Punk Rocker

Punk Rocker Overview

NoLimit City packs a punch with this brand-new slot, Punk Rocker, that is FULL of life. Loud and proud, this aims to encapsulate the spunk and spirit of the punk rock movement. Now we do not mean the watered-down, South California 1990s and 2000s pop-punk era, but the original punk movement that reared up in the United Kingdom, some twenty years before. Back in a time when fans spat at their heroes as they performed on the stages in front of them, when the punk artists lived the lives that they sang about, and no one cared if you could not play your instrument.

Music was seen as a key avenue for the expression of millions, but punk spilt from music into fashion, art and even the attitude of many. All of this anarchic vibe has been squeezed into this Punk Rocker slot, with plenty of features, plenty of graphics and plenty of fun.

With a defaulted 5 reels and 3 rows, Punk Rocker gives the player initially 243 ways to win, which can be expanded by its features which are explained further later on. A throbbing, punk track plays in the background, muffled slightly to echo the vibe of an underground club that the band might be playing in – we love this touch.

Statistics

To join in the rebellious cult of punk, you get a betting range that starts at 25p and increase to a maximum of £125 per spin. This expansive bet range gives plenty of room for almost all players to enjoy. While the highest of rollers may not like the cap of £125 as a maximum, the potential of 15,000 times the stake as a maximum win is an incentive to play.

This potential allows the highest pay out of £1,875,000. Obviously, we recommend you check the casino you are playing with, as some may have their own internal caps on the winnings of slots. The slot packs a slightly above-average return to player (RTP) of 96.11%, which is without buying features. Buying the features, which again is explained further down below, brings this RTP to 96.62% - 96.64%. While we do not know the volatility, it feels as though it is likely high.

Symbols and design of Punk Rocker

The design team should be given raises and promotions with the work done on this slot. The whole theme of the slot is stunning with iconic symbols of London plastered in the background, such as Big Ben, a tagged Underground sign and a classic red phone box. The sign on the wall is a ‘punk’ version of the NW8 Abbey Road – which we can all agree is one of the least anarchic postcodes in London! Moving from the design of the slot to the design of the symbols, we see lower symbols including knuckle dusters, distortion pedals, kicker boots, Molotov cocktails and an anarchy symbol.

The premium symbols are a bunch of Warhol Banksy style icons of famous people (mostly). In ascending order we have Kim Jong Un, Einstein, a monkey flipping the player off, Mona Lisa and Winston Churchill. Churchill is the highest paying of them all, paying 6 times the stake for five on a single pay line. When the bonus reel is activated in the bonus features, Winston becomes even more impressive, offering 20 times the stake for six on a pay line.

There are also two wilds: the standard is the Molotov Wild – which lands during the main game and Riot Respins to substitute for all symbols except for the scatters. When these wilds land, they can also change symbols around them into wilds. They can stack up on a reel or make only one symbol a wild, it is completely random.

Features for the player to enjoy

The first feature is xWays Mystery Symbol. This usually holds 2-4 of the same symbols and expands when it lands and can expand to the size of the reel. This feature can appear during both base and bonus games. If all 6 reels and 6 rows are activated, the ways to win increase to potentially 46,656! The premium symbols can expand to 20 high, which increases the chance of winning big even more!

The scatter depicts a London Underground sign with the word ‘Bonus’ written across it. When two land, they award a Riot Respin. These scatters then become wilds for the respin, transforming symbols around into wilds. The Bonus Reel is also activated, increasing the minimum ways to win to 729. Any reels containing wilds are locked in place.

Landing three or four scatters will unlock the Anarchy Free Spins or Civil War Free Spins respectively. Both give the player 8 free spins and have the same rules, all bar one. Anarchy Free Spins give 3 jumping wilds, while Civil War Free Spins have 4. The bonus reels is activated for both, and so is the modifier train that runs along the top of the reels. Each carriage has a different modifier. While the reels spin, Jumping Wilds jump at random. When the spin stops, the carriage above the reel with the jumping wild symbol has the modifier applied. There are several you could win:

• xWays: This adds xWays mystery symbols to the reels
• Free Spins: An additional 1-3 free spins is added
• Jumping Wild: An additional jumping wild is added
• Multiplier: Jumping wilds get a multiplier of x2, x3, x5, x10, x15 or x25
• 6x6: Converts the grid to 6x6 with 46,656 ways to win.

More jumping wilds will allow for more modifiers on the reels, which improves the chances of winning. However, there is also the chance to just buy the Free Spin Bonus features and this is called the Bonus Buy option. The cost for this is 80x or 243x the stake for the Anarchy or Civil War Free Spins, respectively. As mentioned above it improves the RTP as well when buying the features.

Conclusion

Packed with a plethora of features and packed full of punk-inspired art, the slot may seem confusing at first, but quickly becomes clear the more you play. With a high volatility, the bonus game can be a pain to trigger but play to see if you like it or not. The combinations of features and modifiers have a major impact on the stake, giving the player the chance to win up to 15,000 times the stake. A well-designed game in our eyes, and undoubtably one of the best NoLimit City has produced to date.