Living With the Evil Dead Pinball (Review + Gameplay)

Gonzo's Pinball Flipperama·video·35m 9s·analyzed·Sep 10, 2025

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.031

TL;DR

Gonzo reviews Evil Dead pinball as Spooky's A-tier game with phenomenal art, accessible gameplay, and exceptional fan service.

Summary

Gonzo from Gonzo's Pinball Flipperama delivers an extensive hands-on review of the Evil Dead pinball machine after receiving an early air-freighted unit to Perth, Australia. He praises the game's stunning artwork by Christopher Franchi, accessible layout and code design, excellent theme integration with Bruce Campbell voice work, and overall package quality, positioning it as Spooky Pinball's second-best game after The Texas Chain Saw Massacre due to its more traditional (less unique) ball path. The review includes extended gameplay demonstrations showcasing multiple modes across both Evil Dead film themes.

Key Claims

Evil Dead pinball was air-freighted to Perth, Australia early due to container shipping delays until end of September/early October
high confidence · Gonzo explains logistics of early acquisition and relationship with Spooky distributor Mark
Christopher Franchi has a rare talent for making artwork look photorealistic while maintaining a personal artistic touch
high confidence · Gonzo's extended commentary on Franchi's artwork style and its integration with color palette and lighting
Evil Dead has a simpler, more traditional/familiar layout compared to Texas Chain Saw Massacre which has more unique ball paths
high confidence · Gonzo explicitly compares layouts: 'Texas Chainsaw has a far more interesting ball path' vs Evil Dead being 'far more familiar kind of fan layout'
Evil Dead features four modes on the left (Evil Dead 1) and four modes on the right (Evil Dead 2)
high confidence · Gonzo describes mode structure and gameplay demonstration shows this organization
Evil Dead is a widebody machine but doesn't feel like one due to design integration
high confidence · Gonzo states 'being a wide body, it it doesn't feel like a wide body at all, which is great'
Spooky includes substantial standard features: art blades, shaker motor, upgraded light kit, upgraded speaker kit, grills, powder coating, little toys/details/molds, color rubbers, color plastics
high confidence · Gonzo lists value-added components included with Evil Dead base package
Evil Dead rates as Spooky's A-tier game, with Texas Chain Saw Massacre as A+
high confidence · Gonzo explicitly states ratings: 'this is probably an A. Texas is probably an A+ because of the unique ball paths'
Bug (Spooky co-owner) said many Evil Dead buyers are not Evil Dead fans
high confidence · Gonzo references recent interview with Bug: 'even Bug said there's a lot of people that have bought this that probably aren't Evil Dead fans'

Notable Quotes

“The artwork is phenomenal. Franchise is just um, a very, very unique artist. Um, and not only a unique artist, but just an incredible human being uh, with a big heart, very approachable, but he has a talent that is very rare.”
Gonzo @ Early review section — High praise for Christopher Franchi's artistic contributions to Evil Dead; establishes him as standout talent in industry
“You can honestly and genuinely tell that this game is built by people that love pinball but love the themes that they're making.”
Gonzo @ Mid-review section — Assessment of Spooky Pinball's design philosophy and genuine passion for their projects
“It is just one of those things where you know for the money especially when you all know Spooky do really good value for money um games like you're talking art blades, shaker motor, upgraded light kit... a lot of things that you get.”
Gonzo @ Value section — Confirms Spooky's value proposition with extensive standard feature list differentiating from competitors
“Texas is probably their best overall game. Um, this is a different game altogether and I think it sits just under Texas. Um, only because of the fact that the playfield is um, pretty standard on Evil Dead.”
Gonzo @ Comparative analysis — Explicit ranking of Spooky's top two games; establishes Evil Dead as tier-2 offering behind Texas Chain Saw
“Even if you're not an Evil Dead fan, I reckon... there's a lot of people that have bought this that probably aren't Evil Dead fans.”
Gonzo @ Theme appeal section — Indicates Evil Dead has cross-appeal beyond core horror franchise fans, suggesting broader market appeal
“I'm not a great player, but I enjoy pinball. That's all that matters.”
Gonzo @ Gameplay section — Establishes reviewer's casual-to-intermediate player status; relevant context for assessing approachability claims
“The ball does survive a lot longer in this game than it would in say King Kong. Um, we won't go there. I'll touch on that in another video.”

