Spend 5 minutes hitting band members, keep pushing the action button to choose the same 6 patches you always use, try and get all four of the different 2 ball multi-balls going, start a song with six balls in play, when the ball saver ends try not to drain, lose your 30 million jackpot when you drain, cry, skip the song wizard mode because there's no value in them, rinse and repeat, sell or trade it.

You'll get more reliable reviews from those that played a lot but don't necessarily own. Many owners are hyping them up and some of them are dumping after the hype, as to keep resale value high.

But you're right... many are crying about the playfields because they stink. So if you're looking to buy, ask yourself if you can overlook those issues. Because you'll most likely have them.

I owned it, played about 500 games and moved on after 6 months. Had fun for sure but just didn't gel with me after a while. It's definitely a cool game worth checking out! The songs / light show are a blast and worth the price of admission. And don't let pooling/chipping discourage you, that has happened on at least half of my newer games.... I'd rather have new games with pooling vs. no new games!

.....

Wat

I am someone who ended up cancelling their pre-order for an LE. I thought it looked awesome and I’m a big fan of GNR music. The problem was that once I got on location and actually played it, the game just wasn’t any fun to me. I have probably only played about 20 games but I didn’t find it enjoyable, plus there there numerous issues I ran into across the two locations I played.

For what it’s worth, I thought this would be a game that non-pinball fans would gravitate to, but that didn’t seem to be the case for me either. For reference, I played a bunch at the boxcar location in Raleigh, NC, and this always seemed to be the least used game. There were always people waiting to play things like R&M, AIQ, or AFM, but nobody seemed to care about GNR. This is just my experience from the times I played so I’m not claiming that is always the case. Additionally, so people don’t get upset, I’m not saying this is a bad game because it may be the perfect pin for some people. I just happened to not enjoy it at all.

A few months ago, I met up with a buddy at 1UP in Denver to play some pinball. I spotted an LE, first one I had seen, and yes it is a beautiful machine for sure. My buddy isn't into playing pinball as much as most here, so I explained to him how this game is the latest and greatest and the deserving winner of numerous awards and that I was excited to play it. We put our money in and got a couple games in. We got some songs in and had the general idea of how to play the game, but after those couple games we were pretty much done with it. My buddy asked about the Black Knight Pro down the line, to which I replied it can be a ball buster but we can have a go. Well we put in a couple bucks and played a two player game, and ended up having so much fun that we stayed on that machine for quite a while, spending cash and having a blast. It was then I abandoned my plans to get a Stranger Things and ended up purchasing a BKSOR Pro. Right after playing the GOTY. A game can be beautiful, but in this case for me, it did not translate to wanting to play it again.

Wonka remains my favorite JJP to play. Fantastic game.

I've now put a fair amount of time in on the SE version. The light show and display are beautiful for sure. Game play is ok. Flippers suffer from the usual JJP softness especially after a few multiballs (which seem to come out of nowhere). One of my biggest gripes with the game is that for a music pin there's not much music in it. before you get a song started all you get are pops , squeaks, riffs and occasional meaningless callouts. When you finally do get a song started its one of the better "moments" in pinball, but playing the song modes all seem the same and a little too easy for my taste. The one toy in the game (spinning disc) is lame. In short its Hobbit 2.0, one of the prettiest games to look at but one that i don't really care to play much. As a collector of music pins I really wanted to like the game too. Maybe once i get some time in on an LE my opinion may change.

Here is my review for the game:

The lightshow, effects and choreography are amazing.

The Gameplay is solid and good. Only collecting the band members repeats itself quickly... this is my only complaint.

The more I play , the more I immerse myself in the possibilities and the rules.
The shots take some getting used to, but as soon as you know exactly how to take them, it's pure fun.

I think not everyone has understood the four additional multi-balls exactly and how they work or what they are good for exactly - I feel the same way...
Here you probably have to familiarize yourself with the rulesheet first

But.... this game ist accessible for every one and really catches with the risk and reward system and the strategie you can build up for every single song.
The patches are a cool idea but not so easy to understand how to get and use them.

All in all GNR can be fun and challenging - and for me it has this one more game feeling.

I have no problem with flipperfading - but you have to get used to the "softness" of the JJP-Flippers. Btw. I had the feeling WOZ was more poweful.
But I'm fine with it. It plays great and it's fun to shoot.