Predator by Pinball Brothers: First few flips! Review below. Streamed from The Flipper Room.

DRI374·video·16m 17s·analyzed·Dec 1, 2025

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.014

TL;DR

First-play Predator pinball review from The Flipper Room reveals complex gameplay with weapons, locks, and multiball modes.

Summary

A first-play video review of Pinball Brothers' Predator pinball machine, streamed live from The Flipper Room in Concord, California. The content creator initially had criticized Predator as a Whirlwind ripoff but revises that assessment upon hands-on play, discovering a mechanically complex game with numerous playfield features, modes (Jungle Blast, Get to the Chopper, Camp Attack), multiball mechanics, and weapon-collection gameplay. The video captures early gameplay exploration with the player learning rules in real-time.

Key Claims

Predator has significant hardware both on top of and underneath the playfield
high confidence · Content creator visual inspection at machine location
Predator is mechanically very different from Whirlwind, contrary to creator's prior criticism
high confidence · Content creator's direct statement: 'I sort of take that back a little bit...It is a very different game from Whirlwind'
The game is brand new with no ball trails on playfield and everything flashing
high confidence · Creator observation during gameplay: 'This there's not a there's not a ball trail on the playfield. Everything is flashing'
Predator features weapon collection mechanics (pistol, shotgun, sniper rifle, minigun) as part of gameplay
high confidence · In-game audio callouts and creator commentary during play
The game has lock mechanics and multiball modes including Jungle Blast
high confidence · Audio callouts: 'Jungle blast ball one lock' and 'All the locks are lit here'

Notable Quotes

“I sort of take that back a little bit, a little smidge, right? It is a very different game from Whirlwind.”
Content creator @ early — Represents reversal of prior critical stance on Predator after hands-on inspection
“This there's not a there's not a ball trail on the playfield. Everything is flashing over here.”
Content creator @ during gameplay — Confirms the machine is brand new and recently set up
“There's a lot of hardware on the playing field here. I haven't checked it out what it looks like underneath, but I'd bet there's just as much hardware underneath as it's on top of it.”
Content creator @ before gameplay — Observation of mechanical complexity and density
“So, this is bonus heavy”
Content creator @ mid-gameplay — Early assessment of game's scoring philosophy
“It's so confusing. Like, it says lock everywhere, right?”
Content creator @ during multiball attempts — Indicates unclear rule clarity or UI design in early play

Entities

Pinball Brotherscompany PredatorgameThe Flipper RoomvenueWhirlwindgame

Signals

?
product_launch: Predator pinball machine newly set up at The Flipper Room in Concord, California, available for public play
high · Video shows fresh installation with no ball trails and brand new condition
?
venue_signal: The Flipper Room receives Predator machine and serves as streaming/content location
high · Video streamed live from The Flipper Room location with the machine
?
design_philosophy: Predator features weapon collection as core gameplay element (pistol, shotgun, sniper rifle, minigun)
high · Multiple in-game callouts for weapon types and thematic callouts like 'Get to the chopper' and 'Jungle Blast'
?
gameplay_signal: Game features multiple modes, multiball mechanics, lock systems, and bonus-heavy scoring architecture
high · Creator notes: 'So, this is bonus heavy' and describes Jungle Blast multiball, chopper missions, camp attack, multiple lock positions
~
sentiment_shift: Content creator revises prior criticism of Predator as Whirlwind ripoff after hands-on play
high · Direct quote: 'I sort of take that back a little bit...It is a very different game from Whirlwind'
?
content_signal: First-play experience of Predator captured on video stream at venue location

Topics

Game mechanics and playfield designprimaryFirst-play experience and rule discoveryprimaryWeapon collection and themed gameplayprimaryMultiball and lock mechanicsprimaryHardware density and constructionsecondaryInitial critical assessment vs. hands-on experiencesecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.75)— Creator shifts from initial skepticism to cautious optimism. Early enthusiasm about mechanical complexity and visual presentation, though some confusion about rule clarity and gameplay flow. No major complaints, mostly discovery and wonder.

