Xenotilt: Hostile Pinball Action review

Our VerdictI keep promising myself one more go… just like I did the last one more go.

Our Verdict

I keep promising myself one more go… just like I did the last one more go.

PC Gamer’s got your backOur experienced team dedicates many hours to every review, to really get to the heart of what matters most to you.Find out more about how we evaluate games and hardware.

Need to KnowWhat is it?Eyeball-searing cyberpunk pinball bliss.Expect to pay£12.79/$14.99DeveloperWiznwar, Flarb LLCPublisherFlarb LLCReviewed onIntel i9-13900HX, RTX 4090 (laptop), 32GB RAMSteam DeckVerifiedMultiplayer?NoLinkOfficial site

Need to Know

What is it?Eyeball-searing cyberpunk pinball bliss.Expect to pay£12.79/$14.99DeveloperWiznwar, Flarb LLCPublisherFlarb LLCReviewed onIntel i9-13900HX, RTX 4090 (laptop), 32GB RAMSteam DeckVerifiedMultiplayer?NoLinkOfficial site

What is it?Eyeball-searing cyberpunk pinball bliss.

Expect to pay£12.79/$14.99

DeveloperWiznwar, Flarb LLC

PublisherFlarb LLC

Reviewed onIntel i9-13900HX, RTX 4090 (laptop), 32GB RAM

Steam DeckVerified

Multiplayer?No

LinkOfficial site

I thought I could handle this. The developer’s previous “occult pinball action” hit,Demon’s Tilt, has been my go-to Steam Deck game for as long as I’ve owned Valve’s portable. I knew I was in for another round of traditional pinball skill mixed with shmup-like sprays of bullets—been there, done that, got the pentagram-decorated t-shirt.

Xenotilt has just one table, but it’s so big it’s essentially three different pinball machines stacked on top of each other, each zone feeling like a section of a derelict spaceship with multiple states, moving features, and animated flourishes. I never thought I’d want auto-firing turrets in my pinball games, but now I’ve been given a taste of heaven I’m not sure I could ever go back.

So I spent most of my very short first few attempts admiring all the lights, sometimes with my monitor tilted on its side so I could bask in the game’s vertical glory, acquainting myself with the Game Over screen, and feeling… pretty good about it all, in spite of my poor performance. Even the smallest score multiplier awarded or most basic multiball mode activated sets off a wave of screen-sized celebrations. Xenotilt is always happy to throw a party or 10 in my honour, no matter where I end up on the high score table at the end of it all.

Time, practise, and determination eventually cut through the awe I had for the game’s gorgeous bloom lighting and special effects (both thankfully extremely customisable, leaving me to decide just how distracting I want them to be). I finally spotted the skill shot ramp, and felt pleased with myself when I managed to coax the ball into landing somewhere near it. I started looking for specific lanes and labels, eager to claim the most recent jackpot I’d earned—or strategically add another ball to the perk-granting multiball matrix on the side of the screen.

(Image credit: Flarb LLC)

Curving purple lasers arc across the pinball table.

I never thought I’d want auto-firing turrets in my pinball games, but now I’ve been given a taste of heaven I’m not sure I could ever go back.

In spite of the outlandish nature of some of Xenotilt’s features—it’s not every day you play a pinball game with a combo meter, or one that actively fights back when you whack it—the game’s reactions are always learnably consistent, and the table isn’t as harsh as its menacing retro-cyber style and taunting vocal commentary (such as the somewhat disgusted “I expect more!” after the final ball drops into the gutter) might imply.

Every major potential point of run-ending failure has some subtle sort of limited-time or limited-use safety net—ready and waiting to stop a game from abruptly ending to a single moment of bad luck. And relative to conventional pinball games, the threshold for using the directional tilt is extremely lenient. It’s practically expected in some areas of the board, as when I need to nudge balls into the desired left lane on the second tier—either sending the ball shooting to the top of the table or back around for some more points-milking in the same area.

(Image credit: Flarb LLC)

A pinball table wearing the face of a skeleton glares down at the feeble efforts of the player.

Crisis mode is so different it feels like a whole new game, even though it’s still using the same table layout as every other variant.

