Mayhem

Overview Mayhem

A cursory glance at this game might give you the impression that it could belong to no other developer than the extreme studio NoLimit City. However, if you take another look, what you will discover is that Red Tiger has actually created this post-apocalyptic slot. Clearly, the dystopian future theme is becoming so popular that it has started to be adopted by other developers in a bid to capitalize on its novel if intense appeal. Mechanically, this is a five-reel game with three rows and an RTP of 95.71%. The maximum win available for this game is 1,200x the stake.

The features here are two-fold. The first feature is called the Cash Queen bonus. The cash queen symbol comes as a 1x3 wild and appears in the middle reel. It will always land in full view and substitute for any other normal symbols. Locking to the reels when she scores a win, she and the other winning symbols will also remain while the other positions spin to help find more wins. The other feature in this game is the anarchy free spins game triggered when players land three anarchy icons. Ten free spins are then awarded with the cash queen symbol locked to the middle reel. All features will be explained in greater detail later on in the review.

Theme and Symbols

This game's theme combines popular culture references to the post-apocalyptic trope. These start with the setting and style of the icons, which look to have been inspired by the multiplatform game Fallout. Fallout was designed to represent a world thrown into chaos by a nuclear apocalypse, with the remaining characters battling each other to survive. This aesthetic is thrown in with a healthy dose of DC Comics and one of their most famous characters, Harley Quin, only barely disguised as the 'Cash Queen'. All of this is then wrapped up in a ball of Mad Max-like explosions and cartoon violence.

The background for this game is the nuclear wasteland that has been left after whatever nations decided to launch warheads at each other. To illustrate this place's toxicity and nightmarish environment, the designers have strewn barrels of toxic waste around and turned the earth an unnatural purple colour. If this wasn't enough for us to get the hint, there are also little boxes with the nuclear danger sign placed strategically around the screen.

The playing board is a purple window encased in golden barbed wire and plastered with anarchy and grenade signs
The symbols for this game are split into low-value, high-value and special symbols. The low-value symbols are the 10, J, Q, K and A in playing card royals. The A is the most valuable of these, worth 1.5x the stake for the top combination. The more valuable symbols are the lips, the grenade, the helmet and the dollar sign. The dollar sign is the most valuable of these, worth 7.5x the stake for the top combination. The specials comprise the Cash Queen wild, and the anarchy spins free spin scatter.

Game Play

Mayhem is played on a 5-reel, 3-row machine with 20 fixed pay lines. To win combinations, players must land three or more matching symbols on pay lines moving from left to right, starting from the leftmost reel.
The betting range for Mayhem 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 very high range. The return to player percentage of Mayhem is 95.71%, which is below average. The biggest payout that players can win on one spin is 1,200x your stake.

Features

The first feature in this game is the Cash Queen bonus. The Harley Quin look-a-like is the Cash Queen icon in this game. She will randomly appear on the central reel as a 1x3 wild and, like all wilds, can replace other icons to help score wins. She will always land fully in view and become locked to the reel when she becomes part of a win. The winning symbols will also lock with her. The remaining symbols then spin to find yet more wins. If a new symbol lands and adds to the win, then it is locked as well, and another re-spin is issued. This re-spin dynamic and the feature ends when no new symbols add to the win or the entire game grid is full of locked positions.

The other feature here is the Anarchy Spins. These are triggered when players manage to land three or more of the anarchy free spin scatters on the reels at once. Do so, and the game will reward you with ten free spins. During these spins, the Cash Queen will be locked to the middle reel, helping to trigger re-spins. Unlike the standard cash queen bonus, in the free spins, the Cash Queen also comes with a multiplier of 2x, which is applied to all wins produced during the round. This multiplier also grows with each re-spin awarded up to a maximum of 10x. You can also boost the number of spins you get by landing additional scatters.

Conclusion

Fun and frenetic, this game certainly has the right atmosphere for a game set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. This game is aesthetically pleasing, with the characters and background having engaging qualities few games of this genre achieve. Regarding the win potential, however, things are decidedly poor. The RTP is low at 95.71%, and the volatility is high. In addition, the top payout is woeful at 1,200x the stake. This suggests that this might be a good game to play for fun but not when it comes to its payout potential.