This is Chicago Gaming’s officially licensed remake of Monster Bash, returning George Gomez’s beloved 1998 Williams classic to production with modern touches like a large color DMD and an enhanced sound system. The premise is pure joy: the Universal monsters — Dracula, Frankenstein, the Wolf Man, the Mummy, the Bride, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon — have put down their torches and picked up instruments to form a band, and your job is to get them all to rock.

The gameplay is as charming as the concept. You wake and engage each of the six monsters, collecting their instruments along the way, and starting all six lights the Monster Bash mini-wizard mode at the scoop. The ultimate goal is Monsters of Rock, the show-stopping wizard mode reached by collecting every instrument. Frankenstein is your gateway to multiball — bash him and hit the ramp — and the savvy play is to layer other monsters onto Frank to freeze their timers while you gather instruments. Six shots to the center spinner light Mosh Pit Multiball, where the spinner can add two more balls.

There’s clever depth throughout, from the scoop’s occasional smart bombs (hit the launch button during modes for free monster hits) to the double hits awarded for bashing Dracula while he’s moving, to the “Phantom Flip” feature where the game flips for you. Funny, fast, and bursting with monster-movie affection, the Monster Bash Remake lets a new generation own one of the most universally adored machines ever made — a graveyard smash that still brings the house down.