Have been waiting some time to play Barrels of Fun’s first pinball effort Labyrinth. It was at the 2024 Northwest Pinball Show, only one machine and had nearly constant lines, so decided to wait until seeing it on location somewhere else.
On our last trip to Next Level Pinball & Arcade in Hillsboro, noticed that next to Pulp Fiction they had a shiny, new Labyrinth. Was able to play a few games and had some immediate first thoughts, which will be shared below.
First, oh my, that topper! I mean, in person it’s even cooler than it looks in videos. I shot one and shared to our PGM Tiktok account, but since the heads aren’t moving, it’s not as exciting.
LIKE – Theme
Although I’ve never really been a fan of the Labyrinth movie (see: Bought, Watched Labyrinth (1986) movie directed by Jim Henson starring and including music by David Bowie + Real and Virtual Labyrinth Pinball), I do like how it fits pinball. In general, mystical, magical realms fit as pinball themes. David Bowie? I like him as an artist, but not what he did in this movie.
Like – Playfield Design, Mechs & Toys
There is a lot going on within the Labyrinth playfield. Some might say it’s too busy with stuff, but when playing I never got the sense there were too many objects in the way and/or that it was crowded. There are some clever and smooth shots into pathways that lock balls, find hidden characters and much more.
MIXED – Translite, Side and Playfield Artwork
The translite in person is good, but not great. It reminds me of movie poster art, for some reason. The playfield art, is a bit mixed to look at as well. Maybe it’s the dullness of the colors used, I don’t know, but it doesn’t really pop like several other modern pinball machines, take John Wick, Jaws, heck, Spooky’s Looney Tunes is orange x 1000. The artwork on Labyrinth is maybe a bit too subtle for my liking. This is very subjective and I realize some might prefer it that way. Me? Just want some more mixes of color in there.
The art itself, however, the drawings are solid and well done.
MIXED – Plunger / Skill Shots
I do like that there is a plunger, but found there not to be much direction as to opening skill shots. I did get one, but it was a bit vague as to what I needed to do.
LIKE – Gameplay Flow
There are multiple pleasurable shots, particularly the outer lanes, the left to lock a ball, although the flipper strength seemed a bit suspect at times, leading me to not get all the way to the top. What is it with companies other than Stern being able to nail the power of flippers? It’s possible this was a setting by operator that wasn’t dialed in, but these flippers felt a bit like older JJP, not Elton John (that has the best flipper feel of any JJP).
DISLIKE – low to medium level scoring
This modern game needs higher scoring. I mean really, really needs. It’s not as low scoring as Stern’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but it feels like a billion will take an eternity to achieve, if that’s even possible. With RPG-style leveling, this game should be scoring higher than it does. I don’t like the Labyrinth scoring. Could this be improved and/or increased through code updates? Yes. Hope they make this higher scoring.
*MIXED – LCD movie assets and callouts
Maybe I was too busy playing, but didn’t notice as many video and callouts as there should have been in this game. I’m comparing every movie in my first thoughts to the level of interaction in Stern’s Jaws. If callouts don’t meet or exceed that, it will get a thumbs down from me. Here, there are so many different movie scenes that could be included and even this really cool screen on the back of the playfield … and yet, I don’t remember seeing very many movie clips. Maybe, they are there and I spent too much time focusing on the ball.
As for callouts? Who are the hidden characters? When are they hiding? Why? These are things I’m expecting the callouts to help guide the way and yet, no.
LIKED – Music/sounds
The sounds are good in this, with speaker quality acceptable to good. Music is not blaring, but not missing in action like some pins. Nothing here really blew me away sound-wise, but I heard music and sounds and at decent levels.
MIXED – Lighting
The lighting is decent, but definitely not up to the level of a JJP or even Pulp Fiction. In fact, Labyrinth felt a bit uninspired in the lighting department, kind of like most Stern’s. The lighting isn’t bad, but isn’t as good as it could be.
DISLIKE – Additional Game/Video Modes
Didn’t encounter any mini-modes or video modes, unfortunately. Maybe they do exist, but didn’t see any. Hoping there are some in here. Let me know in the comments if there are any and what you think of them, if they do exist. For now, however, leaving this “dislike” because I’m thinking of several great video modes this could include.
DISLIKE – Released with Incomplete Connected / Social Features
Barrels of Fun needs Scorbit at least. They don’t have any connected features that I could tell. No shared global leaderboards, no pictures like JJP with actors that you can share to your socials. Well, nothing. Missed opportunity.
DISLIKE – Pricing
On one hand, they put a lot of stuff into Labyrinth and it doesn’t feel cheap as far as what’s in the package, but it’s priced between a Stern Premium and LE. No, no, no.
Really, without the cool topper, it’s still $10,600 USD. That’s around $3k more than it should be IMO. They aren’t an established pinball company like Stern. They are, dare I say, at Spooky’s level. Maybe somewhere between Spooky and Chicago Gaming company, but charging like they are some kind of hybrid of Stern and JJP. Not deserved. Too expensive.
LIKE to MIXED – Overall early feelings – Would like to play more
Grade: B-
Am somewhere above mixed to like after playing this one. Definitely want to play more, but my buying decision is pretty much over: I wouldn’t want, in the current condition and NIB pricing to buy and own a Labyrinth at home. Would like to play it on location. I might change my mind about owning someday if the price fell several thousands and the machine was in great condition (and we hear about how reliable these prove to be). The game has a “just one more game” feel to it, which is a huge plus, but there are areas of improvement that hopefully will be addressed in Barrels of Fun next pinball, if not too late to fix with code in this one.
Nice Review Todd. I have only got to play one game on the machine so don’t really have an opinion.
I haven’t played enough jersey hack, spooky or barrels of fun games but for the one’s I have they just don’t feel the same as a stern. Modern stern games are much more enjoyable than anything from the other manufacturers in my opinion.
Hi Todd!
Love the detailed review! Some many dislike in many catagories, they need to hire better table designers and address many of the issues. Hopefully, some code improvements and a big price drop will get Labyrinth into more arcades.