lines, animated figures, sub-tables, and other callbacks.
The Princess Bride (1987) being one of the most quotable movies ever made regardless of genre, gets a good treatment. And yes, that means audio from the film, including Mandy Patinkin’s immortal “Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya.” There are also lines from stars Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, and Billy Crystal.
Goat Simulator is a real wild-card pick for a collaboration table. The absurdist game from Coffee Stain Studios dates to 2014 and while not a critical success by any measure, that seems almost intentional, and has sustained the series through Goat Simulator 3, which launched in 2022.
A title update preparing the Pinball FX client for the new tables will also get many visual, audio, and quality-of-life improvements that fans have asked for, serving all tables on the platform. Pinball FX is available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Windows PC via the Epic Games Store and Steam.
Pinball FX’s history with fun crossovers runs deep
The choices may sound weird, but this is something Zen Studios is known for. Their most popular tables have been the Star Wars Pinball series, and adaptations of Williams Electronics’ real-life classics. But they’ve still left room for quirky fun.
In 2012, they got into some fun banter on social media with the makers of the zany animated series Archer and, lo and behold, in 2015 there came an Archer table (in the Balls of Glory package that included crossovers with FX animated series, Bob’s Burgers, Family Guy, and American Dad).
Bottom line, Zen know their fans, and listen to them. Licensing and the money that takes is always an issue but if they can get over that hump, they’re down for it.