Entities

Evil Dead (pinball game)gameGonzopersonChristopher Franchiperson Bugperson Bruce Campbellperson Markperson

Signals

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community_signal: Spooky Pinball actively engaging with content creators; Bug doing interviews with major YouTube channels like Gonzo's Flipperama; suggests strategic media outreach
medium · Gonzo references 'really cool interview with Bug on the channel couple maybe a week ago'; indicates Bug is accessible to press and actively promoting games
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competitive_signal: Evil Dead successfully sold out despite (or because of) more accessible layout, indicating market preference for thematic immersion and casual approachability over mechanical depth
medium · Gonzo notes game sold out 'straight away' and speculates that Texas Chainsaw's more complex layout 'made it more challenging' to appeal to broader market; Evil Dead's 'horror, comedy, cheesy' tone vs Texas's 'horror, gore, real horror' may have contributed
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design_philosophy: Spooky Pinball deliberately prioritizes accessibility and theme immersion over mechanical complexity; Evil Dead's simpler layout compared to Texas Chain Saw represents intentional design choice to broaden appeal
high · Gonzo: 'It is really approachable. It doesn't matter if you're a novice or a young kid or, you know, have been playing this for a long time. The game actually accommodates everybody.' Intentional comparison to Texas's more complex layout
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market_signal: Evil Dead's rapid sellout and strong community response indicates successful product-market fit for accessible, thematically-rich boutique pinball at premium price point
high · Game sold out 'straight away'; even non-Evil Dead fans purchasing; Gonzo rates it A-tier; strong secondary market pricing implied through high demand
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Transcript

