Thank you Zen Studios for sending us a review code!

The science-fiction movie Pacific Rim came out in 2013 and did well enough to warrant a sequel.  Instead of aliens attacking from outer space, they come up from under the ocean and put all of humanity in danger.  The only way humans have a chance against these gigantic aliens (kaijus) is to fight against them with equally-sized mechs called jaegers. Given the size and complexity of the jaegers they need two compatible humans to pilot them by linking their brains together via a neural link.  

At first glance, you’ll notice that this table has a giant jaeger named Gipsy Danger in the center of it.  If you shoot the ball into the surrounding water, the jaeger will pull it out and shoot it back into play towards your flippers.  Be ready!  Like many other Pinball FX tables there’s a skill shot bonus for launching the ball with the proper amount of force.  There is also a ball save feature that is active for the first minute or two of the game so you can get a free retry if you lose your ball right away.  

The first order of business in this table is to establish the neural handshake between Raleigh and Mako by going through the handshake lane twice.  Once the neural link is established, you can maintain the neural connection by shooting the ball into the left and right lanes in an alternating pattern.  There are bomb lanes that can be used to draw out the leatherback Kaiju and you’ll have to hit it four times to kill it.  

To get to the bumpers you’ll have to get the ball through the Kaiju lane.  The longer your ball is in the bumper area, the more knowledge you’ll gain about the kaijus.  Your ultimate goal is to close the breach before the timer runs out.   

Multiball is available after completing the Cancelling the Apocalypse minigame.  In Cancelling the Apocalypse, Gipsy Danger must use its sword to take down a category 5 kaiju.  After the alien threat is neutralized, a sixty-second countdown is initiated as the jaeger is preparing to overload its reactor.  The pinballs can be sent to the Core lane to lock them in.  
   
Like other Pinball FX tables, you can play three different game modes. The Classic Mode gives you three balls and the ability to save your progress if needed. For an added challenge you can limit yourself to one ball, 200 flips, distance, or three hundred seconds. Arcade has all of the same options as Classic but with power-ups like score boost, slow motion, ball save, and bumper bonus. Hotseat is the local multiplayer mode that lets you swap turns between a maximum of four players. Whoever ends with the highest score wins.

Pinball FX - Pacific Rim Pinball runs well on the Steam Deck. However, saving your name in the leaderboard is a little clunky with the onscreen keyboard. Since the onscreen keyboard covers the entire screen, minimize it to double check your spelling before pressing enter when submitting your name to the leaderboard! 

Morally, there is little to complain about in Pinball FX - Pacific Rim Pinball.  I don’t recall hearing any language.  Violence against is carried out against the kaijus by hitting the aliens with a giant pinball.  There is no blood, but they do get knocked over.  Gipsy Danger takes a beating and may lose a limb or two.

If you enjoy pinball games and liked the Pacific Rim movies, Pinball FX - Pacific Rim Pinball is worth adding to your Steam Wishlist.  The normal asking price is $5.49 which is fair, but these tables often go on sale and are worth picking up then.