# Episode 45: Walking Dead Pinball Returns for 2025 - But Should You Care?

**Source:** The Flipside Pinball Podcast  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2025-11-05  
**Duration:** 35m 29s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** d36b8640-9e7d-4568-b696-6f3dcb4070b4

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## Analysis

Retro Ralph provides his genuine first-impression reaction to Stern's Walking Dead Remastered reveal video after arriving in NYC with no prior exposure to marketing materials. While appreciating technical upgrades like the 18.5-inch LCD screen, external expression lighting on the cabinet, motorized well walker, and updated artwork by Robert Lasky, Ralph expresses concerns about the colorful art direction conflicting with the show's dark tone and the absence of video clips from the TV series. Community feedback in comments is mixed, with praise for the technical innovations balanced against criticism of aesthetic choices, pricing, and the decision to remake rather than innovate.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Walking Dead Remastered features an 18.5-inch full HD LCD screen replacing the original DMD — _Ralph watches official announcement video showing George Gomez presenting technical specifications_
- [HIGH] The LE is limited to 500 units — _Ralph states 'they're only making like 500 of the LEs' based on announcement_
- [HIGH] Walking Dead Remastered includes external expression lighting on the cabinet as a Stern first — _Ralph notes 'We have not seen that before' and 'I don't think there's ever been a Stern pinball machine in modern times that has expression lighting on the outside'_
- [HIGH] The remaster does not include video clips from the TV series, only custom animations — _Ralph observes 'I'm not seeing any show clips' and discusses this as a potential point of contention with community_
- [HIGH] Artwork by Robert Lasky uses a more colorful palette than the original darker game — _Ralph notes 'the artwork is significantly different it has a more colorful vibe than the dark vibe' and later expresses concern about 'a bit colorful for a post-apocalyptic zombie feel'_
- [HIGH] The well walker zombie is repositioned and features solenoid-driven mechanical action — _John Borg explains 'Zombie move with the solenoid instead of just it moving when you strike it with the ball'_
- [HIGH] The crossbow features an encoder and motorized ball-firing mechanism — _Borg states 'We updated the functionality of the crossbow with an encoder' and shows motorized mechanism_
- [MEDIUM] Artwork does not appear to feature foil treatment — _Ralph notes Stern did not call out foiled artwork specifically and speculates absence based on Star Wars foil issues with blue coloring_

### Notable Quotes

> "I've watched 0.0 content. So I'm experiencing this for the very first time...Literally, I haven't watched a damn thing."
> — **Retro Ralph**, opening
> _Establishes Ralph's completely unbiased first-impression viewing, a key framing device for the entire episode_

> "Am I seeing expression lighting on the outside of the cabinet? Holy shit, Georgie. We have not seen that before."
> — **Retro Ralph**, mid-video
> _Highlights genuine surprise at a technical innovation Ralph views as significant and novel_

> "The artwork is a little colorful. I wasn't expecting that because The Walking Dead is kind of a darker theme."
> — **Retro Ralph**, mid-video
> _Articulates the central aesthetic concern that dominates community feedback in comments_

> "If you have never played The Walking Dead, then you're in for a treat...I think this could be a winner for Stern."
> — **Retro Ralph**, post-video
> _Ralph's qualified positive conclusion balanced against acknowledgment of remake controversy_

> "No TV assets on the great big LCD? Yikes."
> — **Cameron Tolley (community comment)**, comments section
> _Distills the primary criticism about wasted potential of the upgraded screen_

> "Metallica Remastered really did set the bar high. The Walking Dead Remaster will probably be the best playing premium version."
> — **Jason Muka (community comment)**, comments section
> _Compares Walking Dead Remaster unfavorably to Metallica Remastered on aesthetic grounds_

> "No TV show assets on the great big LCD? Yikes. Craziness. I want every pinball manufacturer to succeed, but I just don't think this will be a win for Stern."
> — **Brandon Ellis (community comment)**, comments section
> _Expresses skepticism about remaster's commercial viability and missing show content opportunity_

