Shrek was released by Stern Pinball in 2008 and was designed by legendary pinball designer Pat Lawlor, with software and rules by Lonnie Ropp and Mike Kyzivat. The game takes its theme from the Shrek films and fills the playfield with familiar characters including Shrek, Princess Fiona, Donkey, Puss in Boots and Gingy. The colourful John Youssi artwork, character models, speech and dot-matrix animations give it a very different feel from many Stern games of the period, with plenty of humour running throughout the game.

The feature that immediately stands out is Donkey's Mini-Pinball in the top-right of the playfield. Rather than simply being another ramp or target, this is a genuine miniature pinball game with its own tiny ball and flippers. Players first work towards spelling P-I-N-B-A-L-L by hitting the two captive balls, then shoot Shrek's Swamp scoop to start Donkey Pinball. Your normal flipper buttons then control the miniature flippers as you attempt to make shots and spell the names of the different Shrek characters. Complete them all and you can progress towards Donkey Multiball.

There is plenty happening on the main playfield as well. The right orbit spinner can be used to light Shrek's Swamp, where the game's themed modes can be started, while a bank of four drop targets advances towards multiball. Puss in Boots guards another important shot, where hitting his target lowers the Castle Guard and allows you to collect Castle Guard awards. Collect all five and you can start Repay Your Debt, giving players several different objectives to work on rather than simply concentrating on one repetitive shot.

One of the more entertaining toys is the Magic Mirror featuring Prince Charming, positioned prominently in the centre of the playfield and designed to take direct hits from the ball. There is also a Pinocchio drop target which raises a ball-save post when hit, while repeated shots to the left ramp can light an extra ball. Shrek combines these individual features with multiple multiball opportunities, and many of its features can be combined or stacked, giving experienced players the opportunity to build much larger scoring opportunities.

Interestingly, Shrek shares its basic playfield layout with Stern's Family Guy, but it is far more than simply the same machine with different cabinet artwork. Stern gave Shrek completely new artwork, sounds, animations, rules and themed playfield toys, turning the familiar layout into its own game. It is approachable enough that a new player can enjoy hitting characters and discovering features straight away, while the modes, multiballs and Donkey mini-playfield give experienced players much more to work towards.

For us, the real appeal of Shrek is how much physical pinball there is to discover. Captive balls, drop targets, ramps, the Magic Mirror, character toys and especially that miniature Donkey playfield make it a machine where things are constantly happening under the glass. It is funny, colourful and immediately recognisable, but underneath the theme is a proper Pat Lawlor game with plenty of objectives to learn and shots to master and that makes it a great addition to the machines available to play at Skillshot.