The Color Blind Will LOVE Stern Pinball's Latest Release!

Cary Hardy·video·16m 32s·analyzed·Nov 6, 2025

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.027

TL;DR

Walking Dead Remaster criticized for bright color palette undermining dark theme; Stern's art homogeneity concerns persist.

Summary

Cary Hardy reviews Stern Pinball's Walking Dead Remastered, criticizing the bright, colorful art palette as thematically misaligned with the dark, gritty post-apocalyptic source material. While praising mechanical and code improvements, Hardy argues the game suffers from oversaturation typical of recent Stern releases and lacks visual distinctiveness due to consistent 'Zombie Yeti' art direction across the product line.

Key Claims

The Walking Dead Remastered's color palette contains colors not present in the TV show's visual aesthetic.
high confidence · Hardy conducted research via Google on Walking Dead show colors and explicitly states 'none of these colors that are on this game are in the show'
The artist on Walking Dead Remastered is doing their first pinball machine and typically works in fantasy art.
medium confidence · Hardy states 'I believe, is doing their first pinball machine' and 'is typically doing a fantasy type of art packages' but acknowledges uncertainty ('I could be wrong')
Jeremy Packer is the art director at Stern and all artwork must go through his approval.
high confidence · Hardy states 'Jeremy Packer did the art package. And he's not the artist. He is the art director at Stern now' and explains the approval process
Stern's before/and-after animation comparison showed a color DMD versus a red dot matrix, not the original red DMD, reducing the dramatic impact of the upgrade.
high confidence · Hardy explains 'they were showing us was a color DMD on the screen versus what the game really had, which was a red dot matrix display'
Stern is releasing accessories within five months of game launch, showing faster accessory production turnaround.
medium confidence · Hardy states 'we should be getting all the stuff next month' and notes 'five-month period after a game had released with King Kong and now with The Walking Dead'
Walking Dead Remastered gameplay reveal was delayed longer than typical Stern announcements, waiting until same day as Beetlejuice release.
high confidence · Hardy notes 'we're not getting any gameplay until the same day that Beetlejuice releases from Spooky Pinball' and 'Usually the gameplay is within a week'
Stern games under Zombie Yeti's art direction have a homogeneous visual style that makes them difficult to distinguish from one another.
high confidence · Hardy emphasizes 'when you have the same thing or the same style or the same direction on every game, it kind of makes all the games not really special' and repeatedly uses the phrase 'if everybody's special, then nobody's special'

Notable Quotes

“There's more good than there is bad.”
Gary (AI character) @ ~2:10 — Captures the core tension: Walking Dead Remaster has substantive improvements but thematic/aesthetic misalignment
“You've lost that grit, that atmosphere that the game should be presenting to you. The show was dark. The show was horror. It was a postapocalyptic environment.”
Cary Hardy @ ~6:30 — Core criticism: art direction contradicts source material tone
“When everybody's special, nobody's special.”
Cary Hardy @ ~10:45 — Recurring theme about Stern's homogeneous visual approach across product line
“It's just another Stern.”
Cary Hardy @ ~12:00 — Community shorthand criticism of repetitive Stern design and manufacturing approach
“It's just a real quick copy and paste on the platform and just changing the decals, changing the color of the trim and then pushing another game out and they all look the same.”
Cary Hardy @ ~13:15 — Specific criticism of Stern's manufacturing efficiency prioritized over aesthetic differentiation
“There is no—this game doesn't stand out. And I think every game should have something that makes it stand out to where when you first take a quick glance at it or it's out of your peripheral, then you probably know what it is type of thing.”
Cary Hardy @ ~12:30 — Design philosophy expectation: each game should have distinctive visual identity
“I'm not excited about this because again, it's a game that's already been released and we're not getting any gameplay until the same day that Beetlejuice releases from Spooky Pinball.”
Cary Hardy @ ~17:00 — Mixed messaging from Stern on marketing strategy; delayed gameplay reveal unusual
“You can make the game look the way you want to, and that's the path you chose is to make it all nice and colorful and rainbows and everything, but that's not what the show is.”

