So, I Played John Wick Pinball...

Cary Hardy·video·16m 23s·analyzed·May 23, 2024

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.022

TL;DR

John Wick Pro is a hard, exhausting, entertaining game with great shot feel but brutal drain recovery.

Summary

Cary Hardy provides a detailed hands-on review of John Wick Pro pinball, focusing on gameplay difficulty, playfield layout, and shot satisfaction. He characterizes the game as challenging and exhausting, with excellent shot feel when successful but brutal consequences for missed shots. While acknowledging solid mechanical design and code depth, Hardy concludes it's an entertaining but not essential purchase, recommending potential buyers test it at a location before committing.

Key Claims

John Wick Pro at code 0.80 has enough playable content to learn the game layout and shots
high confidence · Direct play experience; player explicitly states code 0.80 has 'plenty code there to chew on'
The ball save indicator on John Wick is counterintuitive compared to other pinball games (lit = no save, flashing = save)
high confidence · Direct observation of game UI; player notes this is opposite of 'every other game' experience
John Wick Pro requires constant nudging to maintain ball control and achieve competitive scores
high confidence · Repeated emphasis throughout gameplay analysis; player states 'if you don't nudge while you play this game there's no way that you're going to be able to get a high enough score'
The weapons crate shot on the Pro model is difficult to hit consistently due to its positioning at the right flipper tip
high confidence · Detailed playfield analysis; player describes shot as 'wood choppy' and requiring 'giant weapons crate box' on Premium for satisfaction
The car bash mechanic provides satisfying haptic feedback that elevates the Pro's playability
high confidence · Direct gameplay observation; player states 'if this car did nothing...it would not be as satisfying' but force feedback 'takes it up a notch'
Missing center ramp and center orbit shots lead to drain-prone situations requiring aggressive nudging
high confidence · Repeated playfield routing analysis; player notes 'chances of a straight down the middle are extremely high'
John Wick's difficulty level is comparable to or exceeds Ninja Turtles pinball
medium confidence · Player comparison statement; cites Ninja Turtles as reference point for difficulty assessment
The absence of gun imagery on the Pro playfield is not noticeable due to compensating audio and video assets
medium confidence · Player subjective observation; acknowledges this is a licensing constraint but reports it 'didn't even notice it'

Notable Quotes

“the game is hard okay...when you hit the shots that you want and that you need to hit the ramps the lanes or whatever that you're supposed to they feel like butter it feels good...but when you miss then you're going to spend the next couple of seconds if not longer just trying to recover the ball”
Cary Hardy@ 4:37 — Core thesis of review: shot satisfaction is high but miss consequences are severe, creating exhausting gameplay
“my overall first impressions after playing it the game is good okay just that nothing spectacular nothing special nothing new but it is entertaining to play”
Cary Hardy@ 14:51 — Final verdict: competent but not innovative; sets expectation for potential buyers
“the slingshots are brutal always hitting it to the out lanes...if you don't nudge while you play this game there's no way that you're going to be able to get a high enough score or progress throughout the game”
Cary Hardy@ 5:17 — Identifies playfield routing aggression as core design characteristic requiring skilled ball control
“i literally walked over to elton John that was also there and played a very long game of Elton John got high score number three for crying out loud so I know it's not that I just suck at pinball it's just that I currently suck at this game”
Cary Hardy@ 14:27 — Establishes reviewer's baseline skill level to contextualize difficulty assessment credibility
“it's one of those things where it is a harder game...I definitely would need more time on it so i can really narrow in and get the shots down”
Cary Hardy@ 14:14 — Acknowledges learning curve and need for extended play before forming definitive opinion

Entities

Cary Hardyperson John WickgameStern PinballcompanyNinja Turtlesgame Elton Johngame Foo FightersgameGuns and RosesgameToy Story 4game

