I played about 10 games at Tilt on Sunday (that ball stuck by the blue robot was thanks to me!) and was waiting all weekend to get there right at opening to make sure I could get some time on it.
This was the game that ALMOST got me buy NIB without playing one. In the late 90's, I was hired by WB in high school to be a costumed Scooby for Mall-oween promotion of that Zombie Island movie. I have a Scooby and Shaggy costume that we break out when we need funny Halloween costumes in a pinch. I have massive love for Scooby and the gang. All that to say (massive grain of salt)...
This game felt like WORK. Shots were easy enough to hit without being gimmes but still needing some aim. I got to start quite a few different cases (liked the intro videos!) and don't think I completed one? Hit those horseshoes over and over to collect clues or go up to get some more air on the upper playfield over and over. I'm probably an average player, but I was just chopping wood, hardly ever getting anywhere. On my last game, I finally locked ONE ball for mystery machine multiball. ONE BALL on at least a 10-12 minute game and had no idea how I finally qualified a lock. I tried staying up in the upper playfield and wailing away at all the lit Cutler shots and never started that multiball either.
Balls would land on the apron dongs and slowly squirt back to the flippers. I'm sure I'm missing knowledge and learning the rules would make things more likely to happen. It was mostly just hit some shots until I was told to head to the Mystery Machine to start a case, I'd start a case, and then just fart around hitting whatever was lit, hoping to finish it. It wasn't fun or exciting to get more clues. The music didn't ramp up, I never really knew if I was close unless I peaked and saw 5/6 clues on the screen.
That upper playfield is SLOW. It's almost like playing pinball in water (which maybe works for Cutler up there?) Lean into it and put some effects to change the music to sound distorted like you're listening under water or something kooky because I don't think that will change unless you juice up those flippers. Loved the bookshelf catching the ball option.
I never knew why I needed to go for the double drop target rows. I liked the drop ball saver feature. That will be a hit with family and friends.
You just keep hearing that same background song over and over. No variations of it. Even Munsters has a different spin on that same stupid theme for each ball so you don't feel like you're going insane. Could each character have their own theme or spin of that "looking for clues" slow theme plays? Something?
This is a family friendly kids theme. It's a party game with FIVE CHARACTERS. I'd be very into a game like this in my house. But maybe not this game. I know we all want depth and challenge and modes for days so we never tire of these games (like I'm tired of Munsters). But there's no progressive challenge to the game so friends, family, and KIDS can see and do some fun stuff. I watched multiple kids walk up and play many games because it's bright eye candy. Didn't look like they were having much fun, or laughing, or telling their dads what happened. Because nothing happened. Just that slow "dun dun dunnnnnnnn, da da da da da dunnnnnn" over and over with some callouts thrown in (I do love those!)
Could there be some tiered-level of difficulty modes, where the first one or two cases are noob friendly and you can actually clear through them, maybe fumble into a multiball so people can hear that classic Scooby Doo theme song (which will eventually drive the good players nuts like Blue Oyster Cult on Godzilla does)? Maybe your first mystery is one of two or three easier ones to get through and you can be rewarded with a fun multiball, then things get progressively harder? You got tons of villains on there, no one is angry on Godzilla you start with picking out of the same 4 battles every time. Maybe Scooby is the easier mode character to start since we know that's who kids will want to be and Velma and Fred are harder because they're the bravest and smartest?
Another ball fell off the right side of the upper playfield and got stuck up and inside the Mystery Machine behind a wire (where I saw ANOTHER ball already stuck there from a previous player!) so there is definitely some need to add more plastics, don't make owners and modders create stuff to do your work.
It looks like I'm dumping on this game. And maybe I am. I just felt "whelmed" playing it. I'm still hopeful that this will be a great game and be a boon for Spooky after the Halloween Ultraman poopsplosion. I left Tilt not feeling a big desire to play that game again anytime soon until the code changes a bunch. I wanted to keep playing it to give it another shot, like maybe I'm missing something. But it was never all that fun.
Spooky is a small town hero gone big time. They're not the underdogs anymore as much as apologists will make us think that. I'm ready to see them step up and make this a fast, funny, great time that we know it can be. I will have faith they are far from done on this game.