Rogue Rats of Nitropolis

Rogue Rats of Nitropolis Slot Review

Slot Provider: ELK Studios

RTP: 94% | Variance: High | Maximum Win: 25,000x

Our Score: 8.8

Play at Barz Casino
QUICK LINKS: Game Information | Where To Play | Full Review | Testing Notes | Tips For Players | About The Developer

WHY YOU CAN TRUST THIS REVIEW: The information and opinions on this page are the result of an comprehensive process of information gathering and live game testing by the gambling experts who work at allslotsites.com. Find out more here.

About Rogue Rats of Nitropolis

Reviewed by:

Published Date: 6th February 2024

How We Review Slot Games

We test and rate all slot games across 5 criteria, assigning a score out of 10 for each and an overall score that is an average of the 5. To build an accurate assessment of each game we gather information from the supplier and play in real play or demo mode. Find out more.

Rogue Rats of Nitropolis is the second of five Nitropolis games to be released by ELK Studios in 2024. It follows the story of the Rogue Rat clan as they prepare themselves to return to the big smoke to take on their rivals in a titanic Nitroplis 5 game later in the year. This game takes an unexpected turn, dispensing with the traditional slots format altogether, as spins are replaced with game phases where the hero of the story, lead Rogue Rat, drives round a desert wasteland collecting symbols and feature as he goes. It’s a totally unique experience, so brace yourself ….

Rogue Rats of Nitropolis will appear at UK slot sites from 5th March 2024.

Rogue Rats of Nitropolis Game Information

  • Release Date: 5th March 2024
  • RTP: 94%
  • Variance: High
  • Maximum Win: 25,000x
  • Progressive Jackpot: No
  • Reels: 5
  • Rows: 5
  • Paylines: None
  • Minimum Stake: £0.20
  • Theme: ActionFantasy
  • Features: Expanding ReelsFree SpinsMultipliers
  • Format: 5-Reel

Testing Notes: Here’s What Happened When We Played Rogue Rats of Nitropolis

IMPORTANT: To give you an accurate assessment of the games we review our writers play 200 spins. Whilst this is a useful tool to help us review games and to give an example of what might happen when you play, keep in mind that 200 spins is only a very small sample and cannot be used to accurately predict what might happen over another 200 spins. The outcome of all slots play is always random.

Boom Or Bust? Our Session By The Numbers

I played 200 spins on Rogue Rats of Nitropolis on test servers prior to release to test the game. This is what happened.

  • Stake Size: £1
  • Start balance: £1,000
  • End balance: £1,039.25
  • Hit Rate: 23% (23 winning spins in 100)
  • Biggest Win: 80.5x
  • Free Spins Round: 1

This was a fantastic game to play. At the start it felt disorientating trying to figure out what was going on, but once you’ve powered through 20 or so ‘spins’ you start to get the rhythm of the game and work out the things to look out for. In simple, terms you just want the Rats journey to keep going for as long as possible, and that is dependent on keeping fuel supplies up. At the same time, you want to land as many symbols, multipliers and other features as you can, and upgrade the symbol values as often as possible, to drive up the value of your wins.

Starting with the numbers, the hit rate came in at 23% which is normal for a high variance game. Most hit rates are around 20% to 30% with a few outliers. Like a standard slot, you can get runs of 5 or 6 ‘spins’ with no return, but I don’t recall a no-win sequence any longer than that. As far as RTP goes, it was a lucky session, finishing on a positive balance of £1,039.25.

Big Win in Rogue Rats
On the way to an 80.95x win in testing

Onto the gameplay, and once I got my head around it I was looking for Fuel Wells at every turn to keep boosting the energy levels. All spins end when you run out of fuel, which can be frustrating when you can see another group of symbols just ahead or you’ve just unlocked a good multiplier or symbol upgrade. Fortunately, the fuel wells show up regularly.

Other features that were particularly good included the New Vehicle which allows you to change color and take advantage of a nearby group of symbols, and the Nitro Multiplier which adds a multiplier to the game round. But the best moment by far was when the Turret activated. This showed up 3 or 4 times over 200 spins, and on each occasion it widened the visible area so the Rat can spot feature symbols and pay symbol groups further away than usual. He then does 360 degree gun fire to activate all features which is spectacular.

As far as wins go, I maxed out at 80.45x which isn’t bad. This involved an amazing sequence that showed how exciting Rogue Rats can be. The round was powered by a Nitro Fuel Boost which is a powerful feature.  The fuel meter remained full for 4 or 5 moves during which time there were 2 Upgrades, a Turret and a Car Change. This is what you are looking for: a succession of features at the same time as a Fuel Boost to sustain the round so that the wins just snowball.

And on a final note, Rogue Rats feels like good value too as game rounds last longer than your average slot spin. So all in, a top class game.

Keep reading and we’ll take you through a breakdown of the game’s RTP, variance and max win, as well as descriptions of each feature.