Signals

?
community_signal: Anticipation of mod community creating custom gun imagery and modifications to address licensing limitations post-release
medium · Player predicts 'mod makers once they get into this game...we're going to see some pretty cool stuff' and laments cost: 'you've got to spend at least seven grand for a machine and then spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars more'
?
competitive_signal: John Wick difficulty level positions it as skilled tournament player game; casual/recreational players will experience higher frustration and drain rates
medium · Player distinguishes audiences: 'if you were a skilled tournament player then more than likely this is going to be right up your alley' versus 'the rest of us are just scrambling'
?
design_philosophy: Short plunge skill shot mechanic criticized as undesirable; player compares unfavorably to full plunge design
medium · Player states 'I'm not a big fan of short plunges' and lists Guns and Roses and Toy Story 4 as negative examples; prefers to 'yank the ball back and get it into play'
?
design_philosophy: John Wick Pro designed with emphasis on shot precision and challenging ball control; misses result in severe consequences requiring skilled nudging to prevent drains
high · Player repeatedly notes brutal slingshot behavior, middle drain risk, and requirement for constant nudging; characterizes game as exhausting due to high consequence design
?
licensing_signal: Gun imagery licensing restrictions mitigated through audio effects and video assets; player reports absence of gun playfield toys is not noticeable during normal gameplay

Topics

Playfield Layout and Shot DesignprimaryGame Difficulty and Learning CurveprimaryCode Quality and Early Build StatesecondaryPro vs Premium Model DifferentiationsecondaryLicensing Constraints (Gun Imagery Removal)secondaryAudio/Video Assets and Movie ContentsecondaryConsumer Purchase RecommendationprimaryBall Physics and Drain Aggressionprimary

Sentiment

mixed(0.55)— Reviewer appreciates solid mechanical design, shot feel, and entertainment value but finds the game exhausting, overly difficult, and not innovative enough to warrant personal ownership. Positive elements (shot satisfaction, engaging challenge) are balanced against negatives (high difficulty, drain-prone routing, lack of special features). Final verdict is cautiously positive but not enthusiastic.

