ZapLab Slot Review
Get ready to meet the mad Dr. Mayhem who has been conducting mass experiments in ELK Studios’ latest release, ZapLab!
Dr. Mayhem has conducted many experiments from the early 20th century, attempting to reconnect and harness lost souls of the past through electricity. Forged by spirits and powered by light, Zappy emerged from his machine, a bright ball of energy lingering like distant thunder, ready to strike back.
Although it appears Dr Mayhem wasn’t all that successful in his experiment, he did manage to conjure a series of Monsters across 7 reels and rows, in what appears to be a slot strikingly similar to Play’n GO’s Reactoonz series. Harness the power of Symbol Upgrades, Wild Flips, Monster Meters, and Shockwaves in ZapLab – a slot with electrifying potential worth up to 10,000x your bet!
Base Game and Features
ZapLab is a 7-reel, 7-row Video Slot featuring a Cluster Pays mechanic and varying bet sizes between £0.20 and £100 per spin. This Mid-High Volatility slot includes an overall RTP of 94% and a generous max win cap of 10,000x your bet.
Thanks to the Cluster Pays mechanic, wins are calculated when 5-25 matching symbols land adjacent to each other, either Horizontally or Vertically on the grid. There are a total of 8 High and Low-paying symbols, each producing a fixed payout between 0.1x and 1,000x your bet. When 4 matching symbols, including Wilds, are in a square formation, they will merge into a 2×2 symbol of the same kind.
When a winning cluster emerges, it is removed and replaced with new symbols that drop from above, via an Avalanche Feature. This continues until no new winning combinations are possible for that spin. In addition, this function allows players to create or enhance additional wins within a single spin to achieve even bigger results.
Monster Meter
In the base game, winning clusters are collected and stored within a special Monster Meter to the left of the main grid. Each removed symbol contributes to filling the Monster Meter by +1 step, up to a maximum of 25 steps. When the Monster Meter is filled, it will award a random Special Feature – these include:
- Monster Reload: Triggers a symbol redrop, while present Zappy symbols remain in view.
- Wild Flip: Selects a random symbol and replaces all matching instances with Wilds, substituting for all paytable symbols.
- Monster Chunks: Selects a random number of paytable symbols (or Wilds) and replaces them with individual 2×2 symbols.
- Monstrous: Chooses a random paytable symbol and/or Wild and transforms it into a 3×3, 4×4, or 5×5 symbol
- Zapocalypse: Awards a random number of Dr. Mayhem symbols which Zappy activates
Special Features that are triggered from a filled Monster Meter will remain pending until there are no more cluster wins. The pending feature is then applied and gameplay continues until there are no more wins before the next feature is activated. Flashing colours on the Monster Meter indicate which Special Feature is awarded when the meter reaches max capacity:
- Orange: Feature symbol
- Turquoise: Monster Reload
- Blue: Wild Flip
- Green: Monstrous Chunks
- Purple: Monstrous
- Pink: Zapocalypse
Feature Symbols
In addition to Monster Features, ZapLab has 3 individual Feature symbols available. The feature symbols can be accessed through the Monster Meter or during an Avalanche event. Feature symbols drop as Wilds and do not activate until they are a part of at least 1 winning cluster.
- Omniblast: Transforms itself and all paytable symbols in an X-shaped pattern into the same, randomly selected, high or low-paying symbol
- Electroshift: Selects a random paytable symbol from the grid and upgrades itself and all instances to a higher-paying symbol
- Twilight Twirl: Randomly chooses a paytable symbol, converting itself to the same type and removing all other paytable symbols
Shockwaves
The Shockwaves Feature is triggered when the Monster Meter has been filled 5 times in a single game round. Once active, it will award all Monster Features which are played out one at a time. The Monster Feature are awarded in the following order:
- Monster Reload
- Wild Flip
- Monstrous Chunks
- Monstrous
- Zapocalypse
This cycle will repeat in the event of the Monster Meter being refilled during this feature.
Zappy
Zappy is an adorable ball of energy that acts as a Wild on the grid. When in view, he will jump to new positions when he is part of a winning cluster. Zappy leaves behind a Wild symbol and immediately attacks all Dr Mayhem symbols, zapping them off the grid prior to any win evaluations. Each zap to occur increases Zappy’s Global Multiplier.
Zappy may also expand to 2×2, 3×3, or 4×4 during the last zap attack prior to the win evaluation. Please note, that Dr Mayhem symbols are Blockers during any symbol drop, but can increase the Monster Meter when zapped off the grid by Zappy.
X-iter
- Shockwaves Hunt: Each spin is 3 times more likely to trigger the Shockwaves feature (3x your bet)
- Zappy’s Turf: Guarantees 1 spin with Zappy on the grid (5x your bet)
- Amplifier: Awards 1 spin with a pending Special Feature from the Monster Meter (25x your bet)
- Shockwaves: Guarantees a spin where the Shockwaves feature triggers (100x your bet)
- Maxed Monster: Awards 1 spin with a Monstrous drop of 5×5, with the Monster Meter activating Monster Chunks and Monstrous Features until the Shockwaves feature triggers (500x your bet)
Our Verdict
ZapLab is a chaotic, highly intensive, and feature-rich instalment from ELK Studios which shares many characteristics and similarities to Play’n GO’s Reactoonz series, only with much more excitement and anticipation.
Instantly winning points for its Cluster Pays mechanic, ZapLab is packed with nifty Monster and Feature symbols, as well as giant symbols, multipliers, and its very own Zappy symbol which has a certain beef with Dr Mayhem.
Although ELK Studios has stripped the game of Free Spins and Super Free Spins modes, there is an individual Shockwaves Feature which activates all 5 Monster features simultaneously over a number of spins. This feature is particularly reminiscent of the Gargantoon feature found in Reactoonz, only magnified by Zappy Multipliers for big payouts.
The mid-high volatility rating is paired with ELK Stuidos’ standard RTP module of 94% and topped with a sizable max win cap of 10,000x your bet. Given the vast selection of features and modifiers available here, the max win cap is certainly achievable, however, ELK Studios missed a perfect opportunity to return the 50,000x max win caps found in many of their Nitropolis series.