youtube_auto_sub · $0.000

0:11

Groovy. So, if you're watching this, you've probably seen our unboxing video. If you haven't seen our unboxing video, go back. But to quickly recap, uh we got this bad boy air freighted into the most isolated city in the world, which is Perth, Australia. And one of the reasons why we did that is they're not due uh the container is not due until the end of September. I believe early October. Now, there's been a delay already. Um, for multiple reasons. A, we can because we're, you know, friends of the channel with Spooky, and we get, you know, I've got a good relationship with Mark, a local distributor. Uh, pulled some strings, asked some favors, got it organized. We organized the shipping. We organized um, obviously the cost of all that. There was no special favors done. And, um, yeah, basically the only favor was that they didn't put our game into the container, so it got picked up. Um, so yeah, here we are. I've had about a week to digest it. Um, and it's it's a lot to take in. Uh, from, you know, obviously the most obvious thing is that the game is stunning. We hopped on about that. Sorry if there's a bit of road noise. I'm in the garage. Um, the artwork is phenomenal. Franchise is just um, a very, very unique artist. Um, and not only a unique artist, but just an incredible human being uh, with a big heart, very approachable, but he has a talent that is very rare. And I think the way that he is able to ultimately take images and really get the nostalgic element, make it look kind of like a photograph, make it look as real as possible. And kind of giving that uh little element of um his, you know, his uh touch. Sorry if there's a bit of noise. You can hear that or not. Um, so the artwork and then when that artwork blends in with the color scheme of the plastics and obviously the light show and everything, it just all complements each other and it just slaps. It is just a a very very awesome combination of his uh expertise and skills along with the light show um and the the color tone and palette is probably one of my favorites in pinball in a very very long time. Uh, and that's not me being a spooky or Frenchy shill, but if it is, whatever. Um, the the layouts and shots really, really approachable. Really, you know, for people that don't play pinball, which I have a few friends that don't, but love the theme, they found it really approachable. Uh, the code really approachable. Um, but with the shots, the interesting part is this. It's a very simple layout. It's kind of really relatable. There's nothing intuitive about it. Um, not trying to be a negative, but you know, Texas Chainsaw has a far more interesting ball path. Um, the ball can do a lot of things. Uh, has four um, four flippers. There's some really cool things happening at the back. Um, and it is probably just a little bit more out there as a layout as opposed to Evil Dead, which is a far more familiar kind of fan layout. Uh, still some cool things happening with obviously uh, the back half of the game, the way the cabin lock is, the dead ice that pop up and the cabin lock and everything. So, by no means is this not a good layout. It's a very just it's a simple traditional layout, I guess. Um, but what the good thing about that is that it is very approachable. It doesn't matter if you're a novice or a young kid or, you know, have been playing this for a long time. The game actually accommodates everybody. So, whether you're you're experienced or not, you can blow it up. You can still have fun with it. It doesn't matter whe whether you're, you know, KAngelo or whether you're me. So, um, yeah, shots. I really, really dig the groovy little flipper, which is in the slings. Um, it's an interesting one because half the time you forget to use it, and there's a light that does trigger, which means there are shots that you can make off that flipper in a particular mode. Um, it it's really satisfying to hit, especially the left orbit with that flipper. So, really, really cool. Lower playfield. I I'm really big fan of lower and upper playfields. Uh, the more kind of real estate you can give me, the better. It's one of my reasons why I really loved Halloween and Ultra Man, cuz of the three the three-level playfields. Um, this playfield is fast, it's quick, if you're not paying attention, it will get you. It's not floaty by any means. Uh, really immerses you in the whole cabin experience when you're down there. Um, so really, really cool. Um, and again, you know, just the the color palette and everything down there is slaps. It is really really um look I'm kind of for me I always be careful cuz I don't want to sound like a shill but this is you know it's an extremely captivating experience. Um this game has an element of push start push start pushed start again and again and again and again. Um and you know for me I wasn't even that I'm not even that much of a horror fan. Like I I I'll watch them cuz you know the pop culture and everything. And uh I actually watched the film again the other week before the game arrived. I hadn't seen it since well probably end of high school I guess. Um and I I implore everyone to go watch it again because as a 40-year-old person you kind of uh take a different look at the movie now and you kind of appreciate a lot of things that maybe we didn't understand when I was 16 or something. So, you know, the watching and especially if you're a fan of the films and you're hearing the call outs and you're hearing Bruce Campbell and there are things there that are just, you know, pulling you into the um theme integration which is just phenomenal on this thing. Um for a fan of Evil Dead, you're just in heaven. You're absolutely in heaven. Um and that's where like even with the code, so the code, there are four modes on the left, four modes on the right. That's the first film and second film. um you know the the modes are there for people that want to blow it up can especially the really good players but for the novice players and the people that don't really play pinball it is really approachable. It talks to you. It tells you what you need to do. Um they're not overly complicated and if you've got good Linda or bad Linda, which is the scoop. If it's good Linda, it's harder and there's um it's easier and there's lower scoring. And if it's bad Linder, it's harder and there's harder scoring. Um, but one thing about the modes is they're really fun and unique, especially when you smack the captive ball and you get the insanity mode, which is mirror mirror, and where all the mechs in the game are going nuts basically, and you have to hit those mechs to silence them, you know, stuff like that. Um, you know, it is it is approachable, it is familiar, but at the same time, it is different and it's unique and it's it can kick your butt. Um the ball does survive a lot longer in this game than it would in say King Kong. Um we won't go there. I'll touch on that in another video. But um you know very rarely do you get you know the outlanes destroying you in this. It's the center post really helps. Um and you know it keeps you it keeps you in the in the experience a bit longer. Um I do like the fact that um the modes are kind of user friendly. you know, you you may drain a ball and you've still completed the mode uh cuz you you've hit enough shots. Um, so like it is just one of those things where you know for the money especially when you all know Spooky do really good value for money um games like you're talking art blades, shaker motor, upgraded light kit, uh upgraded speaker kit, light kit, um grills, uh powder coating, uh art blade, shaker motor, little toys, little details, little molds, color rubbers, uh color plastics, I think I said. Uh so, you know, there are a lot of things that you get. Uh you can honestly and genuinely tell that this game is built by people that love pinball but love the themes that they're making. Uh if you haven't seen, I did a really cool interview with Bug on the channel couple maybe a week ago by the time you see this. Um, and yeah, it's, you know, really, really obvious that these guys wear their heart and their sleeves and live and breathe pinball and horror. So, uh, which is interesting. Um, yeah, look, I think one of the things for me is that being a wide body, it it doesn't feel like a wide body at all, which is great. Um, it just feels like a normal, you know, a normal game. And with the extra kind of space, I guess, and it doesn't impact the game at all. Um the double shooter lane's fantastic for when you got to do your um uh your shots in the particular mode, the boomstick as they call it. But you know, again, it's a total package of callouts, artwork, uh theme integration, um modes, you know, in relation to what possibly makes this Spooky's best game. And I think it's why um people lined up and sold out straight away with Texas. Uh in theory, because of the fact that it is a more unique ballpath layout, it technically should be the better game, right? But I think maybe that that made it more challenging and probably the theme, this is horror, but it's horror, comedy, cheesy, whereas Texas is horror, gore, real horror. So that may be as well. But I do think there's elements of maybe the dual theme and possibly the type of film, but maybe the fact that people struggled with the layout because it is a little bit more out there. Um, it doesn't I'm a very novice player and it doesn't kick my ass. It is challenging at first. You dial those in. Everything at the back kind of the scoops and everything are a little bit challenging, but once you've dialed them in, you know they're there. So, um, yeah, I I'm always always tell people play Texas because Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a in my opinion probably their best overall game. Um, this is a different game altogether and I think it sits just under Texas. Um, only because of the fact that the playfield is um, pretty standard on Evil Dead. It's just essentially a really captivating fan layout. And I know most people go, "Yeah, but most games are fan layout." And that's true, but the fact is is that there's no unique ball paths on this like Texas has or like King Kong has or like X-Men had, right? So, it's probably far more uh it's less distracting for people that are playing it that are just enjoying it and going through the modes and taking the experience in. So that probably makes it more approachable and makes people kind of go I want this because it every every box is pretty straightforward. Um and and as an overall package it's probably an A. Texas is probably an A+ because of the unique ball paths and the same thing you you know beautiful game theme integration's on point. Um, and you know with um, ironically I tell people with Texas you could have Texas and Looney Tune Looney Tunes next to each other and a lot of people don't even realize that it's the same layout. So uh, very very unique game but you know we're here to talk about Evil Dead. We're going to do some gameplay. Um, and I'm just going to make sure because I there was so many things I wanted to cover. I was make sure I didn't miss anything. So theme integration. We spoke about total immersion, right? uh built for the fans. Even if you're not an Evil Dead fan, I reckon and even Bug said there's a lot of people that have bought this that probably aren't Evil Dead fans. Um so yeah, uh the multiballs are really cool. We spoke about that. Code and rules, we spoke about that. Artwork, French killed it. Uh and that really complements the theme integration, the color palette, the light show, the the colors of the actual plastics and the rubbers. So awesome. the shots, the layout, we spoke about sound and call outs. You know, Bruce Campbell did an amazing job and there is an abundance of call outs on this game, right? Like ridiculous amount. I don't think Bug couldn't even tell me how many there were. So, so many um but yeah, I think you know some people will call this um their best game because of the fan service it's done and it's because it's ticking every box. So, let's um yeah, let's uh take the camera off and we've done a tour on the other one, but um we'll basically uh play some games and show you how bad we are at pinball. So, let's have a look. All right, let's have a game.