Entities

Cary Hardyperson Garyperson Zombie Yetiperson Jeremy Packerperson George Gomezperson The Walking Dead Remasteredgame The Walking Deadgame

Signals

?
business_signal: Stern's manufacturing model appears optimized for rapid production ('copy and paste on the platform') at potential cost of aesthetic differentiation and thematic authenticity
medium · Hardy criticizes 'it's just a real quick copy and paste on the platform and just changing the decals, changing the color of the trim and then pushing another game out'
?
product_concern: Stern's consistent application of Zombie Yeti art direction across multiple recent releases creating visual homogeneity, reducing game distinctiveness and arcade shelf differentiation
high · Hardy emphasizes 'when you have the same thing or the same style or the same direction on every game, it kind of makes all the games not really special' and notes 'if all the games have the Zombie Yeti effect...They all look the same'
?
design_philosophy: Walking Dead Remastered art palette (bright, colorful, saturated) criticized as fundamentally misaligned with dark, gritty post-apocalyptic source material aesthetic
high · Hardy conducts research on show colors, states 'none of these colors that are on this game are in the show' and repeatedly emphasizes theme contradiction
?
licensing_signal: AMC (Walking Dead licensor) permits firearms imagery on pinball machines; other licensors like Lions Gate apparently restrict firearms, creating different design constraints
medium · Hardy states 'AMC is not afraid for guns to be on pinball machines, but evidently Lions Gate, that's a big no no'
$
market_signal: Stern accelerating accessory production timelines; accessories available within ~5 months of game launch (King Kong and Walking Dead examples cited)

Topics

Art direction and color palette choices on Walking Dead RemasteredprimaryThematic alignment between pinball game aesthetics and source IPprimaryStern Pinball's homogeneous visual style across product lineprimaryZombie Yeti's influence on Stern art directionprimaryGame distinctiveness and visual differentiation in arcade settingssecondaryMarketing and promotional strategy (delayed gameplay reveal)secondaryAccessory production timelines and supply chain improvementssecondaryLicensing restrictions on firearm imagery across different IP holdersmentioned

Sentiment

mixed(0.35)— Hardy acknowledges substantive improvements (mechanics, animations, code) but is critically disappointed by art direction choices and thematic misalignment. Overall tone is critical of creative decisions rather than dismissive of the product itself. Frustration evident about broader Stern design patterns. Not enthusiastic or excited about game despite its technical upgrades.

