Rare 2023 Space Hunt by HEXA Pinball! Gameplay and Exploration!

Pinball Shenanigans·video·12m 27s·analyzed·Aug 8, 2025

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.017

TL;DR

Space Hunt (HEXA Pinball) 2023 gameplay debut with rules overview and design impressions.

Summary

Mike Dimas from Pinball Shenanigans provides gameplay commentary and rules explanation for Space Hunt, a 2023 pinball machine by French manufacturer HEXA Pinball. The game features eight primary missions (Fight, Sniper, Spy, Safe, Wake Up, Hide, Budget, Hunt) plus a master mission, multiball mechanics via ball locks, an LCD display with character-driven callouts, and a flowing playfield with backhanded ramp shots. Dimas notes the machine is not yet available for sale and expresses appreciation for the game's design while noting some audio and visibility issues.

Key Claims

Space Hunt has eight missions (Fight, Sniper, Spy, Safe, Wake Up, Hide, Budget, Hunt) plus a master mission and five challenges (Spinner Master, Challenge Master, Combo Master, Loop Master, Mission Master)
high confidence · Mike Dimas describing on-screen mission structure during gameplay
Space Hunt features a dark triangle toy in the middle of the playfield associated with mission completion
medium confidence · Dimas identifying playfield toy during gameplay exploration
The machine sometimes fails to register ball locks during multiball
medium confidence · Dimas observation: 'I did notice occasionally when you lock a ball, it didn't seem to register. But for the most part, it did.'
Space Hunt is not currently available for purchase
high confidence · Dimas: 'There's no price Thunderbirds on this machine, so it does not look like it is available for sale.'
The game has a challenge mode where all playfield shots became lit simultaneously
medium confidence · Dimas: 'There was one challenge mode that I got into. It said challenge Shoot lit shot And literally every shot on the playfield was lit'
Backhanded ramp shots are particularly effective technique on Space Hunt
high confidence · Repeated observation throughout gameplay: 'I find that backhanding that little tight shot there on the left', 'backhand the right ramp when you start a multiball', 'those backhands are buttery'
Space Hunt has audio/volume issues making callouts and music difficult to hear
high confidence · Dimas: 'I wish it was turned up a lot louder so you could really hear it' and 'I just wish we could hear them better'
The machine occasionally requires manual ball assist during multiball when balls don't complete the full loop
medium confidence · Dimas: 'also during multiball when you start it sometimes it doesn't get the balls all the way around so you might have to assist'

Notable Quotes

“I wish it was turned up a lot louder so you could really hear it.”
Mike Dimas@ 1:45 — Identifies audio/volume as a design concern on the machine
“I find that backhanding that little tight shot there on the left... backhands are really good on this game”
Mike Dimas@ 1:09 — Establishes backhanded shots as a core technique mechanic
“It's very flowy. I mean, it can be a little bricky too.”
Mike Dimas@ 3:53 — Summary assessment of playfield flow and difficulty characteristics
“I did notice occasionally when you lock a ball, it didn't seem to register. But for the most part, it did.”
Mike Dimas@ 4:23 — Identifies potential mechanical registration issue with ball lock mechanism
“There's no price Thunderbirds on this machine, so it does not look like it is available for sale.”
Mike Dimas@ 8:43 — Confirms Space Hunt is not yet released for commercial purchase
“Never thought I'd get a chance to play Space Hunt.”
Mike Dimas@ 12:20 — Indicates rarity and limited availability of the machine at this time point

Entities

Mike DimaspersonShawnee BoypersonHEXA PinballcompanySpace HuntgamePinball Shenanigansorganization

Signals

?
design_philosophy: HEXA Pinball employs character-driven narrative with LCD display integration featuring Squid Head Robot protagonist and thematic mission structure
high · Gameplay shows eight distinct named missions, character callouts, and LCD screen integration with narrative context
?
event_signal: Space Hunt is a rare/limited availability machine as of 2023, positioning it as a collector novelty or prototype/limited production run
high · Dimas: 'There's no price Thunderbirds on this machine, so it does not look like it is available for sale' and 'Never thought I'd get a chance to play Space Hunt'
?
announcement: Space Hunt by HEXA Pinball confirmed as a 2023 release; gameplay and rule structure documented publicly via Pinball Shenanigans coverage
high · Extensive gameplay footage and detailed mission/challenge structure documentation
?
product_concern: Audio mixing and volume insufficient for callouts and musical cues; identified as a design flaw affecting player experience
high · Dimas repeated concern: 'I wish it was turned up a lot louder' and 'I just wish we could hear them better'
?
technology_signal: Ball lock registration issues during multiball; occasional failure to register locks properly
medium · Dimas observation: 'I did notice occasionally when you lock a ball, it didn't seem to register'

Topics

Game mechanics and rules (missions, multiball, shots, locks)primaryPlayfield design and shot techniques (backhands, ramps, orbits)primaryAudio and presentation issuessecondaryHardware reliability and registration problemssecondaryMachine availability and raritysecondaryCharacter and theme (Squid Head Robot, missions)mentioned

Sentiment

positive(0.75)— Dimas expresses genuine appreciation for the machine's design, flow, and character despite identifying specific technical issues (audio levels, occasional lock registration problems). Tone is enthusiastic about the gameplay experience and opportunity to play a rare machine.

