Alien Invaders Demo
Alien Invaders Slot Review
Embark on an intergalactic quest in Pragmatic Play’s latest release, Alien Invaders!
Dive into the mysterious world of Alien Invaders, courtesy of Pragmatic Play – a 5-reel, Sci-Fi-inspired video slot with an unusual payout system. Match symbols from the bottom row to reveal sizable rewards, enhanced by the game’s built-in Global Multiplier.
Scatters that reach the bottom row explode, increasing the Global Multiplier for even bigger payouts per spin, whilst wiping out adjacent symbols to create endless opportunities for a higher success rate.
Explosions of up to 10 regular symbols boost the Global Multiplier even further, whilst Multipliers carried by Wild symbols are added to its total upon reaching the bottom row.
This game introduces us to the unusual world of Aliens, but it’s not our first rodeo on the subject. The iGaming industry is filled with unnatural & mysterious events from the cosmic atmosphere, including Zap Attack, Brute Force: Alien Onslaught, and Gargantoonz, to name a few.
With a fixed RTP of 96.50% and a high volatility score, can Alien Invaders win us over for more than its 5,000x max win potential? Let’s explore and find out.
Base Game & Features
Alien Invaders is a highly volatile 5-reel Video Slot that does not follow traditional pay lines, ways to win, or any other mechanics. Instead, the reels will reveal 3, 4, or 5 symbols with each spin.
The bottom row of symbols is always marked with a Blue Border. Wins occur when 3+ identical symbols land on the bottom row of the reel set. When this happens, the reels with winning symbols become active (displaying a blue border), allowing all instances of that symbol to create winning combinations.
The available paytable symbols award fixed payouts as follows:
- High-paying (Alien) symbols: Award a fixed payout between 0.25x and 1x your bet
- Low-paying (Card Suit) symbols: Award a fixed payout between 0.05x and 0.1x your bet
In addition, this game has 2 additional symbols that can appear on the reels during spins – these include:
- Wilds: Substitute for all paytable symbols except Scatters. Wilds appear on reel 3 in the base game and reels 2, 3, & 4 in Free Spins. It will remain inactive until it reaches the bottom row, at which point, it will reveal a Multiplier between x1 and x25.
- Scatters: Scatters appear on all reels and are responsible for triggering the Free Spins mode. Scatters that reach the bottom row will explode, along with symbols that are horizontally, vertically, or diagonally adjacent.
Lastly, high and low-paying symbols are subject to removal via an Avalanche Feature when they form a winning combination on each spin. This enables additional winning combinations to occur within a single spin.
Multiplier Feature
During gameplay, each spin applies a Global Multiplier starting at x1. For every 10 symbols that explode, a +x1 Multiplier is added to its total. In addition, the active Multipliers that Wild symbols carry are also added to the Global Multiplier when they reach the bottom row.
The current Global Multiplier is applied to all wins during that spin, which resets to x1 once a new spin begins.
Ante Bet & Bonus Buy
Players outside the UK jurisdiction can purchase up to 2 Bonus Buy options:
- Free Spins: Guaranteed access to the Free Spins mode for 65x your bet.
- Super Free Spins: Triggers the Super Free Spins mode, where the Global Multiplier begins at x50 for 400x your bet.
Alternatively, UK players and other countries can access the Ante Bet Feature for an additional 25% of their current bet. This feature doubles your chance of triggering the Free Spins mode.
Each of the above Bonus Buy and Ante Bet modes includes a theoretical RTP between 96.49% and 96.51%.
Alien Invaders has a fixed max win potential of 5,000x your bet. If a game round should exceed this figure, the current mode will end, and the player returns to the base game with the total of 5,000x your bet.
Alien Invaders Free Spins
The Free Spins mode in Alien Invaders is triggered when 3+ Scatter symbols land in the base game, awarding 7 Free Spins. Each additional Scatter will award a further +3 Free Spins, respectively.
In this round, the number of symbols per reel always begins at 3, which can increase by +1 on a random reel, up to a maximum of 5. If this occurs, the reels will remain at that size until the end of the feature.
In addition, each boost to the Global Multiplier will persist throughout spins. When a Scatter symbol reaches the bottom row, it will award +1 Free Spin. Lastly, Wild symbols will always carry a Multiplier between x1 and x100.
Our Honest Verdict
Alien Invaders offers mysterious and unnatural gameplay that separates it from the bulk of traditional slots, tying into the Sci-Fi theme and phenomena that surround it. Unlike traditional slot mechanics, this game excludes itself from pay lines, ways to win, or any other mechanic, for that matter.
Instead, winning combinations are constructed around the bottom row, highlighted by a Blue Border. When 3+ symbols hit on this row, it causes a chain reaction that unlocks further reel positions, allowing new winning combinations to occur.
Another area of note is the smaller payouts associated with symbols. The lower-value wins can be a little unsettling; however, they can be significantly boosted by the Global Multiplier, which is available throughout the base game and Free Spins mode.
What is somewhat difficult to achieve is the enhancement of the Global Multiplier. Unlike a traditional Avalanche slot, this game only increments the global multiplier when 10+ winning symbols explode in a spin. This can make reaching desirable payouts rather difficult, especially with the unusual payway system and bottom row function.
In Free Spins, each spin begins with a minimum of 3 symbols per reel. Again, this makes it somewhat difficult to get the ball rolling and wins flowing. What’s interesting, though, is that the reels will remain at this size for the duration of spins (up to a maximum of 5 per reel).
UK players will have to settle for the standard Free Spins mode, whilst permissible regions can access a Super Free Spins mode via the Bonus Buy tab. This mode will start the round with a x50 Global Multiplier, but is it worth the rather expensive 400x price tag? Possibly, when you look at the maths model and 5,000x max win potential.
All in all, Alien Invaders operates a number of unique functions that separate it from the bulk of traditional slots, but it’s not Pragmatic Play’s best work to date. The structure of gameplay takes time to wrap your head around, while the max win cap is not as desirable as we’d hoped.
*The images found in this slot review are currently from Demo Play. On average, our reviews are written prior to the initial release date and before real play is available.
