# Alien Pinball Looks...Iffy.

**Source:** Cary Hardy  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2021-03-14  
**Duration:** 4m 36s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3N7dFD8HjiY

---

## Analysis

Cary Hardy provides initial impressions of the first Alien pinball prototype shown at Coin Taker, expressing skepticism about the art direction and theme execution while noting visible playfield dimpling issues. Hardy plans a future unboxing and detailed gameplay review but is not currently excited about the title, citing a mediocre prior experience with an earlier Aliens machine at Texas Pinball Festival that had significant mechanical problems.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] The Super Awesome Pinball Show released an exclusive video showing the first prototype cabinet of Alien at Coin Taker — _Cary Hardy stating a fact about the video source_
- [HIGH] The Alien playfield shows significant dimpling visible in the prototype footage — _Cary Hardy directly observed and commented on dimpling in the video_
- [HIGH] The ramps on Alien have clean, polished stainless steel construction — _Cary Hardy praising the ramp quality in the footage_
- [MEDIUM] An earlier Aliens machine at Texas Pinball Festival had mechanical issues severe enough that the glass had to be removed for play — _Cary Hardy recounting his prior experience with the game_
- [HIGH] Cary Hardy does not believe the Alien game does the theme justice — _Direct statement by Hardy about his opinion_
- [HIGH] Hardy plans to do an unboxing video and thorough review of Alien in the future — _Hardy explicitly states this intention multiple times_

### Notable Quotes

> "I don't like it. This looks...let me watch the video some more on this"
> — **Cary Hardy**, early in video
> _Hardy's immediate negative reaction to the art direction_

> "For those of you out there that do not like dimpling, that it is a big turn off to you, be aware that as of right now, I see a lot of dimpling on this play field."
> — **Cary Hardy**, mid-video
> _Direct warning about a visible quality/aesthetic concern with the prototype_

> "These ramps look beautiful when it comes to just how clean and polished they look"
> — **Cary Hardy**, mid-video
> _Positive observation about one mechanical aspect_

> "Am I excited about this title? No. Do I believe it does the theme justice? No."
> — **Cary Hardy**, late video
> _Explicit summary of Hardy's disappointment with the game so far_

> "I have played the first aliens when it was at Texas pinball festival, but it had a lot of issues and so many issues in fact, that they had to take the glass off and let people play it without the glass on"
> — **Cary Hardy**, late video
> _Context for his skepticism; references past mechanical failures in related game_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Cary Hardy | person | YouTuber and pinball content creator reviewing Alien prototype |
| Alien | game | Pinball machine under review; appears to be an upcoming or early-stage release with prototype shown at Coin Taker |
| The Super Awesome Pinball Show | organization | Released exclusive prototype video of Alien on their Facebook page |
| Christian Lyon | person | Appears in the prototype video going over the Alien cabinet |
| Coin Taker | venue | Location where the first Alien prototype cabinet was displayed and shown off |
| Texas Pinball Festival | event | Event where Cary Hardy previously played an Aliens machine that had significant mechanical issues |
| [name withheld pending review] | game | Earlier related game that Hardy played at Texas Pinball Festival; had glass-removal-level mechanical problems |

