Mystery Bats Demo
Mystery Bats Slot Review
Backseat Gaming is taking us on another spooky adventure, where players must step into the shadows of bloodthirsty bats. With whispers of something terrifying in the wind, could it be the Mystery Bats we’re hearing so much about?
Mystery Bats is the latest hair-raising instalment from Backseat Gaming, with a theme rather fitting for Halloween…in August? If shops and supermarkets can get into the spooktacular festivities early, then so can slots, it seems.
It’s that time of year when seasoned slots, or in this case, the Halloween genre, begin to take over the iGaming industry. First on our list is Mystery Bats – a 6-reel, 5-row video slot, where elusive Mystery Bats take flight, transforming symbols for monstrous chain reactions.
With a fixed RTP of 96.29% and a high volatility rating, the only thing we’re at risk of catching from Mystery Bats is 25,000x your bet in max win capabilities.
Unlike Print Studios’ Darkness and Dreadworks, Backseat Gaming’s own interpretation of this theme is quite tame in comparison, revealing cartoon animations and somewhat friendly(ish) looking bats. If you’re a big scaredy cat at heart, you’ll find the game’s attributes a lot softer in nature.
It wasn’t long ago that Backseat Gaming had us befriending Old Drac, another of their releases that could’ve benefited from a Halloween release date, but transpired to be a great addition to their collection, nonetheless.
Are you willing to let the bats guide you to the hidden treasures lurking in the dark? Let’s find out.
Base Game & Features
Mystery Bats is the latest high volatility release from Backseat Gaming, featuring 6 reels, 5 rows, and a Scatter Pays mechanic. Matching symbols of 8 or more create scattered wins on the grid, regardless of their current position.
The highest-paying symbol falls to the Clock, followed by the goblet, ring, crucifix, and a variety of coloured gems. When a winning combination occurs, a fixed payout between 0.2x and 500x your bet is applied. The game does not include Wild symbols, but it does reveal special Scatters, which are responsible for triggering the multiple Free Spins modes.
Lastly, the Avalanche Feature guarantees that all winning combinations are removed from the reels, allowing a variety of paytable symbols to drop in from above. This continues until no new winning combinations are visible in the spin. The total win amount of each spin is displayed within the Total Win Bar above the grid.
Symbol Transform
Throughout gameplay and at the end of each avalanche event, all visible Mystery Bat symbols will activate. Mystery Bat symbols trigger from left to right, and fly upwards to the top of the grid. As they do, they transform every symbol in their path into the same high or low-paying symbol.
Each transformed symbol will reveal a random Multiplier between 2x and 100x their bet, which is applied to all winning combinations as a result of the current spin. If more than 1 Multiplier symbol participates in a win, their values are added together before being applied.
Please note that only 1 Mystery Bat symbol can appear on a reel per spin.
Mystery Bats Free Spins
Having 3 or more Scatters land within the base game will trigger the Nightfall Bonus, awarding 10 Free Spins. During this mode, each spin has an increased chance of revealing Mystery Bat symbols, while landing 3 Scatters awards an additional +10 Free Spins.
The Swarm
Alternatively, landing 4 Scatters in the base game triggers The Swarm Bonus, awarding 10 Free Spins. In this round, you are guaranteed at least 1 Mystery Bat symbol per spin, while landing 3 Scatters awards an additional +10 Free Spins.
Bonus Buy
Players within permissible and acceptable regions can participate in several Bonus Buy options, in addition to Featurespins modes:
- Bonushunt Featurespins: Each spin is 3x more likely to trigger a Free Spins mode for 2x your bet spin (96.27%)
- Winged Chance Featurespins: Guarantees at least 1 Mystery Bat symbol for 50x your bet (96.31%)
- Nightfall: Awards 10 Free Spins and an increased chance of landing Mystery Bat symbols for 100x your bet (96.29%)
- The Swarm: Awards 10 Free Spins and a guaranteed Mystery Bat symbol per spin for 200x your bet (96.35%)
All of the above Bonus Buy options reveal a ‘very high‘ volatility score, except The Swarm, which is fixed at ‘extreme‘.
Mystery Bats has a max win potential of 25,000x your bet. If a single game round exceeds this figure, the current mode ends, and the player returns to the base game with the qualifying amount.
Our Honest Verdict
If there’s one thing that sells a game, it’s the type of mechanics software developers utilise in their releases. Fortunately for players with a soft spot for anything but standard pay lines, Mystery Bats is the latest instalment to receive the Scatter Pays treatment.
While there are many slot releases with this particular mechanic, it beats the traditional pay line structure that Hacksaw Gaming and other partner studios tend to steer towards. Wins are more achievable through this mechanic, but they often result in smaller payouts due to its big potential.
Another interesting choice for this developer is the spooky, hair-raising theme, which can only mean that the Halloween season is almost upon us, and soon, we will have an entire catalogue of Halloween slots to get through.
In the base game, our focus is on the Mystery Bat symbols, which play a vital role in distributing bigger payouts. However, getting them to appear consistently on the grid is another matter. For the best outcomes, Mystery Bats will need to land along the bottom of the reels so that they transform a larger scale of symbols.
When they do transform, they leave behind a trail of Multipliers, which encourages bigger payouts of up to 25,000x your bet to occur. Unfortunately, having a single Mystery Bat at the top of a reel will have little effect on the grid and may even fail to create a winning combination of that symbol type.
The only saving grace would be to trigger The Swarm – the more rewarding Free Spins mode of the two, which guarantees at least 1 Mystery Bat at the start of each spin. The game’s base features and Free Spins modes are rather volatile and deliver many ‘hit and miss’ moments.
All in all, Mystery Bats has its moments of excitement, but it doesn’t quite hit the spot like previous instalments in Backseat Gaming’s portfolio. It’s a solid game, but it’s a little more ‘miss’ than it is ‘hit’.
*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.
