There are no perks of being a wallflower in online gambling – software developers get one shot at reaching out to their players and convincing them that a particular slot is worth playing. Every once in a while, a fairly decent game slips through the cracks and ends up collecting dust on some “forgotten-slots” shelf, waiting for someone to pick it up.
So, here’s a thought – if you have tried pretty much every iconic game that was launched in the past 5 years and think that you can no longer be surprised, prove yourself wrong by test playing some of the slots listed below. It’s likely that you have already come across most (or all) of them and decided to dismiss them for some reason – be it the theme, lack of reviews and background knowledge about the developer or an inadequate promotion. While you are being too busy reaching for the stars and searching for an ideal slot, here are some of the things you may be missing…
Mermaid’s Diamonds by Play’n GO
Theme: Marine fantasy with all the fish you can eat
Bonuses:
- Trident Wilds feature with extra Wild symbols being added to 1 or 2 reels.
- Divine Intervention – 4th Scatter suddenly added to a combo, thus triggering the bonus
- Free Spin – the number of extra spins is determined through Treasure Chest picking game.
- Diamond Wild collected during the free spins can turn an entire reel Wild
RTP: 96.5%
Volatility: Medium
Structure: 3-4-5-4-3
Paylines: 720
Betting Range: €0.20 – €100
Why you should go for it: Payout potential is amazing – 5,000x one’s bet and up to 25 free spins can be triggered per session (and re-triggered indefinitely).
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Multifruit81 by Play’n GO
Theme: Traditional Fruit theme
Bonuses: Expanding Wilds, 2x & 5x Multipliers
RTP: 96.55%
Volatility: High
Structure: 4×3
Paylines: 81
Betting Range: €0.02 – €100
Why you should go for it: The payout for a combination of 4 Joker symbols is €50,000. Four 7s pay €10,000 and if 2-3 Jokers land on a winning payline, the win is multiplied by 5x.
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Magic Portals by NetEnt
Theme: Fantasy, with similarities to the iconic Warcraft
Bonuses: Magic Portals Wild Transformation, Free Spins
RTP: 96.6%
Volatility: Medium
Structure: 5×3
Paylines: 25
Betting Range: €0.25 – €250
Why you should go for it: If you find yourself in a pickle called “wagering requirements” this will be your go-to slot as it carries a high hit frequency, which means that you can maintain your gameplay for a pretty long time.
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Subtopia by NetEnt
Theme: Adventure
Bonuses: Random Multiplier in the base game, Free Spins with Multiplier Meter
RTP: 96.1%
Volatility: Medium
Structure: 5×3
Paylines: 20
Betting Range: €0.01 – €100
Why you should go for it: Excellent free spins potential and multipliers both in the main game and the bonus feature, which is not as common as one might think.
Ghost Pirates by NetEnt
Theme: Adventure, Fantasy
Bonuses: Free Spins with a 3x multiplier
RTP: 96.9%
Volatility: Medium
Structure: 5×3
Paylines: 243
Betting Range: €0.25 – €62.50
Why you should go for it: Not only are free spins re-triggerable, they come with triple payouts. The icing on the cake are adjustable paylines and the players can choose between 3, 9, 27, 81 and 243 betways.
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Fruit Case by NetEnt
Theme: Whimsical Fruit
Bonuses: Progressive multiplier, Free Falls with a 3x win increase
RTP: 96.4%
Volatility: High
Structure: 5×3
Paylines: 20
Betting Range: €0.20 – €100
Why you should go for it: Progressive multiplier that can reach 8x on 4+ consecutive winning spins (like the Avalanche feature in Gonzo’s Quest) and triple value of every win generated from the free spins.
>>>Play Fruit Case at Revolution<<<
Psycho by NextGen
Theme: Cinema
Bonuses: Multiplier Wild, free spins with extra Wilds
RTP: 95%
Volatility: Medium
Structure: 5×3
Paylines: 25
Betting Range: €0.25- €62.50
Why you should go for it: Great multiplying potential – up to 40x for a winning combo completed with Wild during the bonus round and 20x in the main game.