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.037

I'm Mike Dimas, and this is Pinball Shenanigans. Alright, this is Space Hunt by Hexa Pinball, a company in France, and Shawnee Boy is going to play it for his first time. I've just played a few games on it, so I want to give you a quick debriefing of the rules. When you see this scoop lit here, then shoot in there to start a mission. uh you can just lock balls up the middle here just three shots there sometimes there's a drop target blocking that shot oh it's gonna launch automatically uh also during multi-bow when you start it sometimes it doesn't get the balls all the way around so you might have to um assist so right spelling hunt in the inlanes i'm not actually sure what that does yet and that upper play field get ready for it oh I was just gonna talk about how friggin hard that shot is you nail it your first shot of the game but I find that backhanding that little tight shot there on the left yeah almost four handed it I find backhands are really good on this game so you can backhand that like fishtails ramp no problem and backhand the right ramp when you start a multiball basically the two fishtails ramps are lit for jackpots you can backhand them both skill shot is the lit lane up top if you plunge too hard it just bounces around like that I wish it was turned up a lot louder so you could really hear it. So I think it has like some heavy metal tunes to it. It's got these cute little flashers at the back that light up representing each of the locks. So your mission is available. Yeah, if you get it in the scoop up there now, it should lock. Boom. And then, oh, try it again. Maybe it's not registering. I'm going to come on this side just because I feel like it's a better view of the playfield. There we go. We've got a mission you get to choose. Whatever you... Hey, Spy! Of course he's got to pick Spy. That's his initials. My initials are Ick. And we're at a movie theater. And they're playing the movie Ick today as well. So what do you friggin' know? Okay, so looks like green shots there. It's a neat little 180 ramp there. Oh, good bar go bye bye. So I don know if your locks carry over or not Oh back into the mode Okay back to spy oh that looks scary you see the creatures on the uh on the display there i imagining you are the squid head robot guy and you're fighting the evil forces of uh whatever's going on in hexaland okay let's try another game don't plunge too hard now go oh i plunged too hard So I think those pink targets, the stand up pink targets are the ones that will light your mission. I think the flashing one in the middle probably will get your mission ready. So I played a few games on this. It's very flowy. I mean, it can be a little bricky too. but oh nice try see the oh ball save okay didn't need all that uh i don't even think you got a danger there see if you can start a multiball because i do believe the music picks up a little bit and you can hear it a little better once uh You do start a multiball. There we go. I did notice occasionally when you lock a ball, it didn't seem to register. But for the most part, it did. Well, bank it into a mission start. Take your pick. Okay, I don't know what you picked, but... You are Squid Head Robot Guy. Looks like... Oh, you're in a boxing match. Against some mummy-looking dude. and can you you can bring in a multiball into this it looks like it's hard to see but and see the lock is ready combo for 2x you lost the boxing match against the mummy there's the skill shot See, those back hands are buttery. I'm kind of like, my crotch is like probably three inches away from Sean's hand, so I'm really cramping his style. Or enhancing his style. If he goes for a major slap save, I could get, could be in trouble. Could be a multiball slap save. Okay, you're back to fighting the mummy. Come on, lock it. Alright, there we go. See? Shoot loops when lit. Oh. There was one challenge mode that I got into. It said challenge Shoot lit shot And literally every shot on the playfield was lit I don know if that was a joke or I missed like a specific shot that was available before everything was lit Alright, lock number two. There we go. One more lock for multiball. Here we go, here we go, here we go. Let's see if we can hear the tunes. You're going to need to manually plunge perhaps. Or you can just cheat it. Fish tails ramps for jackpots. What was that? The ball went flying? I didn't see. There we go. Cool animations on the LCD screen. There's a bunch of squid head robots. And a bunch of pinballs all trapped in a cage. Oh, you gotta rescue the pinballs, man. Pinball! Gotta rescue the pinballs. Ooh, what's happening here? Jackpot spinner. I like the callouts on this. I just wish we could hear them better. The main character's got a cool voice. Okay, so. Multiball is over. We can start a new mission. I haven't made sense of all the details and information on the LCD screen yet. Looks like... There are eight missions. And then you get a master mission after eight missions. The missions are fight, sniper, spy, safe, wake up, hide, bomb, and hunt. And then it looks like all the challenges are spinner master, challenge master, combo master, loop master, and mission master. That's that kind of black, dark triangle in the middle of the playfield. One more ball. There's no price tag on this machine, so it does not look like it is available for sale. Alright, lock number two. Let's get back into a multiball here. Oh, drop target's in the way now. One more multiball here for the road. Oh wait he going to press his luck and go try and bring in a mystery here or a mission well he getting skill searched yeah nice shot patience paid off all right see if we can yes save it get in there we can get a multiball going with this mission. No! Oh, wait. False save. Did it again. Good thing the tilt is friendly. A little ski pass. Yeah, there we go. Space hunt. Rescue these poor little pinballs. But we're in a mission too I think. Shoot the right drop target. So there's, see that right drop target by the right orbit there? It's glowing yellow. And it's got a squid head on it. Super late on the flipper. Oh, and also the lock shot is strobing, so maybe that will light some jackpots. There we go. What's happening? Did it register? Oh, balls. Oh, add a ball. Oh, one ball staged up here. Oh, wait, it kicked out. Anybody coming back? How many balls are we down to? Oh, and he made the orbit shot. That's not easy to do. Shoot the bumper to increase... Oh. I guess there is two pop bumpers. Kind of hard to see him back there. Oh. There's a strobing yellow shot right now. Roving is the word I'm looking for roving yellow Yeah, there it is Did that do anything? It's like targeting Your scope is out Mission failed. Okay Sorry Ron you see if you can get up to the I tried the death save. Oh, that's space hunt pretty cool But, uh, yep. We gotta go watch the ick now. Just kidding. We're not gonna watch the ick. You're not supposed to touch the ick, I heard. But I highly recommend not doing that. Anyway, pretty cool. Never thought I'd get a chance to play Space Hunt.