Stern’s Iron Man is a famously fast, punishing little machine, and this Vault Edition is a 2014 re-release that brought the 2010 original back into production for a new wave of players. It’s a stripped-down, no-mercy brawler in the best sense — light on sprawling rules, heavy on speed and danger — anchored by a motorized Iron Monger figure that rises menacingly from beneath the playfield to be bashed into submission.

The game is built around three multiballs, each with its own route: shoot the spinners and then bash the Iron Monger toy for Iron Monger Multiball, hit Whiplash five times for his multiball, and knock down eight drones before striking War Machine for that one. War Machine will layer onto another multiball provided you start it first, and during it there’s unlimited add-a-ball for twenty seconds at the kicker — a window for huge scoring. The marquee chase is Do or Die, a 35-million hurry-up unlocked after completing the fast-scoring modes, all three multiballs, and the drones.

Sharp players prep each mode to within a shot or two of starting before launching anything, making the climb to Do or Die far smoother, and they hit the Iron Monger from the sides to dodge his magnetic interference. Brutal, brisk, and endlessly re-playable, the Iron Man Vault Edition is a cult favorite — a short, sharp shock of a machine that dares you to survive long enough to cash in.