Lost Vegas Slots

Not since the Hammer Horror films has the scary movie/TV genre enjoyed as much popularity as it does right now. From the Walking Dead to World War Z, it especially seems that we can’t get enough of the Zombie theme in particular. We confess, we are pretty big Z fans in the office and that’s why the new Lost Vegas slot from Microgaming is one of our hottest anticipated slots. They’ve already given us great games like Bar Bar Black Sheep this year, way off the normal slots theme, what can they do with a horror slot we wonder?

Well, on the face of, there’s a slot blockbuster in the making! Lost Vegas is set in post apocalypse Las Vegas with two distinct base game modes flavoured around being either a member of the undead or part of the band of survivors. These dictate which of two bonus rounds you will be eligible for and both shared random bonus features at various times during normal game play.

The structure of and 5×3 reels is already a firm fan favourite and the game is exceptionally well optimised for mobile play. Hopefully this means that it will be available on both browser-based Microgaming casinos and download sites rather than being restricted to just the download sites. Although, recently, it has been the case that most MG casinos have both options, with the download mostly applying to older titles in the catalogue.

Theme

The Lost Vegas game is set on the rainy streets and dimly lit halls of the casinos of the Las Vegas strip. You start by choosing a side, the zombies are led by an Elvis impersonator, Showgirl and Nurse, so it seems the staff of the various resorts bore the brunt of the outbreak! The survivors group on the other hand features a golf club toting casual player, a suited rugged high roller and what we believe is supposed to be a working girl. Ahem. There is some crossover with a well-dressed couple and elderly tourist on the Zombie team whilst a Security guard and waitress make up the numbers for the survivors.

Every single character, bonus feature and win sequence in the Lost Vegas slot gets its own bespoke sound effect and animation. It’s the most superbly developed Microgaming slot we’ve ever played from an entertainment perspective and the art style is very much in tribute to dark comics such as Frank Miller’s Sin City. You can switch sides at any time between spins – much the way as you can choose between the Krypton / Earth game modes on the Superman slot.

Features

As fun to watch as Lost Vegas is, the game’s biggest strength is its gameplay. The survivor section of the game comes with a random blackout bonus feature which can occur after any losing spin. Here a scan of the reels is taken with night vision goggles randomly revealing high value cash prizes. The random bonus for the zombie mode is the ‘zombie fist of cash’, likewise triggered by a losing spin and a giant zombie hand reaches up from below the reels stuffed with dollar notes. The added bonus to both these features is that if just one scatter is in play at the time, it will trigger the free spins bonus also!

Landing the free spins round under normal circumstances requires three scatters. These are unique spins to each game mode with both scatters being a hazard symbol. The survivors get free spins with a ‘stash’ feature. This is an avalanche or cascading reels style mechanic where low value playing card icons fall from the reels to be replaced by fresh symbols from above. This is already a generous mechanic but as an added bonus each of the symbols which disappears adds to the survivors stash meter above the reels, with the total prize accumulated here awarded at the end of the bonus games.

The zombies get what’s called an infection feature instead. The zombies now become stacked wilds and infect each reel they touch for the remainder of the spins games. Whilst this is by far the more volatile of the two game modes, it’s largely as a result of the pay-out potential. A full 5 reel set of expanded wilds is theoretically very possible here and can reward up to 2155x the max spin – which is a generous 45.00 credits.

Summary

Whilst the Walking Dead official slot might rule the roost in the land based casino world purely on its fan draw, Lost Vegas is, we think, the best Zombie slot ever released online. With a decent bet range, simple format and medium variance level it has appeal to all sorts of players. The visual and audio work is outstanding and the gameplay is a lot of fun whilst retaining decent pay-out potential. This isn’t just one of the best new slots of the year, it’s one of the best slots online and even puts many of the big branded land casino machines to shame. Between this and the recent Jungle Jim game, it’s clear Microgaming are ready to give NetEnt and Betsoft a real run for their money in terms of wow factor.