Theme & Design

Invokes The Unsettling Atmosphere Of The TV Show

Branded TV slots are not worth doing if you aren’t prepared to really integrate as many elements of the show into the design and gameplay as possible. And to be fair, Light and Wonder have done just that, making full use of that license fee. The game set up takes the disorientating staircase as it’s background, and the paytable includes characters from the show including the soldiers with fencing masks and the terrifying doll-girl. But the fun really starts in the bonus rounds taken from the most famous scenes like the Red Light Green Light game, the Tug of War and the Glass Bridge. The atmosphere is unsettling – just like watching the TV show – with an air of menace throughout. Fans of the Squid Game, and those new to it, will get a real kick out of the production.

RTP and Variance

There are 4 available RTP settings for this game – 96%, 94%, 92% and 87%. It’s worth checking on the game info screen to see which rate your casino has chosen before you spin the reels with your own money. You can do this by hitting the ‘?’ in the top left of the screen then scrolling down to ‘Legal Notices’ where the RTP is published. I wouldn’t recommend playing at less than 94%, ideally at 96%.

The best casinos for good RTP are MrQ and Casumo in my experience. You can find Squid Game at both of these.

The game is in the low-medium class for volatility, which opens it up to a wider audience than Light and Wonder’s more volatile output. Wins should be regular and the distribution pretty even.

Maximum Win

In keeping with that relatively low variance the max payout is low here at just 5,000x. At the minimum stake of 10p that means you could win £500 on one spin. If that doesn’t float your boat then I recommend checking out our list of the highest max win slots where the potential scales much greater heights.

Symbols and Paytable

The reel set is a simple 5x 4 one with 40 paylines to win on. Wins are triggered in the usual way by landing 3 or more identical symbols from left to right, starting at the left most reel.

There are 9 pay symbols in all. The low payers are the tokens with circle, triangle, star and umbrella on them. They are valued at from 0.2x for 3 circles up to 2x for 5 umbrellas. The premiums are the four characters – the green, pink, yellow and blue – and the Squid Game logo. These are valued at from 0.3x for 3 green characters up to 60x for 5 Squid Game logos.

There is also a wild that can substitute for any pay symbol to complete a payline. It also has its own value at 1x, 6x or 60x for 3, 4 or 5 on a line.

Features and Gameplay

Squid Game is all about unlocking three features that are based on games that contestants have to take part in during the TV series. They are unlocked by landing 3 BONUS symbols – one each on reels 1, 3 and 5. When the third BONUS symbol lands on reel 5 then it reveals the feature that is unlocked. They are as follows:

Red Light Green Light Bonus and Jackpot Prizes 

This feature is based on a famous scene from the show. It is set in an enclosed area with a giant doll-girl stood at the end. You must choose how many steps forward you wish to take forward towards the girl and the finish line – 1, 2, 3 or 4.

If you successfully complete your steps forward then you are awarded a multiplier. But if you don’t, then you are killed off! More steps means greater multiplier values, but more chance of being killed.

• 1 Step – 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x or 10x multiplier
• 2 Steps – 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, 10x or 20x multiplier
• 3 Steps – 3x, 4x, 5x, 10x, 20x, 30x, 40x or 50x multiplier
• 4 Steps – 4x, 5x, 10x, 20x, 30x, 40x, 50x or 100x multiplier

Multipliers are collected with each step or group of steps and are activated when die – in other words they don’t get cancelled out.

The round doesn’t end when your each the doll-girl. Now you get the chance to win one of the jackpots in a Pick Me bonus. Jackpots are displayed on the left of the card and you have to find THREE matching soldier characters who reveal circle, triangle, square or masks on their faces when clicked.

Jackpots are as follows:

• Mini (Circle) – 4.56x
• Minor (Triangle) – 45.6x
• Major (Square) – 456x
• Grand (Mask) – 4,560x

At least one of the four prizes is GUARANTEED to be awarded.

Glass Bridge Bonus

In the Glass Bridge you are presented with a glass bridge along which you can progress 18 spaces in all. Whatever happens you are guaranteed to get to the free spins round. However, you want to stay on that bridge as long as possible because each move that keeps on you on there will award you a special upgrade to the free spins round. An unsuccessful move means you fall through the glass before the free spins kick in. You will be awarded one more upgrade before the spins start.

The upgrades are:

• 1, 2 or 3 extra spins
• A Wild Upgrade *
• An extra 1x multiplier
• 1 low value pay symbol removed

*There are THREE wild upgrades.

The Falling Wild causes each wild that lands during free spins to remain on the reels but drop one row with each spin until they fall off the grid.

The Walking Wild causes each wild that lands during free spins to remain on the reels but move one reel to the left with each spin until they fall off the grid.

The Locked Wild causes each wild that lands during free spins to lock in place for the rest of the round.

Tug of War Bonus

The Tug of War sees a Wild Reel appear somewhere on the grid. It can be pulled to the left or right by the teams on either side of the reels with each spin. On some occasions, more Wild Reels will be revealed for a spin, up to a maximum of 4.

The round keeps going until the wild reel is pulled off the grid to left or right. Between 3 and 10 wilds are randomly added to the grid at this point for a final payout before the round ends.

The Final Verdict

TV slots aren’t always that good but Light and Wonder have done a great job here. The menacing atmosphere of the show is ever-present and each of the 3 bonus rounds feels as tense as those famous scenes where contestants were randomly killed-off. The only small gripe is that the base game is a bit of a grind. As our test session showed, Light and Wonder clearly invested more time in making the bonus features top class and weighted the RTP towards there too. As a result, not much goes on in the base and game and you’ll need to be patient whilst waiting for the good stuff to drop. The good news is, when it does, it’ll be worth it!