Evil Dead features a 'groovy flipper' in the slings with special shots available in particular modes

high confidence · Gonzo describes the sling flipper mechanic and its integration into gameplay

Evil Dead has an 'insanity mode' called 'mirror mirror' where all mechs go crazy and must be silenced by hitting them

high confidence · Gameplay demonstration shows this mode in action with multiple mechanics activating simultaneously

Gonzo @ Gameplay mechanics section — Implicit criticism of King Kong's ball retention; hints at upcoming video addressing King Kong issues

“It is really approachable. It doesn't matter if you're a novice or a young kid or, you know, have been playing this for a long time. The game actually accommodates everybody.”

Gonzo @ Layout discussion — Key assessment of Evil Dead's inclusive design philosophy; supports positioning as accessible game

“The call outs are fantastic... ridiculous amount. I don't think Bug couldn't even tell me how many there were.”

Gonzo @ Gameplay section — Indicates extensive Bruce Campbell voice work and audio callout library; suggests professional production quality

“For a fan of Evil Dead, you're just in heaven. You're absolutely in heaven.”

Gonzo @ Theme integration section — Strongest endorsement of theme execution; indicates exceptional fan service for franchise aficionados

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (pinball)game

King Kong (pinball)game

Perth, Australiaevent

Gonzo's Pinball Flipperamaorganization

Evil Dead 1 (film)product

Evil Dead 2 (film)product

IFPA/Tournament Sceneorganization

personnel_signal: Christopher Franchi emerging as signature artist at Spooky Pinball with distinctive photorealistic style; recognized as rare talent shaping brand identity

high · Gonzo dedicates significant time to praising Franchi specifically; describes him as unique artist and 'incredible human being'; indicates artwork is key differentiator for Spooky games

product_strategy: Spooky Pinball's value proposition includes comprehensive standard features (upgraded speakers, light kits, shaker motor, color rubbers, art blades, powder coating) positioning them as higher-value alternative to competitor three-tier models

high · Gonzo lists extensive included components and notes 'Spooky do really good value for money' games; suggests differentiation through feature inclusion rather than tiered pricing

product_concern: Implicit critique of King Kong's game design through comparison; Gonzo notes better ball retention on Evil Dead and hints at dedicated video addressing King Kong issues

medium · Quote: 'The ball does survive a lot longer in this game than it would in say King Kong. Um, we won't go there. I'll touch on that in another video.'

product_concern: Evil Dead demonstrates significant quality leap for Spooky Pinball with Christopher Franchi artwork, Christopher Franchi's artwork, integrated light show, and mechanical toy implementation creating cohesive high-end package

high · Gonzo's extended praise of artwork quality, seamless integration with color palette/lighting/mechanics, comparison to recent competitor releases (King Kong mentioned negatively for ball retention)

sentiment_shift: Evil Dead gaining significant community enthusiasm despite (or because of) its accessible/traditional layout, contrasting with potential expectation that mechanical complexity drives appeal

medium · Game sold out immediately; Gonzo notes some people rank it as Spooky's best due to 'fan service' and 'ticking every box'; accessibility appears to be feature rather than limitation

licensing_signal: Evil Dead film IP licensing includes extensive Bruce Campbell voice work with estimated 'ridiculous amount' of callouts; suggests comprehensive audio production investment

high · Gonzo repeatedly praises abundance of Bruce Campbell callouts; notes Bug 'couldn't even tell me how many there were'; indicates professional production quality and IP partnership depth