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Eastern Dragon by NextGen
Theme: Asian
Bonuses: Free spins with x3 multiplier, Wild with the multiplying value of 2x
RTP: 95%
Volatility: Medium
Structure: 5×3
Paylines: 20
Betting Range: €0.01 – €200
Why you should go for it: Multiplying potential during free spins and the main game and re-triggerable free spins. This is one of those slots that does not have an array of sparkling bonuses but comes through in terms of payouts.
>>>Play Eastern Dragon at SlotsMillion<<<
How Do I Know If a Slot Is Worth My Time?
You don’t – the reviews may give you some clue, but you should always remember that these are highly subjective. The rating system partially rests on one’s personal experience of the game and what may be unacceptable for one player may be perfectly irrelevant to other.
The only safe way to estimate the game is by playing it and investing a certain amount of time to see how the game runs, what the hit frequency is and how easy it is to unlock the bonuses. Fortunately, you can do all that without spending any money – just launch the game in free-play mode and get your scoring board ready. Most importantly, don’t be quick to judge.
What My Criteria Should Be?
Whatever works for you, although sometimes compromises have to be made. Dismissing a game right off the bat just because you are not in love with its visual representation can be unreasonable since payouts and multipliers might be on point. While it’s important for the game to be visually appealing, let’s just remember that money is one of the most important factors of gambling – or, at least, winning is, but it comes down to the same thing.
The return to the player percentage, betting range, bonus features, payout tables, and total payout potential should all be taken into consideration and then compared to your own list of requirements. What is your primary goal? Are you looking for a low to medium volatility slot with smaller but more frequent winnings or are you willing to take the risk and press your bets for a more massive win?
How to Make Sure I Never Miss a Decent Slot Again?
Now we got you thinking “who knows how many slots I’ve missed by not paying attention!”. Don’t be overly concerned – this can be easily fixed. The best way to make sure nothing falls off your radar is testing every new release you hear about and being open-minded. Be mindful of other players’ insights and opinions but also make it your business to free yourself of any and every prejudice.
Another great way is browsing through the catalog of providers whose slots you already like – NetEnt, Yggdrasil, NextGen, Microgaming and a lot of other software developers have an array of forgotten slots which can be easily found on their records – and, of course, you are always welcome to visit us and check out our latest slot reviews. We will be happy to do some digging so you wouldn’t have to!
Final Pointers
Don’t be afraid to make a list and do the Pro&Con thing for every slot you decide to test. To summarize some of the already mentioned criteria, here are the most obvious factors to wrap your head around:
- RTP – short for the Return to Player Percentage. For most of us, this is just a number provided somewhere in the game description section, but it can be a deciding factor for the players with more experience. Generally, anything under 96% is considered low. If you are still not sure what makes RTP so important, look at it this way – high RTP means a low house edge, which pretty much tells you what percentage out of your every bet goes to the house and to you (in the long run);
- Volatility – slots can be divided into low, medium and high variance. For those faint of heart, low and medium volatility slots may be a better option as they will save you from that awful feeling of anxiety setting in as you’re waiting for a winning combination to land… High volatility slots will produce more generous payouts but it could easily happen that you run out of budget before hitting a “jackpot”. Therefore, your finances will also play an important role in choosing a slot;
- Hit Frequency – not only of payouts but of bonus features as well. Trust us, it can be awfully monotonous waiting for something other than base game spins and wins to happen;
- Bonus Features – these should be a part of a bigger picture. It’s not uncommon for a slot with only Free Spins to produce a decent payout, and from that perspective, do you honestly care if the gameplay is a bit linear?
- Payout Table – the payouts for high-value icon combinations may not always be worth your time, especially if the slot does not include any multipliers;
Good luck!