> "That was kind of a lazy trap of remakes just like filmmaking."
> — **Chrissy Papnick (community comment)**, comments section
> _Represents anti-remake sentiment in the community, echoing broader cultural critique_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Retro Ralph | person | Host of The Flipside Pinball Podcast, prominent pinball content creator and YouTuber (78,000+ subscribers), providing genuine first-impression reaction to Walking Dead Remastered reveal |
| Walking Dead Remastered | game | 2025 Stern Pinball remake of original Walking Dead (2014) using Spike 3 platform, featuring 18.5-inch LCD screen, external expression lighting, updated artwork by Robert Lasky, motorized well walker, and crossbow encoder; 500 LE units at premium pricing |
| Stern Pinball | company | Major pinball manufacturer releasing Walking Dead Remastered with technical innovations including new cabinet lighting system and Spike 3 platform features |
| George Gomez | person | Stern Pinball presenter featured in Walking Dead Remastered announcement video, noted for appearance and industry legend status |
| John Borg | person | Lead game designer of Walking Dead Remastered, original Walking Dead designer, discusses mechanical enhancements and redesign philosophy in reveal video |
| Lyman F. Sheets Jr. | person | Original code designer for Walking Dead (2014), code is being preserved and updated in remaster as 'revolutionary rule set' |
| Robert Lasky | person | Fantasy and horror illustrator who created hand-drawn artwork for Walking Dead Remastered, resulting in more colorful palette than original game |
| Zach Sharp | person | Stern Pinball representative who maintained information security with Ralph despite their friendship, withholding preview details |
| Electric Bat Arcade | organization | Pinball arcade venue where Ralph has access to play original Walking Dead machine |
| Metallica Remastered | game | Recent Stern Pinball remaster cited in community comments as setting higher aesthetic and design bar than Walking Dead Remastered |
| Star Wars | game | Recent Stern Pinball release referenced for foil artwork issues with blue coloring and as comparison point for aesthetic and feature execution |
| Evil Dead | game | Spooky Pinball game Ralph references playing multiple times to illustrate his learning curve with complex rulesets |
| The Walking Dead (TV series) | media | AMC television series that inspired pinball machine; source of IP and visual/narrative themes; Ralph watched partial season 1 to prepare for game coverage |
| Spike 3 | product | Stern's new pinball technology platform powering Walking Dead Remastered, featuring more powerful processor, larger LCD screen, improved audio system, and wireless capabilities |
| Flippin' Out Pinball | organization | Pinball sales/rental company whose owner Zach Menny is podcast sponsor; operates pinball arcade and distribution |
| Zombie Yeti | person | Head of Stern Pinball art department; Ralph notes strong influence on Stern game aesthetics though did not design Walking Dead Remastered artwork |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Walking Dead Remastered technical specifications and features, Aesthetic design choices and artwork direction, Absence of TV series video clips vs. custom animations, Spike 3 platform capabilities and cabinet lighting innovations
- **Secondary:** Comparison to Metallica Remastered as benchmark, Remaster vs. new original game design philosophy, LE production numbers and pricing, Community sentiment on remake trends in pinball industry

### Sentiment

**Mixed** (0.55) — Ralph personally cautiously optimistic about technical execution and potential appeal to players without original access, but acknowledges significant community concerns about aesthetic direction, missing show content, and pricing. Community comments reflect divided opinion: positive on innovation/cabinet lighting/mechanical upgrades, negative on colorful art palette, absence of TV clips, and remaster trend. Overall sentiment tilts slightly positive on technical merits but negative on design direction and market fit.

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** Walking Dead Remastered pricing at premium LE level ($13,000+ implied) questioned for value proposition relative to cosmetic vs. substantive upgrades (confidence: medium) — Ralph: 'LEs are super expensive nowadays'; Kimberly Chase Rudd: 'I would never spend that amount of money on this game'; Ralph acknowledges 'they're packing a little bit more in' but community sentiment mixed
- **[design_philosophy]** Colorful artwork palette misaligns with Walking Dead's dark post-apocalyptic theme, generating community concern about aesthetic coherence (confidence: high) — Ralph: 'the artwork is significantly different it has a more colorful vibe than the dark vibe'; Jeremy Johnson comment: 'a bit colorful for a post-apocalyptic zombie feel'; Derrick comment: 'If they had gone the comic book black and white with blood accents route, I might not have been able to say no'
- **[design_philosophy]** Laser-cut decorative elements on side armor viewed positively by Ralph as innovation, but questioned as unnecessary ornament by others (confidence: low) — Ralph: 'I really, really dig this. This is cool'; but also: 'I'm not digging that because I didn't dig it on Star Wars...please just put something cool in there or just don't do it at all'
- **[licensing_signal]** Walking Dead Remastered lacks video clips from TV series despite new 18.5-inch LCD screen capability, suggesting licensing constraints or design choice tradeoff (confidence: medium) — Ralph: 'I'm not seeing any show clips...If it's animations and they're done well, then I'm okay with that'; Cameron Tolley: 'No TV show assets on the great big LCD? Yikes'
- **[market_signal]** LE production limited to 500 units; Ralph predicts rapid sellout but community comments suggest softer demand due to design concerns and remake fatigue (confidence: medium) — Ralph: 'they're only making like 500 of the LEs...I would think...they'd probably sell out of these pretty quick'; but multiple community members expressing 'pass' sentiment
- **[technology_signal]** New 18.5-inch LCD screen not leveraged for TV show video clips, perceived by community as missed opportunity to justify upgrade cost (confidence: high) — Brandon Ellis: 'No TV assets? Question mark. Craziness'; Jonathan White: 'big screen and no TV assets seems to be a huge miss to me'
- **[product_strategy]** Metallica Remastered establishing higher standard for remaster execution, creating unfavorable comparison for Walking Dead Remaster (confidence: medium) — Jason Muka comment: 'Metallica Remastered really did set the bar high'; Jared Fairy: 'this feels almost the opposite' (negative comparison to Metallica)
- **[product_strategy]** Walking Dead Remastered repositions well walker and adds solenoid-driven mechanical action to reduce center drain problem from original game (confidence: high) — John Borg: 'Zombie move with the solenoid instead of just it moving when you strike it with the ball'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Community sentiment on remakes turning negative, with multiple commenters expressing fatigue with 'remake trend' vs. new original designs (confidence: medium) — Chrissy Papnick: 'pinball has fallen into the lazy trap of remakes just like filmmaking'; Brandon Ellis: 'Was there generally interest for a remaster of this game?'; Will North: 'Spooky gonna pass them all'
- **[technology_signal]** Stern introduces external expression lighting cabinet system as first of its kind in modern Stern releases, indicating platform evolution (confidence: high) — Ralph observes 'We have not seen that before' and 'I don't think there's ever been a Stern pinball machine in modern times that has expression lighting on the outside'