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.049

So I finally played John Wick Pro model and of course it's always like Gary what do you think? So here is an example of my experience with John Wick Pro. what's up guys and welcome back to the channel where i talk and do everything pinball and a special thank you to the over 9600 of you that hit the subscribe button down below so look this is merely my opinions and how i feel about the game in its current state meaning yes i am well aware that the code is only at 0.81 now but I played it at 0.80 so I don't want to hear any crap about oh the code's early because I'm not really going to be hitting on the code so much so I'm not going to worry about that might as well just tell you how I feel about the code at this point in time I feel like there's plenty code there to chew on while you learn how to play the game and the shots and layout and everything so with that being said I think there's only one little thing at this point in time that I would like to be changed and that is the ball save on the outlanes if it's lit then that means that that's not going to give you a ball save if it's flashing that means it will give you a ball save and I don't know with the experience of every other game that I've played ball save entirely lit means you will get a ball save so with it being the opposite on this game it's a bit confusing so that's just my only like what the hell's going on when it comes to the code at this point in time let's talk about the audio so the audio is fine nothing annoying nothing bad the music is is good enough and everything it didn't really feel like it was amping me up or anything like sort of rage typically does but there was nothing bad on the audio i feel this time i would like to hear more of ian mcshane i don't know if he's utilized enough again code is early he could have more call outs down the road now let's talk about the video assets and we're going to go straight into the movie assets that they're talking up and how awesome that is in 4k quality and stuff like that doesn't matter that it was in 4k because the monitor that is in your primal machine isn't going to be showing you 4k whatever anyways those movie assets are going to be very rarely seen i mean they're constantly going while you're playing but you're going to be primarily focused on trying to keep this ball alive okay so the movie assets although that they're there and that's nice but i i do want to compliment on the actual animations that stern created themselves over there with the in between the ball or when you drain and lose your ball and stuff like that all those those look really good so i will give up the hats off to that the thing that i'm guessing is a little bit i don't know off to me is you're going to see a map and what looks like watermelon seeds or like the little teardrop shaped items and i'm i'm assuming that those are supposed to be basically markers where enemies are at around you and stuff but i don't know when i see them they just look like watermelon seeds it's it's it's a little thing but every time i saw them it was like what the hell is that so maybe there can be some kind of improvement on that i don't know but then when it comes to video assets i'm pretty pleased with what I see so far. It does pretty well on showing me what to do. When I say showing me, meaning on screen when you go into mode, do this before this and stuff like that. So as of right now, code wise animation then it's well informative enough at this point in time So let talk about what really important and that is how it plays and the layout and everything and the enjoyment of it And so from my perspective on this game and this is the reason why I have that particular clip at the beginning of this video and how I feel is that this game is hard okay. Now it may not be hard for everyone if you were a skilled tournament player then more than likely this is going to be right up your alley because of the fact that it's not going to be an easy shooter and what when i say it being hard and a difficult shooter it's because when you hit the shots that you want and that you need to hit the ramps the lanes or whatever that you're supposed to they feel like butter it feels good and a majority of the shots are safe to make we'll go over that in a little bit but when you miss then you're going to spend the next couple of seconds if not longer just trying to recover the ball to get back in control and cradle it so you can make another attempt at trying to make a shot because so many times guys i lost my ball equally straight down the middle and on the left and right outlanes it was a drain monster bouncing off everywhere the slingshots are brutal always hitting it to the outlanes i mean if you don't nudge while you play this game there's no way that you're going to be able to get a high enough score or progress throughout the game this is a game that you're going to have to nudge unless you just get all the shots down to where you're never going to miss but even if you do land all your shots there's still a moment of chaos and again going to go over that in just a moment. So let's talk about the play field and the shots going from the right side of the play field and fanning over to the left. So the very furthest shot to your right is the weapons crate. Now again this is on the pro so you need to hit the weapons crate area three times in order to light the first mode and then after that it's going to progressively require you to hit more and more so in that point it seems very wood choppy to consistently have to hit your ball over there and it wouldn't be as bad but i feel like on the premium it's going to be much more satisfying because you're not going to have to try as hard to get it as further over because you're going to have a giant weapons crate box it's at least two inches longer to make up for the gap that is there on the pro you've got to hit that weapons crate target on the very tip of your left flipper or get a little bit of an assistance on a rebound from your left sling in order to hit that over there so with that being said i think the premium is going to be a little bit more enjoyable because you're not going have to probably work as hard to get the weapons crate shot because it's closer essentially so going past the weapons crate then you have that feeds back to your right flipper so it's a safe shot and the next shot over to the left of that is going to be your 180 flip that feeds back to your right flipper very safe shot also like i said when every shot just to clear to clear the air every shot that you make successfully will feel good so let's just get that out of the way right now the next lane over is going to be up the middle where you have a newton ball to the continental and if you go straight over that that's going to feed back into your left orbit which will feed to your left flipper every time now a little further over from the newton ball is of course the car bash. Now this is something I believe which takes the pro up a notch. I feel like if this car did nothing just sat there and just took hits it would not be as satisfying to play but I think with this car giving you a little bit of a nudge back whenever you hit it it gives it just I don know just a little more interaction and it makes it feel like you done something So I think that definitely takes it up a notch I would just wish that that Carbash beat back like that if we had something like that down there in the weapons crate area I mean, even on the Premium, the