2018 has been a great year for new video slots – we look back at the best releases including the superb Vikings from Net Entertainment.
January 2018
January saw video slots like Quickspin’s Pied Piper, NetEnt’s Twin Spin Deluxe, Yggdrasil Gaming’s Pumpkin Smash, Quickspin’s Northern Sky, Playtech’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Thunderkick’s The Falcon Huntress and Playtech’s Satsumo’s Revenge amongst others.
Our pick would be ELK Studios’ Wild Seas which is a pirate themed game with 5 reels and 178 ways to win. There’s a Free Spins feature which 1 captain replaces all other captains. The merchant wild ship also shifts 1 reel left with every free spin. If you manage to sink the ship, you’ll grab the captain’s loot chest. You can also move up levels where you’ll benefit from sticky wilds. There’s up to 1,780 times your bet on each free spin.
February 2018
In February, games like Play ‘N Go’s Golden Colts, Playtech’s Maji Wilds, ELK Studios’ Kaiju, IGT’s Wishwood, NetEnt’s Asgardian Stones, Barcrest’s The Legend of Big Foot, Yggdrasil Gaming’s Gem Rocks, Playtech’s The Mask of Zorro all released.
My favourite was Playtech’s The X-Files which is based on the science fiction TV series. With 5 reels and 20 paylines, look out for multiplier wilds that can reward you with a multiplier up to 25x on every spin. It also comes with a Locking Rift Free Games feature where 20 free spins can be won – rifts remain in position with bigger wins possible as a 25x multiplier can apply!
March 2018
March was full of new releases with Playtech releasing Batman Begins – you also saw Novomatic’s Crazy Birds, Yggdrasil Gaming’s Easter Island, NetEnt’s Hotline, NextGen Gaming’s King Kong Fury, Playtech’s Legend of the Jaguar, Play ‘N Go’s House of Doom and Thunderkick’s Børk The Berzerker Hack ‘N’ Slash Edition.
I really like the highly volatile Vampire Princess of Darkness from Playtech which has 5 reels and just 5 paylines. Visually stunning, there’s a Graveyard Bonus feature where you can win cash bonuses when you choose from graveyards. However, it comes with extremely high value symbols which can lead to wins of 7,500 times your bet on every base game spin!
April 2018
April saw lots of new video slots including Playtech’s Age of the Gods: Ruler of the Sky, Playtech’s Astro Babes, IGT’s Keystone Kops, Yggdrasil Gaming’s The Royal Family, Thunderkick’s Wild Heist and Peacock Manor, NetEnt’s Archangels: Salvation, Play ‘N Go Legacy of Egypt, Playtech’s Raiders of the Hidden Realm, ELK Studios’ Lake’s Five and NextGen Gaming’s Flame.
I recommend Yggdrasil Gaming’s Lucha Maniacs which is a 5 reel, 20 payline title with a Mexican wrestling theme. There’s a Free Spin Mode feature where up to 30 free spins can be won initially – you then choose to win extra free spins, random wilds, wild wrestlers, stacked wrestlers, sticky wilds, 3x multipliers and tag team symbols for wins of up to 3,000 times your bet on each free spin.
May 2018
May also had lots of good releases with NetEnt’s Lost Relics, NextGen Gaming’s The Mask, Thunderkick’s Yeti Battle of Greenhat Peak, WMS’ Kronos Unleashed, Play ‘N Go’s Cops ‘n’ Robbers and Quickspin’s Pirate’s Charm some of the highlights.
The undoubted release was Yggdrasil Gaming’s Vikings Go To Hell which was the 3rd in the series. With 5 reels and 25 paylines, look out for treasure chests that give you rage points to access features, cash prizes and free spins. Demons take on Vikings to reward you wild wilds and respins with sticky wilds. All vikings become sticky wilds in the free spins and you can get 3x multipliers and random wilds. This epic release can pay out 3,500 times your stake on every free spin.
June 2018
IGT’s Electric Tiger, ELK Studios’ Platooners, NextGen Gaming’s Olympus Thunder, Bally’s Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Blueprint Gaming’s Irish Riches (MegaWays), Quickspin’s Dwarfs Gone Wild, Playtech’s Eliminators and NetEnt’s Jumanji all hit the virtual shelves.
Novomatic also released From Dusk Till Dawn which is inspired by the iconic Tarantino film – with 5 reels and 50 paylines, you join the Gecko brothers with 3 randomly activated features that give you wilds, symbol transformations and multipliers up to 25x. There’s more bonus features and a Mugshot Bonus feature where you get free spins and collect symbols to win bonuses of up to 5,000 times your bet. The Dancing Bonus feature sees Santanico Pandemonium act as a dancing wild that can be 3 reels wide. There’s also 2 jackpots!
July 2018
July saw Playtech’s The Dark Knight Rises, Yggdrasil Gaming’s Penguin City, NextGen Gaming’s Savannah Sunrise, Novomatic’s Almighty Reels – Realm of Poseidon and Play ‘N Go’s Sizzling Spins launched.