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## Transcript

 Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of the Flipside Podcast. I am your host, Retro Ralph, and we are here live in New York City. That's right, the Big Apple. And you know what? I've been in work meetings. I've been eating this Korean barbecue place we went to, which was really freaking cool and like really gluttonous. I drank a bunch of alcohol. And so you know what? I don't know. That's not really my normal MO. Oh, so I don't even know how this is going to go. But I can tell you this. I've watched 0.0 content. So I'm experiencing this for the very first time. I don't know. Am I going to love The Walking Dead? Am I going to hate The Walking Dead? I don't know. And I'm not tainted. I haven't listened to a damn thing. This whole day has been me stuck in meetings in New York City in a room locked up. so I have no clue what to expect. It might be awesome. It might be shitty. I don't know. So we're going to find out together, and I'm not lying. I'm not like fibbing. It's not like I've watched it, and I'm not telling you. Literally, I haven't watched. I've watched 0.0 content on this. So you're going to get my live reaction after a little bit of alcohol, a lot of Korean barbecue. I don't even know if it's fair to even call it Korean barbecue. I don't even know what it was. It was like a swanky. It was like if John Wick meets barbecue, that's what I went to. It was called like Omasaka Waka Chaka something. I don't even know what it was called. I have no idea what the place is called. Actually, I should know. Hold on. Let me get my phone. I'll tell you right now what it's called. So if you're ever in New York City, it's called, what day is it today? I don't even know what day it is. It's called Coquadak. C-O-Q-O-D-A-Q. Coquadak? I don't know. Anyways, it was pretty damn good. So imagine, like, imagine if John Wick, if you were in the world of John Wick, but all they served was Korean barbecue. Kinda. Or fried chicken. It was like fried chicken, and you put all this stuff on it. I eat way too much of it. I eat everything. My stomach is killing me right now. And then on the way back to the hotel, I'm like, hey, we should get gelato. Why don't you put gelato on top of the Korean barbecue? Makes total sense. So I had fried chicken on top of gelato. Anyways, it's insane. So I had no time to consume any of this information because I've been in meetings all day long. So what you're getting right now is my genuine, honest reactions to how this is. So I don't know. I might think it's good. I don't know. But before we do that, I want to have a word from our sponsor, Flip It Out Pinball. So if you're looking for a used pinball machine, a new pinball machine, or whatever, go contact Zach Menny, Zach at Flip It Out Pinball. I will have information on how to get in touch with him in the comments or in the description of the video, whatever. So do that. but anyway so we're gonna watch this thing together I'm gonna pause it and we'll commentate over it because I don't know what to expect this could be like amazing I don't know I like the original Walking Dead game by the way I decided because I knew The Walking Dead was coming out I would go and watch re-watch the the series I'm only through most of the way through season one I don't remember a lot I'm not like one of those people that can watch a show and remember everybody's name, all the details. I don't remember all that stuff. That's also why maybe you appreciate me from a pinball perspective because I can't remember all the rules about pinball. I just can't. It takes me many times before I play it. I'm a normal. I'm a normie when it comes to pinball. I have to play a game like a hundred times before I even know what the hell is going on. But then when I do know what's going on, I'm usually pretty good at it, but I'm not like one of those people. I wish, I wish I was like Joel at Flip N Out Pinball. He's like, and he remembers every rule. I don't know. I don't know how that's possible because I used to be an engineer. I'm no longer an engineer. I manage engineers. So I think I'm a pretty fairly smart person, but I can't remember all of the code. I just can't. And I think the majority of you can't either. And you have to keep playing the game before you really understand it. So yes, I've played Evil Dead a bunch of times. I still don't know what the hell is going on, but I know some stuff. I know enough to be dangerous but i know i like the game lyman sheets he's a code master he's amazing so i know right away the code for the game is going to be good like there's no way it's going to be bad right but it's what did they do with it i have no idea did they improve some of the things we're going to watch the video i want to talk about it together and you know i realize this is a little unorthodox. I'm an hotel room. I ate copious amount of fried chicken that I don't know what was going on, but it was good. And I ate a bunch of, or I drank some old fashions. Those were really good too. I like old fashions, but they were like Korean old fashions. They were a little bit different. I don't know what made it different, but it tasted different to me. I don't know what the hell. Guys, this podcast is terrible already. I don't even know what's going on. This is bad it's not good like i should probably not publish this but i'm going to because maybe somewhere in here you'll learn something or maybe you'll learn nothing but you'll at least know what my opinion is of whatever we're about to watch because i haven't