Reel Rush Slot: A Volatile Game With A Unique Layout

If you are in a real rush, then there’s no doubt that the innovative and fast-paced Reel Rush game is certainly one that you will likely want to have a closer look at. With a jackpot of 480,000 coins to be won, this is a slot that offers gamers something very different to your usual 5×3 reel slot.

Yet, rather than making things hugely complex, the actual structure and design of the Reel Rush slot is actually very simple to understand and easy to follow. And its real genius lies in taking some of the most common aspects of a slot, in this case free spins and ways to win, and using them in a completely different way compared to most other slot games. Let’s take a close look at what Reel Rush has to offer.

Overview: Reel Rush

At first glance the Reel Rush slot looks very different to most other games as the five reels are not arranged in a standard format but instead there is just one symbol on the first reel, three on the second, five on the third, three on the fourth and one on the fifth, and of course, the initial feeling here is that with just one symbol in that pivotal first reel, winning cash on this is going to be tough.

You can select your Coin Value size and then use the Level meter to increase or decrease the value of your bet meaning you can play from as little as $0.50 per spin, up to a maximum of $50.00 per spin, depending on how flush you are. There are no paylines on the slot with this game offering ways to win, though the number of ways to win does vary as you get deeper into the game. There’s also a fantastic jackpot of 480,000 coins to be won.

Who will the Reel Rush slot appeal to?

Without doubt, this is very much a slot for someone looking for a different challenge to the more familiar 5×3 slot game with a stated number of paylines. The fact that Reel Rush looks so very different and plays in a different way to a standard slot will certainly attract gamers seeking something innovative and unusual to play.

Furthermore, with this being a somewhat more volatile slot that offers a different take on how to use its key features, not to mention a jackpot of 480,000 coins available, this is certainly a game that will attract players who enjoy taking a risk on landing the bigger cash prizes. However, given you can play from just $0.50 a spin, it is also a game accessible to lower stakes players too.

Gameplay: Reel Rush

This is where the Reel Rush slot departs from your traditional slot game and takes on a whole new approach. We’ve already mentioned that the way the reels are set out is very different, but what you also notice is that on the reels there are ‘blanked out’ spaces on the first, second, fourth, and fifth reels. These are marked with a star and the letter “R” inside them.

Once you have selected your wager size, you spin the reels (there is an Autoplay function available) and if you manage to land a win on the reels, then in addition to your cash prize, you get a free respin. On this respin, some of the ‘blanked out’ spaces on the reels become available, offering you more chances of landing a win.

Free Spins Meter

The more wins you can land in a row, the greater the number of blanked out spaces on the reels become available with each additional spin. Furthermore, your progress with wins is shown in the Free Spins meter at the top of the page.

As the number of successive wins you land increases, the more spaces become available on the reels, however that is not all that changes. As you land more spaces on the reels, the number of winning paylines available on your respins also increases.

Once you land one spin, the number of ways to win increases to 135 ways to win, then on the second respin it increases to 405 ways to win. On the third it is 675 ways to win and the fourth is 1125 ways to win and lastly on the fifth respin, there are 1875 ways to win.

Bonus game

If you can trigger five winning respins, then you launch the Free Spins bonus game which sees all spaces on the reels (a 5×5 matrix) available and there is a total of 3,125 ways to win on the reels during your eight free spins.

To help you land wins, there are a number of different symbols on the reels. The lower value symbols are the colored discs—red, orange, yellow, green, and purple—all of which offer the same prizes of between 5 and 50 coins.

The higher value symbols are the somewhat unusually designed fruit symbols, there’s a plum, grape, melon, lemon, pineapple and strawberry, with the strawberry being the highest paying fruit offering between 10 coins and 1,000 coins if you can land five across the reels.

In addition to these symbols there is one other symbol, the in game Wild which substitutes for all symbols on the reels and which appears on reels 2, 3, 4 and 5 in the main game and during the free spins round.

Special features: Reel Rush

Growing reels

One of the most innovative features is the respin-when-you-win feature, which increases the number of spaces available on the reels and also increases the number of ways to win on each respin, offering you the chance to increase the size of your win from the feature as well as triggering the Free Respins bonus.

Free Spins bonus

If you can hit five respin wins in a row then you trigger the Free Spins bonus round which sees you awarded 8 free spins and all of the 25 spaces on the reels become available, offering you a chance of 3,125 ways to win on every spin. This is the round where some of the biggest wins in the game can be won, including the 480,000 coin jackpot.

Wild symbol

The Wild symbol can substitute for any of the other symbols on the reels and can help create additional winning paylines, especially when you land multiple wilds across reels, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

What works?

Clever design

What I like about the Reel Rush slot the most is the fact that it takes some common features of other slots and utilizes them in a completely different way to produce an original and enjoyable slot game, if a little on the volatile side.

Mix of wins

The mix of wins in the game is appealing, but only if you like to play more volatile slot games. There are some very small wins (some times just a tenth of your total wager) but hit the features of the slot and you can land some very healthy wins in the base game, respins and during free spins too.

Respins bonus

The innovative way Reel Rush uses its spare reel spaces to increase the spaces on each reel and increase the ways to win on successive respins is very clever and really does add a huge amount of appeal to the slot, even if the feature does just trigger once or twice for the most part.

What doesn’t?

No multipliers

My one complaint about the Reel Rush slot is that there is a significant lack of multipliers, especially in the base game where some of the wins, especially using the lower value symbols are extremely small. Multipliers would have really helped the game enjoy better play value especially on these lower value wins.

Hard to hit Free Spins

Another slight gripe is that it can take a very long time in order to trigger the free spins bonus and if you play the game when it is playing somewhat tight, then it can prove to be a very expensive exercise playing until you trigger this feature.

Most single wins are very small

Most of the wins you land in the base game are generally very small initially and while you can add to this win on your successive respins, if you don’t then you can easily be left with a win that adds up to around a fifth or tenth of your usual wager which does hit the play value of the slot.

The scores

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Graphics & soundtrack 3/5

The soundtrack is very simple and sparse to be honest, but it is nice to play in the background and is somewhat inoffensive. Graphically, the game is also very simply presented and while it does the job, it isn’t a groundbreaking slot in terms of graphics and sound.

Originality & creativity 5/5

If there is one thing that Reel Rush has in abundance it is originality. I love the way that NetEnt have taken some common features of slot games and used them in a completely new and different way to give a fresh, clever and engaging slot.

Play value 1/5

Unfortunately, one of the biggest problems Reel Rush faces is that it is a volatile game and while you can enjoy some big wins, there are times when the lack of decent sized wins in the base game make this very expensive to play at times.

Jackpot potential 4/5

There’s a fantastic 480,000 coin jackpot up for grabs, which means that this is a game that big jackpot hunters will certainly be looking at closely. That combined with the occasional big win in the base game, respins, and free spins round also make this a good choice for higher variance slot fans.

Repeat play 3/5

There’s a lot to like with the Reel Rush slot but I think this will be a slot that higher variance slot gamers will enjoy a lot more than those who prefer lower variance games. As such, I think it will be this type of slot gamer that loads up Reel Rush more often for some extra spins.

Total score: 16/25

Don’t let the unusual look and gentle presentation fool you, Reel Rush is a slot that is unique, clever and which offers real innovation. It is a volatile slot however, so good bankroll management is essential to get the best out of the game.