What We Liked

  • Totally unique game design that takes slots in a new direction
  • Exciting ways to trigger wins, multipliers and other features
  • Big 25,000x maximum win potential
  • Fun animations throughout

What We Didn't like

  • Default RTP is 94%

Rogue Rats of Nitropolis Review Scores

  • Theme and Design 9
  • RTP and Variance 7
  • Maximum Win 9
  • Symbols and Paytable 9
  • Features and Gameplay 10

What Our Reviewer Says ...

"Early days, but one of the games of the year so far and definitely deserving of an award. Takes slot play to totally new places!"

Overall Score: 8.8

Theme & Design

Our Score 9

Leave All Your Preconceptions About How Slot Games Work At The Door!

If you were expecting 4 almost identical slots to represent the 4 clans of Nitropolis, then think again. This is a radical departure. The Rat’s territory is a desert land not unlike the Mad Max movies. There are no standard reels, but rather a game area displayed within a square space surrounded by an iron frame.  The Rat, in his vehicle, sees just a 5×5 grid within the square, on which colored symbols are dropped. He moves around, collecting them, and feature symbols, as he goes. It sounds mad, and it really is like nothing you’ve played before. There is a cracking breakbeat soundtrack to go with the bonkers gameplay, and overall it’s as immersive as any other slot game you might play. Video gamers will love it.

Rogue Rats by ELK Studios
Rogue Rats – no ordinary slot game

RTP and Variance

Our Score 7

What is RTP?

RTP (Return to Player) refers to the amount a game will pay out in cash prizes expressed as a percentage of all the money wagered on that game. For example, a 96% RTP means a game will pay out £96 for every £100 wagered. This is an average number and will vary from one session to the next.  Read more here.

What is Variance?

Variance refers to how far a game will deviate from its RTP over time. High variance games deviate a lot and produce uneven win distributions and unexpected windfalls. Low variance games provide a more stable and even distribution of wins. Read more here.

Rogue Rats of Nitropolis sticks to the standard ELK Studios RTP of 94%, same as all others in the series. On the one hand, this puts it a few % points lower than the RTP of most slots on the market. However, it is a fixed RTP which means wherever you play the game it will run at 94%. This is an advantage over slots from names like Nolimit City and Hacksaw Gaming, which have more than one RTP setting, meaning you might be playing at 90% or lower at some sites.

We are, unsurprisingly, in high variance territory again. Every other Nitropolis game is volatile too, so expect a bumpy ride but certainly with the potential to kick out some extraordinary win sequences from time to time.

Maximum Win

Our Score 9

What Is Maximum Win?

Maximum win refers to the maximum amount a player can win from one spin. It is expressed as a multiple of the stake. For example, where the maximum win is 100,000x, from a £1 stake, the maximum win would be £100,000.  

The top payout in Rogue Rats is 25,000x. This is the same as Gritty Kitty, the first in the Nitropolis quintet for 2024. It’s a very good potential though some fans of Elk will no doubt complain that it falls well short of the 50,000x available in Nitropolis 3 and 4.

Symbols and Paytable

Our Score 9

Rogue Rats of Nitropolis does not work like a standard slot. Details of the gameplay are described in detail in the next section, but your goal is to collect groups of symbols of the same color as the Rat’s car. There are FOUR symbol colors, and each symbol comes in six sizes.

Rogue Rats Paytable
The paytable with 6 value levels for each symbol color

At the start of each game round, ALL symbols appearing are at the smallest size, but they may be upgraded as the round progresses and new features are activated.

The lowest value are the greens, valued at from 0.05x per symbol at the smallest size, up to 1x at the biggest size. Blues range fom 0.1x up to 1.5x. Yellows range from 0.15x up to 2x. And reds are valued at from 0.2x up to 5x.

There are no wilds in the game.

Features and Gameplay

Our Score 10

This is a truly unique slot so it will take some time to get used to, but once you do you’ll see that the principles of a slot game remain the same, they have just been transposed into a different environment. Rather than land rows of identical symbols across paylines or win ways, you, as the Rogue Rat, are driving around a desertscape, powered by Nitro Fuel, collecting groups of identical symbols to trigger wins.

Rogue Rats Red Car
Rogue Rat in the red car

To start, each ‘spin’ begins with the Rat (that’s you!) jumping into his vehicle, randomly colored red, yellow, green or blue. What happens in the next step will depend on what Rat can see from his view point. He can only see what is visible in the 5×5 grid though the desert itself stretches infinitely around him. He will drive as far as he can to stop at a position adjacent to a group of symbols or a feature symbol.

If the color of that group of symbols matches those of his vehicle, he pulls them in and your total win for that spin increases by the equivalent pay table value. When this happens, the Rat continues to drive to the next visible group of symbols which he will collect again if they match the color of his vehicle.

The round ends when Rat runs out of Nitro Fuel as explained below.

This is the basics of Rogue Rats, but of course, like any slot game there are features too, which can extend the round, multiply the win, and more. This is what you need to know.

Nitro Fuel Supply

This is the fuel required to keep the game round going. You start with a semi-filled tank, displayed above the reels in green. Every movement of the Rat in his car will deplete the supply further.