seen it and like i said i'm not like oh i saw it i'm not like doing those fake reactions like people watch a video and like oh my god this is amazing because they didn't watch it they watched it before that's what i'm trying to say they watch it before and then they fake react i don't know what to expect because i haven't watched a damn thing do you know how hard it was do you know how hard it is to be a pinhead in a business meeting knowing that any game it doesn't matter doesn't have to be from certain pinball doesn't matter who made it do you know how hard it is to be in that room and they're like okay guys tell us our projections for q4 i'm like dude i don't know because all i'm thinking about is the walking dead right now i don't know about the projections like what about the what about what about the value reports I don't know what about the TPS reports I don't know because right now all I hear is the walking dead just came out today and then that's all I hear so I'm in a room in New York it's hot as shit in this room for some reason because they don't believe in any kind of circulation and I'm sitting in this room and granted I am engaged in the meeting I don't want you to think I'm not engaged I'm engaged I'm tuned in but in the back of my mind is, why did Stern have to launch The Walking Dead on a day where I'm in New York City, I'm in this room, 25 floors above whatever, and I don't know what's going on. The world is moving on. The world is moving. The pinball community is moving forward, and I'm moving backward because I have no idea what's going on. Anyways, long story short, I'm going to play the video right now, and we'll see. I'm going to pause it throughout the way. We already know. I already can predict. We already know what's going to happen. I'm going to press play. George Gomez is going to be there with his beautiful locks of hair, being like, hi, I'm George Gomez, and I'm happy that I get to show the world this amazing remaster of this game, supposedly, allegedly, we'll see. And then if you're Zach Sharp, you're going to be like, if you're listening to this, Zach, I've literally not given Ralph an ounce of information, even though he sent me Walking Dead memes or GIFs for the past month. But he won't cave. They have those guys trained so well at Stern Pinball. Even though I'm buddies with Zach, I feel like Zach and I are friends. He won't give me shit. He won't give me anything. No breadcrumbs, no nothing. Nothing. He will just continue to just respond with these little jokes. But he won't tell me. And I love Zach. He's my guy. I love that guy. He's such a nice guy. Really do. Zach, I know you're watching. You listen to all this stuff, which I really do appreciate, but you don't give me any breadcrumbs. Give a brother a breadcrumb. I don't even leak stuff. I don't leak anything. I am like the chamber of secrets. I keep it internal. So you can tell me, Zach. Look, look, look. Right now, we're not even on a podcast right now. It's just me and you. We're talking human to human right now. Zach, throw your brother a bone. I mean, I, of all people, am not going to leak or share anything. So we all know Transformers is next so give me a little breadcrumbs Give me a couple breadcrumbs Because the community really is excited about Transformers now We don know if it G1 or whatever Hey hey no No we not talking about Transformers right now It's not even what we're talking about. We're, Zach, we're nine minutes into this episode, and we haven't talked a damn thing about The Walking Dead. So you've now distracted, the audience is pissed off now. Now I'm gonna, now we're playing the video. We're gonna just play the video. I'm sorry, guys. Zach decided to take this down a path. because he didn't want to give me any breadcrumbs, it's fine. It's fine. I mean, I should be fine with it, but I'm not, because I feel like he should give me some breadcrumbs. So if you guys feel like Zach should give me some breadcrumbs, put it in the comments below, feel free. Say, Zach, hey man, you're a good dude. Give my brother, Retro Ralph, some breadcrumbs every now and then. That would be nice. You know, no harm, no foul. and then Ralph can, like, you know, do whatever he's going to do. But anyways, let's play the video. Hey, everybody, it's George Gomez. Like I said, it's George Gomez. Beautiful locks of hair. Beautiful. Look at that. I just hope that my hair looks like George's hair when I'm George's age. I don't even know how old George is. Legend in the business, but beautiful, beautiful hair. All right, let's continue. Stern pinball. We're excited to share with you today a technologically advanced version of one of the most beloved pinball games. I love George. Technologically advanced. Love it, Georgie. Let's go. Of all time, The Walking Dead. Okay, first off, right now, I like what I'm seeing. Am I seeing expression lighting on the outside of the cabinet? Holy shit, Georgie. We have not seen that before. See, this is what I'm talking about, George. Bring in the innovation with the cabinet lighting. I like this. See, I'm liking what I'm seeing already. Let's go. Is that a mirrored back glass I see? I don't know. I can't tell from here. We'll keep watching. But, you know, the LEs always have mirrored back glass. If there's no mirrored back glass, George, I'm going to be upset with you. I'm going to be very upset. Let's keep going. sees the walking okay now all right we haven't i've only gotten a couple seconds into this but i'm seeing expression lighting on the cabinet that looks a little bit different than the normal stuff