Stern's Transformers G1 pinball machine is nostalgic, approachable, and a lot of fun

Stern Pinball is following up its Pokemon machine with another licensed table — Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye. Both the Pro and Premium models were on the floor at IGN Live and Summer Games Fest, and the verdict is that it's a genuinely fun machine with a strong grip on G1 nostalgia.

The Premium model adds more plastic-molded toys and a couple of interactive shots the Pro skips, but both share the same core experience: newly recorded callouts from the original cartoon voice cast, classic G1 animation clips on an HD monitor, and 80s-styled art and sculpted toys throughout. The ruleset is deliberately approachable — multiball starts with a center shot that loads pinballs into Soundwave's cassette deck belly on the Premium, then dumps them when you lock three balls. Modes kick off just as cleanly: knock down three drop targets at the back, hit a large hole, and you're in. One standout mode forces you to choose between hitting only red or only purple flashing shots, with the Autobots or Decepticons "winning" based on your choice — and that outcome carries persistent effects through the rest of the game. There's also an upper right flipper that sees more use than is typical for that position on a pinball table.

It's worth noting the build played was pre-release code. Modern pinball machines receive code updates for months or years after launch, so think of it as early access — the bones are clearly there, but some areas like the upper flipper zone feel like they have room to grow.

Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye is available to preorder now, which typically means tables start hitting arcades within weeks. Stern has another winner here, though it doesn't yet have anything quite as distinctive as Pokemon's collect-em-all hook.