Transcript

youtube_auto_sub · $0.000

So, Stern Pinball has released The Walking Dead again. What's up, guys? And welcome back to the channel where I talk and do everything pinball. So, if that sounds interesting to you, then hit the subscribe button down below. And in case you're wondering what is going on behind me, this is my guided artificial response infrastructure, also known as Gary. Carrie, I love your channel. It's the reason I'm still in this business. So Gary back here is going to be chiming in as he sees fit throughout the video. Okay. So are you ready to talk about your latest game, Gary? This game caught everyone by surprise. No one saw it coming. That's factually untrue, Gary. Everyone was very well aware that this game was being released. But anyways, look. So the videos are released and we get the images and immediately something catches my attention and that is the fact that this game is not on theme. So, when I say The Walking Dead, for those that have seen the show, you immediately start getting mental images of the show and how the show mainly looked, the aesthetics of it, a postapocalyptic world, survival, horrorbased, rundown, gritty, bloody type of environment, a theme. And then we get presented with you're see the wonderfuliz whole new spectrum if you will of colors that are not in the show. I even did a little bit of googling to figure out like maybe I'm wrong. Maybe there are more colors in the Walking Dead series. So before just immediately stating that this is not on theme, I just wanted to make sure. And so sure enough, a little bit of Google on the primary colors and the color spectrum, color palette if you will, of the Walking Dead series. And none of these colors that are on this game are in the show. It is nothing like the show as what we are seeing on this remaster. But here is the good thing about this game there. The good thing is that there's more good than there is bad. That should be our slogan. There's more good than there is bad. And that's obviously a plus. So, and I look at this of what they're offering. And it's merely the only real complaint that I have is that the color palette isn't on theme. And what's funny is that I'm obviously not the only person that thinks this. And when people first saw images, they honestly thought that Jeremy Packer (Zombie Yeti) did the art package. And he's not the artist. He is the art director at Stern now, though. So everything artwise basically has to go through him and it has to be approved and maybe even critiqued or given directions. So this artist, I believe, is this first pinball machine. And I could be wrong, but he's he or she, I don't know, is typically doing a fantasy type of art packages. That's what I believe the little bit of information I have on that. And there's nothing wrong with what I'm seeing, how the game is drawn, the the style of it. I don't have any kind of problems or quarrels with that. My only problem here is the color palette that we are presented. There is way too much color for this type of world, and that's my only thing. And it's that's so that's a good thing that we're getting improved mechs. We're getting an improved display animations. We're getting improved code. There's so much that's been improved on this. It's merely a bit of a miss when it comes to being on theme. And George at the beginning of the Stern promo for The Walking Dead remastered, he mentions that this game is for a new generation. Okay, I that's fine that you're trying to introduce this Walking Dead, this game to I guess a younger generation, but you can't change what the world is. You can make the game look the way you want to, and that's the the path you chose is to make it all nice and colorful and rainbows and everything, but that's not what the show is. You've lost that grit, that that atmosphere that the game should be presenting to you. The game was the the show was dark. The show was horror. It was a post-apocalyptic environment. And you've now given us This kind of reminds me if you ever played Diablo, like Diablo III in particular. I played a lot of that. Diablo III is very dark, bloody type of game where you're going around killing demons and everything, okay? And but there was a chance that you could go into a portal into Whimsy Shire and all of the sudden you're in a beautiful rainbow cloudy unicorn type of environment and it is completely the opposite of what the actual game is. It makes it humorous that you're going around slaughtering unicorns. I'm sure those of you that have played the game know what I'm talking about. And the reason why it's so humorous and funny is because it's completely opposite of what the game is. That's kind of what we're seeing here with the art package. And it's not the art package. It's like I said, it's merely the color palette that was chosen on this. And there's been some improvements people are already doing. They're like, "This is what I think the game should look like. This is what the game should look like. And this was posted up on my Patreon. I'll show you right here. And I think a lot of this was merely just adjusting saturations and contrast and everything. It wasn't a lot of changes done, but on this mere small image, it looks a hell of a lot more on theme than what the factory presentation is. And yes, I have not seen it in person. And I'm very well aware that video and the photos that are being presented to us are probably altered to increase saturation to make the colors more pop. I get that. So the game could possibly like typical look better in person. So along with that, I'm going to double down on the fact that what we're seeing here from Stern is a bunch of the same. And this is my worry here is that everything that we're we've been seeing it seems like it they're making all their games look the same. The art and that's the thing. This is is it is it too much of a good thing? Yes. This is kind of what this is because when Zombie Yeti got into pinball, it was like yes, cool. We love his art and he still does great artwork. Nothing against what he does, but there is a style that he has and it seems to be present in a lot more machines than not present. And when you have the same thing or the same style or the same direction on every game, it kind of makes all the games not really special or anything. They don't stand out. You know what makes the game special? Insider connected. And I know that Yeti chooses certain colors and they want he wants them to really pop so when you walk into an arcade or into someone's room, the the game stands out and it draws your attention. I get the reason behind that. But what if you have a arcade and a slew and they're all yetieyized to that art? They're it's just going to all look the same. It's just that the saying when everybody's special, nobody's special. And this is like the whole conversation I had with my patrons on my live last night. It was basically