Def Leppard Hysteria

Theme and Design

There are many rock n roll slots out there, and the format doesn’t really change much. I don’t mind that. NetEnt’s Guns n Roses and Motorhead nailed it a few years back and Def Leppard continues that tradition with the grid set against an epic stage setting backdrop that will be familiar to anyone who has seen this band live – they love their wide-angled stage sets, huge speaker stacks, blistering light shows and dry ice. For whatever reason, band members Joe Elliot and pals do not appear anywhere in the game, which is a little disappointing, but the tunes and light show still create a great atmosphere.

In short, you can’t really go wrong with these games if the soundtrack is right and with Def Leppard’s crowd-pleasing back catalogue the sounds and visuals here are a sure-fire hit.

RTP and Variance

Def Leppard Hysteria has five available RTP settings – 96.27%, 94.27%, 91.27%, 87.28% and 84.28%. To give yourself the best chance of a positive return on your wagering you should play Def Leppard slot at a site that offers the game at the maximum RTP. We checked the RTP at four popular slot sites. This is what we found:

• Casumo (independent) – 94.2% RTP
• Duelz Casino (SuprPLay) – 87.2% RTP
• Barz Casino (White Hat Gaming) – 94.2% RTP
• All British Casino (L and L Europe) – 94.2% RTP

None of these sites are running the game at the optimum RTP in the UK which is not unusual. I would recommend playing at Casumo or Barz Casino where the 94.2% is still OK.

This is a medium variance game so the win distribution is relatively even, certainly compared to other rock n roll slots from Play n Go like Kiss Reels of Rock for example which is much more volatile.

If you like high risk games be sure to check out our list of the best high variance slots.

Maximum Win

The top payout on Def Leppard Hysteria is 10,000x which gives you a £10,000 win for a £1 bet. This is good for a medium variance slot but not one of the highest paying Play n Go slots. Games like Kiss Reels of Rock (50,000x) and The Last Sundown (36,000x) offer a much higher potential.

If you want games with big maximum wins, check out our list of the highest paying slots of all time.

Symbols and Paytable

Def Leppard Hysteria is a Cluster Pays slot that plays out on a 5 reel by 7 row grid.

That means there are NO paylines. Instead, you just need to land 5 or more matching symbols in adjacent positions on the grid so that they form ‘Clusters’. Cluster of 15 or more matching symbols offer the highest prizes.

One thing I really like about this game is the paytable. It kicks out some really nice prizes at the top end from the premium symbols which are the rocket, guitar, cheetah and mask. These are valued at from 0.5x for 5 rockets up to 1,000x for 15 or more masks.

Of course, we need to keep in mind that the odds of landing 15 or more matching symbols are very low. But still, a 1,000x payout shows good potential.

At the low end of the scale, the symbols are the clubs, spades, hearts, diamonds and the star. These are valued at from 0.1x for 5 clubs up to 30x for 15 or more stars.

There are also Wilds represented by a big letter ‘W’ in the game which are a big part of Hysteria. They can sub in for any other symbol to form a winning cluster and they also come with multipliers in the free spins round as we will see in a moment.

Features and Gameplay

For me, Def Leppard Hysteria has been built for mass market appeal. Its mid-range variance and the simple Wild-based features mean this game will have a broad appeal. It is certainly easier to understand than your average Nolimit City game for example and if you have played any other Cluster Pays slots then you will get the hand of it in no time.

Cascading Wins

Central to the gameplay is the Cascading Wins mechanic – after every win, symbols in a cluster are removed from the grid to be replaced with new ones that drop down from above. The whole grid shuffles round to accommodate the new symbols which might create more clusters. If so, the process repeats. And so on, until no more wins appear!

Break It Up – Consolation on Non-Winning Spins

This next big I love – because Play n Go have added a dash of good will to the game. So that,

even non-winning drops might be rewarded because with the Break It Up feature, when no clusters form, between 3 and 6 wilds are added at random to the grid.

It’s a generous idea though I should add that in testing it definitely doesn’t happen ALL the time!!

Fire Me Up – Collect Symbols To Earn Extra Wilds

Then, there is a ‘meter’ feature, a bit like you find in the ‘Toonz series. This is called Fire Me Up. One symbol is picked on every spin and when wins that include that symbol occur, the meter to the side of the grid is filled. Now … when this happens FOUR times, the meter is full and 3 to 6 wilds are added to the grid.

Pour Some Sugar on Me Free Spins With Multiplier Wilds

In the style of Big Time Gaming, Play n Go have named their bonus round after a famous Def Leppard song – Pour Some Sugar On Me. It’s an excellent way to weave gameplay and theme together.

I really like the activation mechanism here too. First, spotlight positions exist on each spin which spell out the word S-U-G-A-R. To trigger the round you will need to cover every letter from the word over the course of a spin and subsequent Cascades.

That gets you ONE free spin.

The meter is active again, but this time you get Progressive Multiplier Wilds AND … as these Multiplier Wilds drop down a row on the grid with each cascade, the multiplier increases by 1x, up to 7x maximum.

Why do I like this so much? Because there is plenty of room to build big wins where 2, 3 or more multiplier wilds combine in one cluster. That’s where you are going to build towards your 10,000x max win. You'll see this in action in the 200 test spins below, though the overall win was just 61.1x in my case.