Thank you Zen Studios for providing us with a review code for this table!

In the 80s and 90s, Elvira was a popular, seductively-dressed, vampire-themed horror hostess that would add sexualized commentary to B-horror movies and science fiction films. Two films were spawned from the series, and a comeback show came out in 2010-2011. Elvira made more appearances in 2014 and was in the 40th anniversary special that aired in 2021.

At the height of Elvira’s popularity, Williams released the pinball table Elvira and The Party Monsters in 1989. You can play the table in its original (but digitized!) design or the Zen Studios enhanced version that has various animation and special effects. Along with bats flying out of the bumpers, you’ll also be treated to a swimsuit-clad Elvira lounging in a cauldron on the lower left-hand side of the table. She’ll throw a hissy fit and slap the water whenever you lose a ball.

Losing a ball is easier to do in this table compared to other Zen Studio offerings. The physics cause the ball to go straight between the flippers right after launch. There’s nothing a player can do to avoid this fate. Not surprisingly, there are multiple negative Steam reviews about this.

This table supports extra balls that can be obtained by getting several balls up the right ramp, which is referred to as the Party Punch Ramp. On the bottom of the table near the flippers is Elvira’s name. You can illuminate each letter of her name by sending the ball up the left ramp known as the Monster Slide. You’ll earn a million points for lighting up her name. Multiballs are also possible in this table.

Like other Pinball FX tables, you can play three different game modes. The Classic Mode gives you three balls and the ability to save your progress if needed. For an added challenge you can limit yourself to one ball, 200 flips, distance, or three hundred seconds. Arcade has all of the same options as Classic but with power-ups like score boost, slow motion, ball save, and bumper bonus. Hotseat is the local multiplayer mode that lets you swap turns between a maximum of four players. Whoever ends with the highest score wins.

Pinball FX - Williams™ Pinball: Elvira and The Party Monsters runs well on the Steam Deck. However, saving your name in the leaderboard is a little clunky with the onscreen keyboard. Since the onscreen keyboard covers the entire screen, minimize it to double check your spelling before pressing enter when submitting your name to the leaderboard! The Steam Deck’s rumble doesn’t do this game justice. I highly recommend playing with a controller that supports rumble feedback.

Pinball FX - Williams™ Pinball: Elvira and The Party Monsters has some appropriateness issues not present in other pinball tables we have reviewed. Elvira is known for showing off her cleavage, and her assets are prominently displayed here. The sound clips seem to be authentic to those in the original table from 1989, and there are some sexual innuendos here. There are references to the undead, which is not surprising given the horror-movie theme.

The asking price for this table is $9.99, which is rather expensive compared to previously released DLC. I have seen it on sale for $6.99. Even that price is more than other tables sell for individually. I would only recommend picking up this DLC if you’re an Elvira fan.