weapons crate doesn't do any kind of force feedback or anything, and I think that would be kind of cool if it actually moved a little bit as well whenever you hit it. Kind of worked as another slingshot of sorts. Then further over, you have your center ramp. This is backhandable, but it's going to be tricky to hit on both flippers. This is, for whatever reason, a difficult shot for me to get nailed down. But again, once you make it, it feels so good. And the thing is, if you don't make it all the way up that ramp, then your chances of a straight down the middle are extremely high. Once again, you're going to need to get your nudging down. And the shot next to it that goes up the center into the pop bumper or the circle club area is another shot that if you don't make it all the way up there, chances are it's going to go straight down the damn middle. now at first I thought I wasn't going to appreciate or like the pop bumper region up there I'm just like oh great I'm gonna head it up there and have to wait for it to come back down and after playing it for a while I was like relieved to get it up in the pop bumper area because that gave me a moment of rest like okay good now I can somewhat take a breather from constantly having to nudge and keep the ball in play the next shot over is your left ramp very familiar especially for those that have played a lot of foo fighters it's a safe bet that it's going to feed directly back to your left flipper so no worries there once again feels good when you hit it and then your final shot which is your left orbit that feeds basically sometimes to your right flipper but more times than not when you hit that left orbit it's going to feed all the way and hit the bottom portion of your right slingshot which turns into chaos because now the ball is going from slingshot to slingshot or bouncing off the walls or whatever so hitting an orbit and then turning your game into chaos is obviously it's a worry kind of thing and like I said sometimes it feeds to your right flipper and but a lot of the times it's going to hit that right slingshot then of course you have your left furthest shot which is the scoop area um i think that's a little bit of a oddly enough it was a little tricky to hit it's it's on the tip of that right flipper for you to hit i don't think i was able to ever backhand that i don't think you really can uh a lot of these shots are backhandable but i don't think you can hit that furthest left on the on the left flipper it has to be your right and um yeah that's a regular shot nothing i don't even know that was a satisfactory kind of moment Because even when you get it in that particular scoop, it's not going to be in there very long. There's no kind of big fanfare or anything like that when you get your extra ball, at least at the current moment of code. So you get it in there, it's going to come out pretty quick. And it's usually a moment of chaos as well because it's going to slam into your right flipper, if I remember correctly. So basically, guys, the game is fast. When you nail your shots, they feel like butter. It feels good. But this is a hard game. I feel that if you thought Ninja Turtles was a hard game, then yes, this game is going to be hard as well. Because when you make your shots, they feel good. But when you miss, you prepare for chaos. And that's basically how I feel about the Pro at this current moment. this is definitely a game where it's going to keep you entertained by meaning you're going to have to be working to keep the ball in play unless you're just so good where you're just constantly just nailing every shot which for the majority of us that play pinball isn the case now for you higher skilled tournament players and stuff this game is probably gonna be like yeah it a nice little challenge you know it pretty good you know kind of thing whereas the rest of us are just scrambling like oh god try to nudge and keep the ball in play now obviously the art for the pro i already assumed was pretty good and when it comes to the lack of guns on the play field in the art like that honestly i didn't even notice it guys and I feel that definitely when you hear the guns firing and stuff like that, that also adds to it even though there's nothing on the play field in regards to guns. You're still going to get the sound effects that go along with it as far as like seeing things on screen. Unless you're just that skillful to where you can play this game and also see the 4K movie assets that are available, then I think you're going to get everything you need when it comes to guns. but I'm pretty sure the mod makers once they get into this game and actually get one on hands to start crafting these mods we're going to see some pretty cool stuff it just sucks that you've got to spend at least seven grand for a machine and then turn around and spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars more to make the game what it should be another thing before I forget when it comes to gameplay and layout and stuff like that the main skill shot is kind of a short plunge I'm not a big fan of short plunges those that have like hear me talk about guns and roses and stuff like that i do not like short plunge skill shots i think it was toy story 4 was another one as well i just want to just yank the ball back and get it into play so that is also something i didn't care for was just a short plunge skill shot but that's you know oh well a few extra points on the board for me it's all about my overall experience and my overall experience with john wick pro was uh high anxiety and uh entertaining by all means but also exhausting at the same time but i definitely would need more time on it so i can really narrow in and get the shots down but it's one of those things where it is a harder game guys i mean i literally walked over to elton John that was also there and played a very long game of Elton John got high score number three for crying out loud so I know it's not that I just suck at pinball it's just that I currently suck at this game so let that be known that this game is definitely going to take some time to really narrow in and get better at the shots unless you're just a badass player then you probably already got it down so my overall first impressions after playing it the game is good okay just that nothing spectacular nothing special nothing new but it is entertaining to play and it will definitely keep you like you know on your toes to keep the ball in play is it a game that i plan on owning no it's it's not an it's nothing special enough to where i feel like it needs to join the lineup or I need to replace something back there with it but if it's on location somewhere by all means yes I'm going to put some games on it but it's not enough for me to own and for those of you that are on the fence on whether or not you should buy this game by all means I recommend you do seek out a location somewhere and get some time on it before you go getting into a game that potentially could just be too difficult for you and sometimes difficulty or just like you know shots that if you miss and it's just instant regret and you lose your ball can be somewhat demeaning for people so by all means give the game a shot on location first before you go just throwing money out the window at a game that you may just find too difficult but chances are if you thought turtles was difficult then this game is going to be difficult for you as well it's a sentence that i never thought i would say and i honestly want to say that Elton John beats John Wick. Oh.