this might be the spike three version of the expression lights i don't know and i see the the the the whatever dude the well walker walker whatever his name is the big chubby Walker guy he's set back a little bit more I think it looks like it so that's good because that guy was a pain in the ass you'd hit him in a drain down the middle every time and not every time but it would a little bit so all right let's keep going has captivated global audiences since all right the side art I like that I like that that's I'm digging that I can't tell if it's foiled or not but it looks good I don't know what's going on with these little I don't know what's going on with Stern and these little like I'm gonna do these laser cut little weird things in the side armor I don't know what the hell that thing is next to the button I can't even tell what it is right now but I'm not I know I'm not digging that because I didn't dig it on Star Wars it's like please just put something cool in there or just don't do it at all but anyways let's continue this television premiere in 2010 I can't tell what that is I don't know what I don't know what the little thing is but I all right so far I'm loving what I'm seeing I just don't like the little cutout thing but whatever the hit tv series spin-off shows video games merchandise and more have reshaped the modern landscape of horror storytelling okay so we got two little like zombie heads on the right and left that's pretty cool the artwork is significantly different it has a more colorful vibe than the dark vibe i'm not i'm not sure right away how i feel about that because i feel like the walking dead is rather dark in nature so we'll just we'll just hold on to that for a minute i had to see more of this powered by stern's new spike 3 technology platform we're bringing back to life the walking dead for a new generation of pinball players okay all right i like where they're going with this george is like look this is for the new pinball player that never maybe got a chance to play the walking dead or buy the walking dead i I get that. All right. And I'm one of those people, right? I've obviously played it. They have one on location at the Electric Bat, but I don't own one. And, you know, if I was going to buy one, I couldn't buy one new, obviously, because I was done a long time ago. So I'd have to buy one used. And why would I want that with the old DMD now that we've got the new tech, which I'm assuming is going to have the larger screen. But let's continue. Players will experience an epic journey through the legendary moments from the series as they fight to survive the apocalypse. Extra care and attention to detail have gone into every facet of the Walking Dead Remastered, honoring the original masterpiece by John Borg and Lyman F. Sheats Jr. Jr. The game includes an updated version of the revolutionary rule set that introduced a new mode structure and risk-reward elements that have stood the test of time. The Spike 3 technology platform includes a larger 18.5-inch screen. Okay, I was wondering about that. I like that. I like that a lot. But it looks to me right now that there's no show clips. Now, I'm not saying that's a showstopper for me. If it's animations and they're done well, then I'm okay with that. So I've been okay with that. There are people that have been clamoring for the show clips and like, no show clips, no buy. But hey, you're cool with that. That's fine if that's what you want. If that's a showstopper for you, it's fine. Just don't buy it. It's fine. I get it. I get it. I get it. All right, let's keep going. man there's too many old fashions all right let's go full hd display with true color depth along with a more powerful process all right yeah we already know that there's a more powerful processor at spike 3 yep we got all that and a new high fidelity immersive okay i will say the audio system is better i have the le version of star wars the audio system is better now i'm not saying if you're a hardcore audiophile you're gonna find some issues with it but that's just because if you're an audiophile, you're an audiophile. You can't help yourself, right? You're gonna always want to upgrade shit. I get that. But it does sound pretty good. Like, I will say, you don't have to, like, you're not like, with the older LEs, the Spike 2s, you just had to upgrade the audio, because you're like, this upgrade, this audio is ass. And it's not that it's ass, it's just the amplifier just didn't have enough power to drive the speakers. But now they have more power, so I'm gonna give this one to that one. It's fine. But this is not anything to get excited about it just is what it is i mean it is it is but it isn't like okay cool this isn't like making whatever you know what i mean audio system players will experience completely overhauled 3d rendered graphics custom animations that pay homage okay this is cool so they're they okay i'm get behind i can get behind this so it looks like they're taking the original animations and making them more updated for the new hd display i'm i'm i'm okay with that like i know there's gonna be people here here's the thing people are gonna watch this and like ralph but no there's no video clip hey if you don't like it then you don't buy it that's it but i'm okay with this i'm perfectly okay with this but i need to see more i'm only seeing little tidbits here and there little little breadcrumbs if you will zach sharp but not not not enough let's see what else we got to the dot matrix display from the original game spike 3 electronics features more efficient power