Transcript

youtube_auto_sub · $0.000

All right. Uh we're live here from the flipper room in Concord, California. Uh I'm in front of a Predator that uh they just set up here. We kind of got a temporary kind of studio set up here, a little bit jungly, you know, and uh uh we're going to kind of get to know this game a little bit better, hunt predators, and uh get to some choppers and do all the good stuff that uh goes down in a in a Predator. Uh, so I have not played this game before uh whatsoever. Uh, I've just kind of like made sure that it flips and uh sound comes out of the speaker basically. Uh, but you you know if you've seen my review on this game before or my kind of like you know the the reveal is this just like I kind of blamed it for just being a complete ripoff of whirlwind, right? And uh looking at it now, we're standing in front of it. I sort of take that back a little bit, a little smidge, right? It [laughter] it is a very different game from Whirlwind. Looking at it, uh yeah, it looks very exciting. There's a there's a lot of hardware on the playing field here. I haven't checked it out what it looks like underneath, but I'd bet there's uh just as much hardware underneath as it's on top of it. So, uh yeah, it's uh yeah, I don't know. I I don't know what to say yet until I've actually started to play it and figured out some modes and multiballs and jungle blast, get to the chopper, camp attack, and like all those different things that we can see down here. So, let's uh let's kill it. They've got a transponder fix on their position about here. So, there seems to be like a skill shot where you hold the button, right? So, this is like an indicator that goes up and down here. Skill shot. And you're supposed to kind of time it so it goes up the ramp. Get the weapon in [music] the camp scoop. You are real sure. [music] Oh my god. Yeah, this is new pinball. It's just like everything is like brand new. This there's not a there's not a ball trail on the playfield. Everything is flashing over here. Let's see if we can Okay, there's all dribbles down there. [music] Okay, it sounded like something good happened there. There is lit. Okay, lit. [music] Uh all the locks are lit here. Jungle is flashing. And [music] the chopper is ready for a special mission. Special mission is a chopper. [music] Okay, so start mission is on a chopper right now. Let's see if we can get that [music] done. A weapon is ready to be collected in the camp. No, I thought the ball was going to be grabbed. Oh, there it is. pistol. Oh [***] Oh there. Jungle blast ball one lock. All right, let's see here. Skill shot. Okay, so that was the skill shot apparently. No, no, no, no, no. Oh, there was a was a med pack right there. Ammo [music] collected. Believe you know something. What is it? That was a pretty loud sound. [music] Yeah, as I'm trying to get to both up that ramp for the has a lot of things flashing on. I set up flares, braggers, and flames. Get to the chopper. Ball door locked. [music] Something was lit there. Shotgun selected. [music] [clears throat] So, that was ball one. I did shoot a lot of things but not quite sure what I was shooting. But um let's see what we can uh I want to get a multiple. I got one ball locked there and I got one ball locked in a chopper. [music] Oh, look at this. You only need two locks for that one. Sniper rifle collected. Did you hear that? [music] Shoot jungle to cash out. Yeah. So, I don't have any I don't have any dropped frames on my end here. So, I'm not sure what's cooking on the Twitch side. Okay, let's see if we can get another multiball out, too. You need to trust the post. Trust the post. Oh, I got an extra mole somewhere. That's right. Search the jungle by shooting reversal ramps. Jungle [music] blast ball to lock. Okay. So, how do I start this thing? [music] Steel shot. Something's moving in the bushes. [music] So, it's so confusing. Like, it says lock everywhere, right? No extra ball for me. That was just like in and out. In and out. Yeah, it's really confusing. And I didn't get a lot there. Chopper ball one lock. Yes. I got two physical locks here and uh they're not coming out. You are fully insured. Extra ball. [music] Three side ramp shots to maximize the jumble encounter. There is something else. When the big man was killed, you must have wounded it. The hostage and I got a chopper. What the hell did you think you were doing? So, weapons. Do Can you use the weapons like an alien or big bonus? Okay. So, this is bonus heavy Oh, this does not feel [singing and music] good. Wow. Oh my god, that was a train. if you have ammo. All right, so we're collecting ammo. We got some pro tips in chat here. So, this is a weird thing when the game kind of like is over. It just dies and it usually comes back. There we go. [music] [laughter] Yeah, it's Yeah, look at this. Okay, so they go down in a minigun.