The best was Terminator Genisys from Playtech which is the official video slot of the 2015 blockbuster film. With 5 reels and 25 paylines, there’s a Terminator Car Chase Bonus feature where you can win cash prizes and multipliers if you help Sarah and Kyle evade the T-1000. There’s also 2 free spins feature where you melt Terminators to give you multiplier wilds and shut down Skynet to give you stacked wilds.
August 2018
In the middle of the summer, video slots like Playtech’s Grease, Novomatic’s Totally Wild, IGT’s Da Vinci Diamonds Masterworks, NetEnt’s Berryburst MAX, Playtech’s White King II, Playtech’s Call of the Valkyries and WMS’ Legend of Fortune were released.
Novomatic released Eye of the Dragon which is a 5 reel, 10 payline offering with a magical/dragon theme. It’s all about the Free Games feature where you’ll play with 10 free spins – 1 symbol acts as a special expanding symbol for payouts of 2,500 times your bet on every free spin.
September 2018
September saw Playtech’s Suicide Squad, Microgaming’s Wicked Tales: Dark Red, IGT’s Solar Disc, WMS’ Li’l Red, NetEnt’s Double Stacks, Novomatic’s Buffalo Magic, NextGen Gaming’s Ever After, Yggdrasil Gaming’s Wolf Hunters, Play ‘N Go’s Street Magic, Quickspin’s Big Bot Crew and Playtech’s Age of the Gods: Medusa & Monsters all live.
NextGen Gaming launched The Wild 3 which is a 5 reel, 10 payline title which takes you to the Wild West. With 3 wild features in the base game, the Free Games feature allows you to win additional free spins and sticky wild symbols. Complete missions to win cash prizes and use the SuperBet feature for more extras. More importantly, you can win 25,000 times your bet on every spin!
October 2018
In the month of Halloween, you saw Playtech’s Pumpkin Bonanza, Microgaming’s Lucha Legends, Blueprint Gaming’s Grizzly Gold, Blueprint Gaming’s The Goonies, Play ‘N Go’s Gunslinger: Reloaded, Quickspin’s Tiger’s Glory, NetEnt’s Wild Bazaar, Blueprint Gaming’s Buffalo Rising MegaWays, Yggdrasil Gaming’s Dark Vortex, Thunderkick’s Tiger Rush and a trio of horror Tales of Darkness titles from Novomatic released.
NetEnt also launched Halloween Jack which is as scary as they come – with 5 reels and 20 paylines, there’s a Walking Wild feature where wilds move with re-spins to follow as well as trebling multipliers. The Free Spins feature sees walking wilds come into play on 15 free spins – there’s a Jack ‘o’ Lector feature where stacked wilds reward you with re-spins and wild reels for payouts of up to 3,000 times your bet on each one.
November 2018
The number of new video slots went up in Novomatic with Playtech’s Aquaman, Quickspin’s Ivan and the Immortal King, Play ‘N Go’s Banana Rock, Thunderkick’s Rocket Fellas Inc, IGT’s It’s Magic, Bally’s Monopoly Millionaire, Playtech’s The Great Reveal, Yggdrasil Gaming’s Nitro Circus, Play ‘N Go’s Dragon Maiden and Yggdrasil Gaming’s Baron Samedi all were available.
The best video slot of the year was also released – Vikings from Net Entertainment. Based on the epic TV series, this 5 reel, 243 ways to win offering comes with Hotspots where Viking symbols transform into the same one for scatter style rewards. There’s a randomly triggered Shield Wall feature where mystery symbols become 1 symbol for enhanced wins. It’s all about the Raid Spins feature where you play on a 7 reel, 78,125 ways to win machine where there are 3 Hotspots – this can lead to 27 matching Viking symbols for payouts of 10,000 times your bet on each free spin!
December 2018
In the current month, there’s been no sign of slowing down as Blueprint Gaming’s Slots ‘O Gold MegaWays, WMS’ Battleship Direct Hit, NetEnt’s Wild-O-Tron 3000, Play ‘N Go’s Battle Royal, Blueprint Gaming’s Journey of the Gods, Playtech’s Galactic Streak and Blueprint Gaming’s Vikings Unleashed MegaWays all were released.
My favourite was Playtech’s Age of the Gods: Mighty Midas which is a 5 reel, 40 payline offering which is based on King Midas – the man who turns all he touches into gold. With Midas Touch symbols that transform symbols into Gold Wilds and multipliers up to 3x, there are 5 main bonus features! I like the Ruby Spins feature where you can benefit from multipliers up to 30x for wins of up to 8,650 times your bet on each free spin. There’s also 4 progressive jackpots to be won!
Now breathe! 2018 has seen 100s of video slots released – we’ve highlighted our favourites each month but I’m sure we’ve forgotten/overlooked some. The only way to keep on top of all new releases is to bookmark CasinoManual.co.uk and check our Play Slots section regularly. Anyway, there’s enough written above to keep you entertainment for the remainder of 2018 – enjoy!