handling improved wi-fi support and wireless headphone capability okay george i love you but these things are like not things that are going to sell like sure they are value-added things for spike three but this isn't stuff where i'm like oh my god i gotta go you know i mean all right i'm sure there's gonna be more so let's continue these are these are good things they're good features i question the wi-fi being better but whatever i i did my own internal testing and i did not find the wi-fi to be incredibly better but i guess it doesn't really matter i mean if it takes 30 minutes to upgrade the code or an hour do i really give a shit i don't know maybe not maybe not okay i'm sorry for the swearing my apologies there was alcohol involved tonight and that's the only reason but i'm sorry about that let's continue this release will introduce a new modular okay hold the phone for a minute this is cool so i seeing okay we seen this before on there been a couple of boutique manufacturers that have done this kind of stuff but this is a Stern first I don think there ever been a Stern pinball machine in modern times that has expression lighting on the outside That pretty badass I like this I hope they give us more of this Let see what else they got Cabinet lighting system designed to allow for internal and external expression light. Georgie, you are speaking my language, my friend. External and internal cabinet lighting. Are you kidding me, George? Coming with the thunder. All right, let's keep going. On all versions of the game. And now I'll hand it over to legendary game designer John Borg to give you an up-close look at the modern. I mean, honestly, I'm liking this so far. I'm seeing an improved version of a game that I really liked. So, so far, so good. The artwork is a little colorful. I wasn't expecting that because The Walking Dead is kind of a darker theme. But I'm all right with it. I need to see more, but I'm all right with it. Interpretation of the original masterpiece. I don't know. What do you guys think about this premium? Obviously, they're going to limit the LEs, but this premium and LE both look pretty good. But you're not getting any of the Expression Light Kit stuff. So hopefully, they'll let that be available to both the premium and the LE, which obviously, the LE already has it. But I think in this case, you'll be able to upgrade your premium. I don't know about the rail, the outside lighting, but the inside for sure, I would think. I'm John Borg, lead game designer of The Walking Dead Remastered. Borg-y, what's up dude? You've immersed yourself in a completely redesigned universe of The Walking Dead with all new upgrades, visuals, sounds, and mechanical enhancements. The game features custom audio callouts from Merle and Michonne. That's kind of cool, you're getting... Okay, so that's new, that's cool, I like that. I can see Merle being kind of fun for audio callouts. You gonna help me kill these things or what? No one who comes here leaves. While remastering The Walking Dead, we decided that we wanted to make the well... Okay, the well walker. Sorry, I said it earlier. I was like, the walker guy? I don't even know, dude. So the well walker with new mechanical action. Alright, what's going on there? Zombie move with the solenoid instead of just it moving when you strike it with the ball. Okay, so they put a solenoid on the well walker. I like that. So it gives it a little bit more pizzazz to it. I like that. Alright, let's see what's going on over here. We added loot zombie heads to the slingshots and additional RGB lighting to several of the inserts on the playfield. He's not getting up after that shot. Okay, interactive prison building. I mean, it was interactive before, so I don't know what has been enhanced there, but that looked pretty cool. Can't fish things full of heads. We updated the functionality of the crossbow with an encoder. Okay, motorized crossbow ball firing mechanism. That's cool. Okay, I don't know how the rollover playfield buttons really are of value to me. I don't know enough about the old ones to know whether that was an issue or not, but okay. Oh, ain't that special. We have updated the art package with hand-drawn artwork by fantasy and horror illustrator Robert Lasky. I mean, the artwork looks pretty cool to me. I don't see foiled. They're not calling out foiled. And I don't know if this is a weird thing. Now, they said something about Star Wars and they couldn't do it because it was blues and it made the snow look blue. I don't know if that's nonsense or not, because I just assume all of the LEs have the foiled artwork. So I don't know why you wouldn't have the foiled artwork, but they're not calling it out specifically here. So it makes me feel like you're not getting the foiled artwork. They didn't say it. So I would imagine if I really dig the foiled artwork, it feels more premium to me. I don't know if it really is, but it looks and feels more premium. So that'd be a bummer if it didn't have it. But the artwork looks pretty cool from what I can tell. Yeah? The LE features illustrated side armor with laser-cut bullets. Okay, I really, really dig this. This is cool. We haven't seen Stern do this kind of stuff with the lighting, so I kind of view this as, like, you know, this is kind of a plus for me. Good job, Stern. I like this. This is thinking out of the box a little bit. We want our weapons. All right, you're going to have to kill five at a time to get through this. We haven't fun yet! Fight the dead, fear the living. The Walking Dead Remastered, available at