Gremlins

Gremlins is our online Slot of the Month for March 2020. Based on the iconic 80s movie, this five reel, 3 row game is the latest branded title to be released by WMS. It was designed in partnership with Red Seven and boasts two bonus games as well as three separate free spin features.

Theme/Visuals

Play is set against Billy’s bedroom which is littered with Gremlin eggs. Decorating the reels is an assortment of well-rendered albeit cartoonish visuals from the movie. These include 3D glasses, popcorn, a microwave (where poor Stripe met his grizzly end) and a cutesy depiction of Gizmo.

How to Play Gremlins

Low value symbols are represented by playing card letting and the higher value symbols are the gremlin wild (50x), the game logo (25x), the microwave (15x), 3D glasses (10x), Popcorn (5x), and the milkshake (5x).

It’s possible to win by landing three symbols but in order to enjoy these maximum payouts you’ll need five to appear on a pay-line. The maximum win is 1000 times your stake, provided of course that you’re able to fill the reels with Gremlin wilds.

Attached to the base game are three modifiers: Stripe Wilds, Bonus Entry and the Freebie Bonus. These appear at random on any spin with two activating one of the game’s standout side-games – the Bonus Selector Round.

The Stripe Wilds Modifier

The Stripe Wilds modifier occurs when water is randomly poured onto the gremlin wild. It’s then multiplied to turn other symbols into wilds across the reels thus increases your chances of winning something quite considerably.

The Bonus Entry Modifier

During the base game, the Stripe Wilds can also morph randomly into Gizmo bonus symbols to unlock the Bonus Selector round. This is known as the bonus entry feature.

The Freebie Bonus Modifier

The freebie bonus modifier occurs where one or two Gizmo symbols appear and the symbol transformation mechanic comes into play. This delivers an additional Gizmo symbol thus taking you the Bonus Selector.

Despite the numerous paths to the fabled Bonus Selector round, it’s actually pretty hard to trigger. The other alternative is to get three gizmo symbols during the base game. However, these will need to appear on reels 1, 3 and 5.

Bonus Selector Feature

The Bonus Selector round takes place in a cinema that’s populated by a gaggle of gremlins watching a movie screen. The screen displays five bonus games, one of which is awarded randomly.

These are as follows:

• Splashing Wild Free Spins – 8 free spins are awarded will all gremlin wilds jumping into a pool and expanding to turn the reel wild. This can be retriggered by landing three Gizmo bonus symbols.
• Gremlin Link Free Spins – you get three lives to spin for a Stripe symbol, losing one every time he fails to appear. Each time he does, your lives are reset and he becomes sticky, contributing to your cash prize at the end of the game. There’s also a sixth reel that contains Gizmo multipliers of 2x, 3x and 5x.
• Avoid the Sun Free Spins – land eight winning combinations and sticky wilds become active. They remain in position for the remainder of the round. However, should 11 sun symbols appear, the game ends.
• Gizmo Box Hunt – this pick ‘em bonus round has 4 levels, each with 9 boxes to choose from. They contain level-up, collect or cash-prize awards. Level-ups and cash-prizes are the most sought-after. Pick ‘collect’ and the game ends.
• No More Cash After Midnight – for this round you get to spin a clock in order to move Gizmo along a trail of multipliers that increase as you progress. The round ends when the midnight symbol appears.

Conclusion

Gremlins should appeal to fans of 80s nostalgia. There’s nothing much wrong in terms of visuals. A pleasant soundtrack also accompanies play although the Gremlin calls do become rather grating after a while. The base game is certainly entertaining too – but it’s not that easy to win anything substantial.

Like most online slot games these days, the bonus features are the main appeal here. The medium volatility and 96.47% RTP means that you’ve got a fair chance of some decent wins. But bonanza pay-outs are going to be hard to come by. Good slot, though.

Where to Play Gremlins