what I'm talking about here. And I I know that, you know, Yeti, he's stated before that he likes the colors to pop cuz he wants people to walk into an arcade and they want the game to just, you know, stand out. But it's hard Yeah. It's It's hard to make a game stand out when all of the games that they make are standing out. If if nobody's if everybody's special, then nobody's special. Good point. So, it's like if if all the games have the Zombie Yeti effect, which is not like it's bad art. I mean, it's just that the art color for this one in particular doesn't fit the theme. It's like this it people say like, "Oh, the last game was ugly." But I don't think they were saying that the game was ugly so much. It was that they didn't like the Photoshop aspect of it kind of thing. It was it was gritty, bloody, darkish, and that was more on theme. They just didn't like the Photoshopesque. Whereas this one's much more handdrawn with like a what's it called? What I just said earlier with the damn graphic novel type of aspect, which is good. But now you've saturated the [ __ ] out of everything with color and it doesn't look any type of dark, gritty, post-apocalyptic. It's you're losing that special ooh. Ah, because it's like it's once again a common phrase that's mentioned when talking about stern pinball. It's it's just another Stern. To digress, what we're seeing in the art is like we're seeing with a bunch of other games. There is no this game doesn't stand out. And I I think every game should have something that makes it stand out to where when you first take a quick glance at it or it's out of your peripheral, then you probably know what it is type of thing. And then it's probably challenging to do that when you pump out four to five different games a year. But that's one of the problems here is that that's what they're doing is that it's just a real quick copy and paste on the platform and just changing the decals, changing the color of the trim and then pushing another game out and they all look the same. And somewhere else where Stern kind of like shot themselves in the foot on this is when they were showing off the upgraded animation and display. They were showing you this is what it looked like when it had the dot matrix versus what we've got going on now. The thing is what they were showing us was a color DMD on the screen versus what the game really had, which was a red dot matrix display. So, they could have had a major before and after comparison, but they merely just had a comparison there, but it was nowhere near as drastic of a change as it could have been. They were showing off a color DMD version versus what we're getting in the modern-day remastering. And then we could talk about the other things that are on the game in regards to the outer light expression lights. When you have the bullets with the casings facing one direction and the lights strobing another in the opposite direction, it's like I I mean, yes, you've got bullets on the side of the cabinet, but I hope they don't think that that's like a stream of bullets being shot out because those are bullets with the casings. So, it's just I guess we'll just use a bullet and casing going up the side rails. Okay, I get it. Whatever. But that I guess that's another perk I forgot to mention is the fact that there's guns in here. So, yay. Bravo to that. AMC is not afraid for guns to be on pinball machines, but evidently Lion's Gate, that's a big no no type of thing. So, I can give you props for that as well. Am I excited about this game? No. Do I look forward to playing it? Not really, cuz it's I've already played it. Yes, there are improvements to it. you know, eventually I will, but I'm not like going to seek one out to play it type of thing. I'm not excited about this because again, it's a game that's already been released and we're not getting any gameplay until the same day that Beetlejuice releases from Spooky Pinball. And it's not like a big deal or anything, but you know, it's like why are we getting such a big delay from the announcement to the game play? That's a little bit different than what we've seen before. Usually the game play is within a week, but they're waiting even longer, but okay kind of thing. Probably a little bit more time to get the code a little bit better. But along with that, we're also going to be getting the accessories in like record time. The current the speculation or rumor or information that we're getting is that we should be getting all the stuff next month. So, that's definitely something different. That's something that Stern is uh you could tell that they're really trying now because they're getting accessories out within a fivemonth period after a game had released with King Kong and now with The Walking Dead. So changes are being implemented. I'm not sure if this is like, you know, under duress or what. So yeah, in a nutshell, I think they could have done a better presentation in the before and after on animation. And I do wish they would have gone with a much darker, grittier format when it comes to the color palette for this game. I do think that the color palette is a swing and a miss. I really think this game should have stood out in a lineup of other games that currently have a bunch of really bright bubbly colors and then all of a sudden you see this one game that looks like it's dead or like just uh vacant of color and looks like it's covered in blood and stuff. Something dark and different. people that would draw attention. The fact that this game does look different than the other spectrum of rainbows that Stern's been putting out lately and that would definitely draw attention there with being different is being void of the rainbow. So for you Walking Dead fans out there, hopefully this game caters to you. I know a lot of you out there are perfectly content with your original, but there's definitely some of you out there that want the new one for the new animations and the upgraded mechs. I get it. And especially if this game's going in a lineup, push it in there. You're not going to see all the rainbow colors on the cabinet, but the rainbow colors are still on the playfield. To each their own, but definitely aesthetically, the game does not really speak to the theme for me. I I there's a big disconnect there for me. Guys, let me know what you think about The Walking Dead Remastered in the comments section down below. We've got an interesting pinball coming up here in the next week or so. So, I'm looking forward to covering that. And uh yeah, I'll see you guys at the end of the video. [Music] Carrie, are you eating your kids Halloween candy again? Not like it's any of your business, Gary, but uh yes, I am. Are you uh excited about uh Beetlejuice next week? It won't have Insider Connected. No, it won't. And I'm pretty sure we're going to be okay. Insider Connected is the future. I'm not getting into this with you again, man.