sternpinball.com. Your skills, a whole new beginning. I don't know, guys. I'm digging it. I like it. I mean, if you have never played The Walking Dead, then you're in for a treat. It's a great game. It's coded amazingly well. It's got some unique and interesting shots. I kind of feel like this might be a winner for Stern. I mean, they don't have, I mean, they're only making like 500 of the LEs. So my guess would be they'd probably sell out of these pretty quick. They're probably going to sell out of the LEs. I would think. I would think. I know LEs are super expensive nowadays, but it looks like they're packing a little bit more in. I mean, you have the cabinet lighting, the external cabinet lighting with those bullet rail on the rails. That's pretty cool. So I don't know, man. I don't know. I think this could be interesting to see what they do, how this sells for them. So I'm kind of excited. And the reason why is if you've never played the game, then go play the game because I think you'll really enjoy it. I think it's a really good game. I think this could be a great way to introduce it to a fan base like me who can't really go out unless I go buy someone's used one. And why would I want to do that now? Because now it's got the LCD screen. It's got updated assets. I'm sure they probably fixed some of the issues maybe that they had with like the first couple runs with this game. It looks like they might have moved the well walker to a position that might make it a little bit more forgiving. so overall this seems pretty interesting to me so i'm curious i know this isn't a long podcast i'm so exhausted i need to go to bed the gelato is like gurgling in my belly right now if you understood the copious amounts of chicken that i ate tonight you would be like dude just go to bed just stop like why are you podcasting you shouldn't even do this you should be sleeping oh i know what I wanted to do real quick. I wanted to read some of the comments. So I did post something about this on my Facebook, my Facebook page for Retro Ralph LLC. And I wanted to read off to you guys some of the comments. I don't know. I haven't even been able to check this. I don't know what people said. Holy crap. There's 35 comments. I'm going to read a couple of them. Okay. I'm not going to read all of them because I want to see what the community says is saying about this. Okay. All right. So David Kreps says, I'm liking it. I just want to play it. I love the spike three kind of door opening up on this and the new side armor expression lighting. There are so many positive things about this, about this. I can't wait to see and try it out myself. Okay. Positive Kyle Bowman. Amazing. I own the original premium looking forward to this. Jared fairy fairy wow no video assets this feels largely unneeded and a huge pass metallica knocked it out of the park this feels almost the opposite and then jason muka came in and said metallica remastered really did set the bar high the one dead remaster will probably be the best playing premium version fans of the 2014 pro trim playability may disagree the aesthetic impressions will be up to the buyer. Okay. Now, Kimberly Chase Rudd said, I personally still don't understand pulling the tweeters out of the premiums. How much money could you possibly save you Stern? I think this would be a fun game to try out but I never really played the original I would never spend that amount of money on this game so kimberly like uh adam hicks says big miss on the colors yikes chrissy papnick says ugh pinball has fallen into the lazy trap of remakes just like filmmaking so chrissy is anti now scott voight says it's the best version of the game with an even worse version of the art seems like an odd color choice but they have a formula that they rarely deviate from now that's trying to say like i get it stern uses a lot of different colors it's very influenced by zombie yeti although zombie yeti didn't do the art on this so anyway jeremy johnson says i'm a bit meh on it just doesn't do it for me a bit colorful for a post-apocalyptic zombie feel i did share that same sentiment jeremy so i do feel you on that walking dead should be a little darker but i'm still not i'm still warming up to it oh my god on the top of the overproduction in pinball machines they've also bringing out old machines with new decals every few months that's mario that said that chance hammer says i think it looks great le translate is money chance is like this shit is money he said would prefer it over the star wars fall of the empire all right chance we'll see james jackson says not altering the layout for the death drain from the pops and having no clips from the show make this a total miss all right now derrick derrick says uh Straython or something. If they had gone the comic book black and white with blood accents route, I might not have been able to say no. But I just don't like the art. To be honest, this month was already brutal with Winchester and Beetlejuice. My wallet is relieved since there's just too much out there I still want. Happy not to be tempted by something else. I hope that trend lasts until Transformers since it's the 40th anniversary of the OG movie. I'm hoping for that to be the theme 40th anniversary anyways okay Will North says Stern gotta start seven of their game Spooky gonna pass them all all right Will North big Spooky fan I don't disagree Spooky's pretty bomb Nick says after seeing what games you currently own and knowing you are getting Beetlejuice I don't see you adding The Walking Dead to your collection but Nick, am I? Will I? That's