Demons and pinball are a perfect match

There’s a very specific reason why I keep a Wii U around, and that’s so I can easily play the classic pinball game. The devil’s crush. Over the years, it has become a comfort game for me. I’m not entirely sure what it is, but there’s something about the combination of familiar pinball gameplay and demonic imagery that works so well together and allows me to lose myself in the chase for a high score. But now I have something else to fill that need, and it comes in a much smaller package.

Devils on the Moon Pinball because the Playdate has an extremely literal title. It’s a pinball game on the moon, which is home to a bunch of little devils. There’s only one pinball machine, but there are three different levels, and everything is designed around occult and astrological themes. On top of that, you can unlock various one-time challenges on smaller boards, like having to tap every pin on the screen before time runs out.

There are two great things about Devils on the Moon Pinball. The first is that it works at all. The developers at Amano have managed to integrate a physics simulation that looks at least somewhat realistic on the tiny Playdate, and it’s just great to play. You get the thrill of throwing the ball, the chaos of watching it bounce across a complex playing field, and the ability to push the ball to help you aim your shots. just SO. And, at least in my experience, it all happens without any detectable slowdown, which can be a real buzzkill in a pinball game. It was really fun to see the Playdate developers push the device to its limits, and Devils on the Moon is the last example. (If you’re curious how they did this, the team has written a series of highly technical dev blogs.)

This technical wizardry brings us to the second great advantage of the game: it has so much personality. The pinball table is covered with animated little men; there is a smiling moon at the middle level which highlights Majora’s Mask to shame, and mischievous demons everywhere react to your performance either by laughing at you or giving you a helping hand. I especially like the feline blobs that can keep a ball from getting lost. And like the best digital versions of pinball, the board changes regularly depending on how you play, opening up new avenues to score points and, more importantly, new little guys to find. There’s even an in-game grimoire that tracks all the devils you’ve captured.

There’s an unwritten rule, at least in my mind, that every handheld needs at least one really solid pinball game. These are the kind of games you can play to kill a few minutes, or really get lost in when chasing a high score, making them ideal for a portable device. The Game Boy had Pokémon Pinball And Kirby Land of pinballwhile the Nintendo DS had Metroid Prime Pinball. Now the Playdate has Devils on the moon pinball machine, and I can finally put my Wii U away.