(Image credit: Flarb LLC)

A shower of points hits the table all at once.

There have been times I’ve started a new game so fast after finishing the last one that I didn’t even take in my score.

Whatever mode I’m playing, it’s always tense and exciting and I feel like my knowledge and abilities are being tested in an interesting way. For every one thing I master there are another dozen new challenges waiting in the wings, ready to send my scores higher than ever before—if I can get the hang of them. On very good runs I end up with random bonuses that dwarf scores I used to need three balls to earn. Not that I always notice my final tally: there have been times I’ve started a new game so fast after finishing the last one that I didn’t even take in my score. Seeing where I’ve landed on the leaderboard could wait for later, because in those moments I just needed to play more Xenotilt.

Pinball paradise

(Image credit: Flarb LLC)

A bright yellow explosion hits the centre of the pinball table.

Xenotilt isn’t just pinball for people who already know they like pinball games. It’s a pinball for people who love the thrill of seeing arcade-style skill converted into raw points. It’s pinball for people who like the thought of suddenly having to attack the exposed heart of a cyber dinosaur skeleton that’s busy pummelling a metal ball with neon pink breath lasers and ice attacks. It’s pinball for people who dream of playing a table that lights up like the Terminator’s Christmas tree. It’s even pinball for people who think they don’t like pinball, the game different enough—and encouraging enough, thanks to the help on offer and the presence of a challenge tracker that always seems to be on the cusp of recognising another achievement—to offer an attractive, understandable, and unusual approach to the genre.

The fact that a great game lasts mere minutes and a full restart takes just a few seconds makes this the perfect game for all occasions, whether I’ve got 15 minutes and a Steam Deck in hand, or an entire free evening in front of my PC.

The Verdict92Read our review policyXenotiltI keep promising myself one more go… just like I did the last one more go.

The Verdict

92Read our review policyXenotiltI keep promising myself one more go… just like I did the last one more go.

92Read our review policy

XenotiltI keep promising myself one more go… just like I did the last one more go.

Xenotilt

I keep promising myself one more go… just like I did the last one more go.

LatestWatching an all-romances speedrun of the legendarily janky Fallout: New Vegas is a delightActivision will send you alarmingly detailed data for every single Call of Duty match you’ve played in the last 4 years if you ask, and players are using it to figure out their mysterious SBMM rankingsHere’s a game about being a depressed, lonely maintenance robot on a long-haul space colony shipSee more latest►

Latest

Watching an all-romances speedrun of the legendarily janky Fallout: New Vegas is a delightActivision will send you alarmingly detailed data for every single Call of Duty match you’ve played in the last 4 years if you ask, and players are using it to figure out their mysterious SBMM rankingsHere’s a game about being a depressed, lonely maintenance robot on a long-haul space colony ship

null

Watching an all-romances speedrun of the legendarily janky Fallout: New Vegas is a delight

black ops 6 season 1

Activision will send you alarmingly detailed data for every single Call of Duty match you’ve played in the last 4 years if you ask, and players are using it to figure out their mysterious SBMM rankings

A chunky robot stares out a window at a moon

Here’s a game about being a depressed, lonely maintenance robot on a long-haul space colony ship

See more latest►

Most PopularTurtle Beach Stealth Pivot reviewIkea Matchspel gaming chair reviewASRock DeskMini X600 reviewZotac Zbox Magnus EN374070C reviewMinisforum AtomMan G7 Ti reviewSamsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra reviewNoctua NH-D15 G2 reviewGulikit KK3 Max reviewBallionaire reviewMarvel Rivals reviewBe Quiet! Dark Rock 5 review

Most Popular

Turtle Beach Stealth Pivot review

Ikea Matchspel gaming chair review

ASRock DeskMini X600 review

Zotac Zbox Magnus EN374070C review

Minisforum AtomMan G7 Ti review

Samsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra review

Noctua NH-D15 G2 review

Gulikit KK3 Max review

Ballionaire review

Marvel Rivals review

Be Quiet! Dark Rock 5 review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Our Verdict#

Pinball paradise#

Our Verdict

Pinball paradise