Lordi Reel Monsters

Lordi Reel Monsters Overview

If you aren’t a fan of Nordic heavy metal, you might want to skip this one, as this game makes no apologies for being one of the hardest rocking games out there. Themed specifically around the Finnish metal band Lordi, this game takes players to the terrifying and thrilling land of death metal in a slot that will either excite you beyond belief or scare you beyond repair. The game, designed by Play ‘n GO, is played on a 7x7 grid and has a top payout of 4,000x the stake. The game is also a cluster pays game, so there are no distinct pay lines.

In addition to being a cluster pays game, this game is also a dynamic cascade game, meaning that after every win, all of the winning symbols are removed and replaced by a new set which helps players score more wins from one spin. Winning consecutive cascades in this game also charges a monster charge meter, with every 15th charge releasing a monster modifier. There are five of these modifiers. Landing 40 charges, however, will trigger the free spins game, which has two different modes for players to choose from. All features will be explained in more detail later on in the review.

Theme and Symbols

The theme for this game, as is immediately apparent, is the Finnish heavy metal band Lordi which formed in 1992. The band is one of the most popular in the Nordic rock scene and employs horror elements in their stage shows, always wearing terrifying masks and costumes that mix a Viking warrior aesthetic with the undead. Their shows are usually incredibly intense, with pyrotechnics and thrashing metal chords encouraging the crowd to create mosh pits. The slot game represents the main band members, iconic set designs and horrific costumes in outstanding cartoon detail.

The background for this game in the base game is a spooky graveyard with a twisted, gnarled tree in the centre. The scene is blanketed in a thick fog bank and features a massive expanse of tombstones and graves overgrown by creepers and grass. To the left of the reels, players will be able to faintly see a castle with steep towers and sharp edges, adding more spooky detail to the setting.

The playing board is a monolithic grey slab with wooden buttresses and a coffin-like appearance that fits the gothic theme.
The symbols for this game are split into low-value, high-value and special symbols. The low-value symbols are the strange rune-like ions in blue, purple, green, orange and red. The red one is the most valuable of these, worth 50x the stake for the top combination. On the other hand, the more valuable symbols are the members of the band. These are Mana, Hiisi, Amen, Hella and Mr Lordi. Mr Lordi is the most valuable worth 250x the stake for the top combination. The only special symbol in this game is the horned beast wild.

Game Play

Lordi Reel Monsters is played on a 7-reel, 7-row cluster pays machine. This means that in order to score wins, a player must land five or more matching symbols together in a cluster that is either vertically or horizontally aligned.
The betting range for Lordi Reel Monsters is 10p to £100 per spin. To adjust their bet levels, players can toggle their stake up and down using the tool located at the bottom left-hand side of the screen.

Further information, including a short tutorial and a display of the paytable, can be found via the menu button in the right-hand corner of the screen. The spin and auto spin buttons are located in the centre of the screen.
Volatility for this slot is rated in the medium to high range. The return to player percentage for Lordi Reel Monsters is 96.2%, which is above average. The biggest payout that players can win on one spin is 4,000x your stake.

Features

The first feature in this game is the cascading reels feature, triggered every time a player registers a win. When this happens, all of the winning symbols are removed from the reels and replaced by a new set, giving players more chances to win from the same spin. This mechanic will only end when a new set of symbols does not form a win. Furthermore, scoring cascades will also charge a monster charge meter that, in turn, triggers multipliers.

Indeed, the monster charger feature is triggered when players fill the monster charger meter by landing consecutive cascades with many symbols. A monster modifier will be triggered when players charge the meter by 15. When this happens, one of five monster modifiers will be randomly chosen to come into play. These are as follows:
Mr Lordi feature: Adds 5 to 8 wilds to the grid
Hella feature: Protects 1 to 2 symbol types and wilds, destroying all others.
Amen feature: Transforms 2 to 5 symbol types into different symbol types.
Hiisi feature: Selects a symbol and builds up a winning cluster.
Mana feature: Turns a single symbol type wild.

Finally, this game also has a free spins game, triggered when players reach 40 charges in the monster meter. When this happens, one free spin is rewarded to play out in one of two playing modes.

The first mode is called the Reel Monsters mode. This mode adds a cascade multiplier meaning that successive wins grow an attached multiplier. Two monster modifiers are also chosen at random to be active during this mode.
The other mode is called Better Hate Than Never. This mode incorporates a wild collector. Winning wilds are collected with three monster modifiers guaranteed to come into play. After the monster modifiers play out, between 5 and 10 of the collected wilds will be scattered on the board to help score more wins.

Conclusion

There is no getting around that this game is not for the faint of heart; however, if you are a massive fan of heavy metal and free spins, you’ll love this game. Win potential wise, things aren’t too bad, although the top win of 4,000x the stake could do with a little boost. This was a fun game that will not soon be forgotten.