Neon Staxx slot review

Building towers consisting of matching symbols can prove to be a lucrative occupation in Neon Staxx, a NetEnt game that has a payout potential of up to 4,000x your bet.

Every once in a while I come across a new neon-doused slot with a retro sci-fi theme that I simply can’t avoid comparing to NetEnt’s Neon Staxx. To me, this game is a point of reference for having all of the visual characteristics that define the genre.

In terms of gameplay and features, there is the defining feature called ‘Super Staxx’ that dictates an engaging tempo by canvassing multiple reels in a matching symbol kind.The reel set has a layout of 4x5 and enough paylines (40) to cover more than a few payline wins that can emerge from the same spin.

NetEnt could have left the game with that feature only, and all would have been fine, but they had also included another set of features to make for a gaming experience that I find dynamic and visually entertaining.

Theme and Design

Anyone who is familiar with the movie Tron and its ‘Legacy’ sequel will find the originating idea for this game and those similar to it. As I am playing Neon Staxx, I can’t shake off the impression that I am in a highly-evolved, yet somehow still dystopian, platform city that NetEnt has built for this memorable game.

Let your imagination go wild and you may freely pick out a premise in which competing factions have taken to identifying themselves according to one of four animal symbols: viper, hawk, bear and lion. Regardless of the side that chooses you by granting bigger blocks consisting of stacked reels, we are all jamming to a Daft Punk-ish electronic ballad that has the 80s in its blood.

While the choice of music is spot on, the animal emblems are inanimate, even when they are part of a winning payline. I don’t think this takes away from the visual experience immensely, but it could have made the game engaging on yet another level.

Extra Features

The slots experts at NetEnt have fused together the extra features and special symbols perfectly within the gameplay. Yes, the Super Staxx feature defines the game and makes for better payouts, but it can reflect even better when a full or partial stack of wilds finds itself in the right position.

• Super Staxx

  Any symbol from the paytable, except the scatter, can land stacked on multiple reels. There is no rule as to the order of the stacks. These can land on the first reel, adjacent one to another, they can come in blocks of two, three and even four reels, and can trigger wild stacks which is one of the best outcomes that you can imagine happening on the reel set.

• Free Spins

  The scatter symbol can trigger 10, 15 and 20 free spins when three, four and five symbols land anywhere on the reel set. The Super Staxx feature is available during the free spins but comes with a special twist that can reflect on the balance quite handsomely.

  Before the start of the free rounds, one of the animal emblems, or the wild, is selected as the special stacked symbol. That symbol becomes the one and only that can trigger the Super Staxx feature.

• Wild

  I wasn’t lucky enough to get the wild as a special symbol, but you can imagine the payout possibilities when that symbol comes raining in stacks on multiple reels. What is more, the wild can pay 0.75x, 1.5x and 10x your bet for three, four and five symbols on a payline.

Bets and Payouts

According to NetEnt, the maximum payout potential is 80,000 coins, which translates into wins of up to 4,000x your bet. This is a hefty amount, but also one that the majority of players probably aren't going to arrive at, due to the game's low to medium variance.

The low-paying symbols are a case in point for the paytable's low payouts when they trigger outside the Super Staxx feature. The royal card symbols pay only 0.2x and 0.25x for three of a kind and 1x and 1.25x your bet for five of a kind.

In the high-paying symbol category, you can gain your bet amount back starting with four bear symbols. This is the third most valuable symbol in this category, which illustrates that the potential payouts in Neon Staxx would amount to little without the Super Staxx feature.

Summary

Even though payline win amounts on the paytable are low, they may not necessarily reflect as such in the game. NetEnt has struck a perfect balance in this game. I think what makes the game appealing, besides the Super Staxx feature, are the 40 paylines, as this ensures that no winning outcome escapes the dragnet in the case of multiple symbol stacks or, in the best possible outcome, two or more stacks of wilds.