### Signals

- **[product_concern]** Observable dimpling on the Alien prototype playfield is visible in footage, which may indicate either natural wear or manufacturing/finishing quality concerns depending on play history at Coin Taker (confidence: high) — Cary Hardy explicitly warns viewers about visible dimpling and notes uncertainty about how many times the machine has been played
- **[sentiment_shift]** Content creator Cary Hardy expresses lack of excitement and skepticism about the Alien title ahead of hands-on experience, citing poor theme execution and prior negative experience with related game (confidence: high) — Hardy states 'Am I excited about this title? No. Do I believe it does the theme justice? No.' and references mediocre prior Aliens experience
- **[product_concern]** Prior Aliens machine at Texas Pinball Festival experienced severe mechanical issues (ball getting stuck, other unspecified problems) requiring glass removal for gameplay (confidence: medium) — Hardy recounts: 'they had to take the glass off and let people play it without the glass on because the ball was getting stuck in certain areas'
- **[design_innovation]** Alien features clean, polished stainless steel ramps that Hardy praises as high-quality construction (confidence: high) — Hardy states: 'If I could get all of my ramps that have the stainless steel ramps to look like this nice clean polished right here, that would be great. These ramps look beautiful'
- **[content_signal]** Cary Hardy plans to produce an unboxing video and detailed in-depth gameplay review of Alien in the future (confidence: high) — Hardy states multiple times he has plans to do an unboxing and thorough review, and notes 'things are in the works already'
- **[machine_intel]** First prototype cabinet of Alien displayed at Coin Taker and shown in Super Awesome Pinball Show exclusive video (confidence: high) — Hardy references the prototype reveal: 'the super awesome pinball show released an exclusive video showing off the first prototype cabinet at coin taker'

---

## Transcript

 what's up guys welcome back to my channel where I talk and do everything pinball so if that sounds interesting to you then hit the subscribe button down below so the super awesome pinball show released an exclusive video showing off the first prototype cabinet at coin taker showing off alien to all of us and I just wanted to give because it's a real quick only like six minute video and and I just wanted to give you my quick initial thoughts and I don't want to go into too much detail on how I feel about the game because honestly guys things are in the works already and I should be able to do an unboxing video and thoroughly go through the ins and outs of this game in the future. So let's talk about the art. I don't like it. This looks let me watch the video some more on this and I going to put some of the footage in and out in this video just to show you guys what in this video It available on the Super Awesome Pinball Show Facebook page But it Christian Lyon going over the cabinet starting out just showing you what the art looks like and the screen that on the backbox and the screen that's been removed on the play field. And for those of you out there that do not like dimpling, that it is a big turn off to you, be aware that as of right now, I see a lot of dimpling on this play field. I don't know how many times it's been played at coin taker But all I can tell you is just from what I see that it does have a lot of dimpling if that doesn't bother you Then don't worry about it. But i'm just letting you know that this play field is going to be dimpling so Going on. I'm going to scroll through a little faster here and then we get to the ramps the ramps on the left side I first of all If I could get all of my ramps that have the stainless steel ramps to look like this nice clean polished right here, that would be great. These ramps look beautiful when it comes to just how clean and polished they look That is great So I give them props to that That looks good I mean for as much as we got in this video there honestly very little here to chew on It just kind of gives you an idea of what the game plays and sounds like which is all it really needs to be We don't need it to be an in-depth, deep dive on this. We're going to get that in the future. But as of right now, like I said, I do have plans, and hopefully those plans still go good when it comes to doing an unboxing and going full-fledgedly through this entire game, giving you guys the best view for what this game has in store. Am I excited about this title? No. Do I believe it does the theme justice? No. But maybe it'll be fun to shoot. I mean, I'm not getting too aggressive when it comes to harping on it. I'm looking forward to playing it. I mean, I have played the first aliens when it was at Texas pinball festival, but it had a lot of issues and so many issues in fact, that they had to take the glass off and let people play it without the glass on because the ball was getting stuck in certain areas and other, other issues that they were having with it. And um I remember my experience playing the original being you know okay Nothing really to write home about or nothing to really be like oh man i really need to get this game so like i said that probably why i guess i'm not feeling excited about this but uh we'll see how that goes later in the future whenever i get hands on with it i'm not sure what exactly that will be but uh i will let you know so that's it for you guys that want to see this video in its entirety for yourself i will put a link in the description down below. So what are your thoughts on this alien's pinball machine? Good? Bad? Ugly? What? Let me know in the comments down below. Give me that thumbs up and if you haven't already hit the subscribe button that way you can be notified of whenever I upload something for your viewing pleasure. So until next time guys, peace out. Outro Music

_(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

---

*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-08-04 | Item ID: 360607a1-7ded-4d84-bed9-6fdcbc963317*