Annihilator

Annihilator Review

This game is the latest addition to a series of rock-themed slots. This release, Annihilator, has the challenge of following a very successful and popular title. It’s not easy to impress after that, but we will try to judge this game on its own merits in this review.

With the spooky looking mansion in the background, Annihilator slot plays out on 5 reels, 3 rows and 10 ways to win. You can place bets between 10p and £100 per spin across all platforms and devices, and the game comes with an RTP of 96.2 % or 94.2 %, depending on the casino and/or the market. The volatility is high, but a volatility score of 8/10 means that the edges have been smoothed somewhat here.

There are 2 base game bonus features to look forward to, as well as a pretty “wild” free spins bonus round. The band itself has been around for more than 35 years, but they never really broke completely through to the mainstream. This will probably be the case for the slot version also, but we do have a strong feeling that fans all over the world will love this title.

What symbols are there?

The highest paying symbol is the Jeff Waters wild, who is the band's guitarist and the central founding member. The highest paying regular symbol is Alice and her doll Clare from the cover of the debut album called Alice in Hell. You also find Jeff Waters’ iconic guitar on the reels, and the metallic royal symbols of lower value are cast in the band’s infamous logo font. You need between 3 and 5 matching symbols to win, and here is the paytable for Annihilator slot:

• Jeff Waters wild - Pays 40x for 5 on a payline
• Alice & Clare - Pays 30x for 5 on a payline
• Annihilator II guitar - Pays 25x for 5 on a payline
• Broken mirror - Pays 20x for 5 on a payline
• Royal symbols - Pay between 5x and 2x for 5 on a payline

What are the bonus features?

There are enough features here to keep anyone entertained, and the base game comes with 2 unique features while you wait to trigger the bonus round. We shall take a closer look at all of them below.

In Command wild respins (with guaranteed wins)

This can be triggered at random times in the base game, and it expands the Jeff Waters wild so it covers full reels. The more wilds you land, the more fully stacked wild reels you will get. If the initial wild expansions don’t give you any wins, you will be granted a respin where the wilds are sticky. You get new respins until you actually land a winning combo, so you are guaranteed a win whenever this feature triggers.

Fun Palace Pick’em bonus game

When you land 3 of Clare the doll bonus symbols on reels, 2, 3 and 4 on the same spin, you trigger this feature. It takes you inside the Fun Palace, and here you get to pick from a staircase full of creepy looking dolls. Each doll reveals a cash prize, and prizes between 1 and 5 times your stake gives you another pick, while prizes between 10x and 50x ends the feature. If you uncover a scatter symbol, you are taken directly into the game’s bonus round.

Free spins in Annihilator

You can also trigger the Set the World on Fire free spins bonus round by landing the devil scatter on reels 1, 3 and 5 on the same spin. The spooky mansion in the background is now going up in flames, and you get 8 free spins to start with. Every spin comes with at least one expanded wild reel, and this default wild reel will move either right or left on the reels per spin.

The walking wild leaves a trail of fire highlighting 1 to 3 symbols in height, and any wild that lands inside the burning frame will effectively turn the whole highlighted area into a wild. Landing new devil scatters gives you 2 extra spins per scatter, and you can get yourself up to 50 free spins in total this way.

What is the jackpot (max win)?

There is no progressive or fixed jackpot to be found in the Annihilator slot, and the potential has been toned down significantly from their last game in the series. It’s still decent, however, as you can win up to 5,000x your stake. Play with the highest possible stake, and this headbanger can add £500,000 to your bank account. Certainly enough to buy you a VIP ticket to their next concert, and maybe even a backstage pass.

Where can I play Annihilator?

You can play Annihilator for real money at one of the listed casinos.

Don’t want to play for real money? No problem, you can easily play the demo for free.

You can also play Annihilator on your mobile and tablet, but without a good headset or bluetooth speakers, the experience will hardly be the same. The soundtrack is half the fun here, but if you want to take this band with you on the road, you can play on your Android, iPhone or iPad for sure.

SlotCatalog verdict

There is no doubt that fans of Annihilator will love this game, and headbang along to the band’s most famous hit songs. Those who expected the same record-breaking potential and craziness, might be somewhat disappointed, however. We don’t really see any reason for that, as Annihilator is a solid game with fun (yet somewhat traditional) features, and a good enough potential for this kind of volatility.