the question. Jay Larkin says, That was Jay Larkin. John John Mellon says, Now Mark Leiter says, me but i hope it does well for stern regardless brad ellison says bummer that it just upgraded animated cartoon video from what was on the prior dot matrix version looks like they stole the spooky uh translate armor art color schemes lol all right jay says the art concepts are fine it's the effing color palettes that are i our word i can't i'm not gonna say that word all right matthew whiteside says i think it looks great i like the art packages all right matthew a little positivity there they go mark henry says it looks like the walking dead joined the avengers that's kind of funny actually jason samasa said i think it looks awesome extremely similar to Metallica Remastered. I think it'll be a blast. All right. See, Jason's positive. Jonathan White says, is it a remaster we needed with all the new assets from the other manufacturers? Also, the big screen and no TV assets seems to be a huge miss to me. Having Stern Insider Connected would be the only upgrade I see. I'd rather spend my money on other ones. Patrick Tollhouse said, you don't miss anything. Okay. Brandon Ellis says, I think this will be a pass for most people. Was there generally interest for a remaster of this game? Question. I just can't see it. I grew up tired of the show years ago. Oh, I grew tired of the show years ago, and all my friends who used to watch it have stopped as well. No TV assets? Question mark. Craziness. I want every pinball manufacturer to succeed, but I just don't think this will be a win for Stern. A Stern remaster that makes more sense is something like Lord of the Rings with movie assets included. That would absolutely kill it. First the Lame Jaws remaster and now this shaking my head. Okay. Cameron Tolley. So it's a mixed reaction right now. I'm going to only read a couple more of these. So Cameron Tolley says, no TV show assets on the great big LCD? Yikes. Yikes. Too much good competition for my money these days. So this is a pass for me. All right, that was Cameron. Josh Baldwin is like, look, I'm not a fan of the show or the game really, so it doesn't matter to me, but I hope it does well. While I think the actual art is pretty cool, I do think Stern is repeating a lot of the same color schemes so much that a lot of their games are starting to look alike. Would like to see more diversity in the color schemes with game rooms in mind. Exterior side rail lighting is awesome. Okay, so I do kind of agree with what Josh is saying here. He's like, dude, look, the color schemes are very similar. And Stern does do a lot of these same very colorful layouts. To me, Walking Dead Remastered, again, like I said earlier, is kind of more of a dark theme. So I would have preferred it being darker, but I don't hate it personally. I can get behind it, but it's not my favorite. So that's my opinion. All right, Joseph Rice, this is the last one to read, says, I like some of the new features, but don't care for the artwork. So that seems to be a theme here. Should have used darker colors. Looks like Walking Dead Foo Fighters mashup on the art. All right, that's all we got. That's all we got. All right, so guys, I think what we've learned here is that the audience for this game is very mixed. I mean, there's mixed feelings. So the question is, will this sell well for Stern, or will this just be one of those things where people hold on to their money for things like Beetlejuice or potentially Transformers, as that's the biggest rumor of the next cornerstone game for Stern, which should be highlighted or launched around the CES timeframe. I don't know, guys. What do you think? Show me in the comments below. I kind of dig it, but at the same time, some of the reservations that the community has shared with me on my Facebook page, I agree with. Am I going to buy it? I don't know. You guys let me know because you know I'm a sucker for this shit. So who knows? And I've been drinking. I might as well just call up Zach right now and be like, take my money, Zach. Just take it. I don't even care. But I don't want to do that because I don't want to be careless. I'm not careless. I'm very thoughtful with my purchases. Not really, but you know what I mean. Anyways, guys, I don't know. Let me know what you think. I'm sorry that you had to witness this. I just had a little bit to drink tonight. I don't drink very much. I hardly ever drink, so you got to cut me some slack. But between the drinking and the chicken and the gelato, it's just too much for me to handle all this. So I don't know. I'm having a hard time. My mind is spinning between all the cream from the gelato and the fat from the chicken so it's just not working right so i just hope you enjoy whatever this is i'm here to entertain you guys look sometimes i have a strong opinion sometimes i don't i'm so torn on this one because you guys are bringing up so many valid concerns it's really valid but guys that's it for now i hope you enjoy this let me know in the comments below i'm in this meeting for one more day so guess what spam the shit out of my comments because I'll be in this meeting trying to focus but I'll be saying and that'll be fun for me even though I won't be able to read it until I'm on the plane back to Phoenix, Arizona. But hey, I appreciate you nonetheless. Thank you so much for the support. That's it for now, guys. Put all of the comments below and we will see you on the flip side. See you guys. you

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: d723769d-930b-43d1-8aec-b12ccd70d591*