But … every win will increase the fuel supply, and you can add more by shooting at special feature symbols like Fuel Depots and Nitro Wells.

Nitro Fuel Boost

If you manage to increase the fuel supply so that the tank is full, a boost occurs where you get unlimited fuel until the next collection of coins.

Nitro Multiplier

When a Nitro Multiplier is active it will be displayed above the game grid. It is applied to all wins from coins and symbols during the current game round. You will also see the next multiplier value available when the feature is active.

NPD (Nitropolis Police Department) Radar

The Rat’s car has a gun on it. When he sees and NPD Radar he will shoot it down to unlock a random multiplier.

Nitro Blob

This appears as a big green blob in the game area. If the Rat shoots it, then all visible symbols are upgraded to the next level in the paytable.

Coins

You will also see NPD Cruisers and Helicopters on the Rat’s travels. If the Rat shoots these down then you collect coins with random instant win values. There is also a max win coin available from this feature!

New Vehicle

With each new ‘spin’ the Rat changes vehicle to drive with a new color to start collecting symbols of a different color.

Missile Silo

Look out for Missile Silo’s too, displayed as a rocket at the point of take-off. If the Rat takes one out then the visible area of the grid widens. Think of it like expanding reels on a standard slot.

Turret Feature In Rogue Rats of Nitropois
Turret Feature opens up the grid

Turret

If the Rat drives over a Turret then you will be able to access features that are more distant on the grid. That means you don’t have to drive right up to them to trigger them.

‘Free Spins’ Bonus Game

The game also has a Free Spins bonus feature. Look out for special symbols with the word ‘Bonus’ printed across them. If you collect of these then you’ll get 3 free plays. And if one of those Bonus symbols has ‘Super Bonus’ written on it, you’ll get the enhanced bonus round where each of your 3 free plays starts with a full tank of Nitro Fuel.

The Final Verdict

Rogue Rats of Nitropolis is an unexpected treat that has the potential to raise the profile of ELK Studios to new levels. This outfit have always been very creative but Rogue Rats is on a different level. You can see how the features and gameplay align with those of a standard slot but the alternative format means you enjoy it in a different way. The excitement you get from a big win round is as good as any standard slot, and there are plenty of ways to see that happen with upgrades, multipliers, turrets and car changes to help you as you watch the car racing around the desertscape. Awesome stuff and a sure-fire hit!

Useful Tips When Playing Rogue Rats of Nitropolis

Remember, online slots are games of chance, there is NO strategy that can improve your odds of winning. However, reading our review and following these tips will help you get the most out of your time playing this slot game.

1. Play In Demo Mode First

With a game as different as this one you should play in demo mode before spending your own cash. It takes some time to get used to and learning how the gameplay works will help you to enjoy it more. You can play slots for free at Casumo Casino.

2. Keep Your Eye On The Fuel Tank

Each round ends when the fuel runs dry, so keep watching that meter above the reels. If you can fill it to the top then you’ll get a free run from the Fuel Boost until you pick up your next coin. That is a powerful tool as I found out in testing.

3. Watch For The Turret Feature

When the Turret activates then you get a bigger grid and the Rat will take out every feature and symbol in view with gunfire. This can trigger some big wins.

 

4. Play At Our Recommended Slot Sites

We recommend the casinos on this page because they are fully licensed by the UK Gambling Commission which makes them fair, safe and secure. They all have responsible gambling tools to help you manage your spend.

 

Who Made Rogue Rats of Nitropolis?

  • Name: ELK Studios
  • Established: 2013
  • UK License: 40844
  • Total Games: 60 +
  • Known For: Amazing artwork, wide choice of themes and styles
  • Popular Slots: Avalon Gold, Dropz, Nitropolis, Wild Toro
Find More ELK Studios slots

Like The Sound of Rogue Rats of Nitropolis? Here are 4 more games chosen for you...

ELK Studios

Gritty Kitty of Nitropolis

Variance: | RTP: 94%

Max Win: 25,000x

Our Score 8.6

Play Now Read Review
Push Gaming

Mad Cars

Variance: High | RTP: 96.39%

Max Win: 25,000x

Our Score 8.8

Play Now Read Review
ELK Studios

Nitropolis 2

Variance: High | RTP: 95%

Max Win: 10,000x

Our Score 8.8

Play Now Read Review
Play n Go

The Last Sundown

Variance: High | RTP: 96.2%

Max Win: 36,000x

Our Score 7.8

Play Now Read Review

Allslotsites.com - Trusted and Independent Online Slot Reviews

Allslotsites.com has been publishing online slot reviews since 2018. It’s fair to say we know a thing or two about what makes a good game – that magic mix of theme, style, gameplay and payout potential. For each slot we review we take you on the full journey through its narrative and design, reel configuration, key numbers including RTP and max win, volatility level, gameplay, and finally an expert verdict. You can also check our comparison tables to see how each slot matches up against others handpicked by our reviewers and check our tips on hitting that winning streak.

We are not paid by the developers whose games we cover. We are independent and our views of each game are honest. That is why you can trust us!

Learn, explore and find your next slots adventure with us!!