CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Slot Review

For a reason, we have yet to figure out Skywin Group products are surging in popularity. It is a peculiar set of circumstances. Games that are a few years old are suddenly storming the rankings, awakening from a deep slumber. As we have mentioned before, the Belarus-based provider is a long-term Playtech partner. From our research, Skywin slots get a decent lobby position in casinos with modest game selections, ones that target UK and US players. So, their products get prime real estate at gambling sites that have weak slot arsenals. Thus, they have no competition.

CIS: Crime Scene Investigation is one of their most stable slots in the most-playable game rankings. It was super-popular a few months after it came out in 2019 and then went through a few peaks and valleys. Now, for causes, which we cannot pinpoint, it has entered the top-50, giving us ample reason to review it.

Theme & Design

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, also called CSI: Las Vegas, was a procedural crime drama that aired on CBS television from 2000 to 2015. It spanned fifteen seasons, 337 episodes, and starred William Petersen, Ted Denson, and Laurence Fishburne. It was the first series in the CSI franchise, and its third season (2002) was the most-watched weekly thing on US TV. It got so popular that Quentin Tarantino requested to direct an episode and got his shot with the season five finale.

Skywin Group’s game incorporates all the actors from the first few seasons of the show. So all the original cast members show up as symbols here as painterly illustrations. The backdrop is an image of Sin City in all its vibrant glory, with a 1980s detective movie soundtrack playing in the background. CSI uses video clips from the show. You get greeted with a video intro, and gift-like clips play in symbol positions when wins occur. The game has a very mid-2000s video game vibe. It reminded us of the Irrational Games 2005 tactical shooter SWAT 4.

The buttons interface is similar to other Skywin games. However, they decided to jazz it up a bit by turning the spin button into a fingerprint scanner and the turbo-spin option into a speedometer. You can find both on the right side of your screen on a desktop browser. On the left is the bet adjuster. The info and mute options are in a bar at the bottom of your screen.

Specs & Gameplay

CSI is a five-reel, four-row reel-spinner with fifty available paylines. It is a medium variance game with a default RTP of 95.18%, lower than average. However, the hit frequency here is a stunning 54.344. Bet sizes go as low as $0.5 and as high as $250. The maximum win potential has a cap of x1,000 your wager. Wins happen in CSI when you hit two to five matching symbols on adjacent reels. You can get a prize with only two high-paying symbols, but you need at least three low ones for a win.

The low-paying symbols here are predominately things that you would find in a forensics kit. They are a flashlight, a glass tube, a glass case with powder, and a magnifying glass. A gun and a bullet are also in this group. All of these pay modest rewards. For sizeable ones, you have to hope to land the game’s six characters on the reels, which can appear fully stacked. To win the Mega Bonus of x100 your stake, you will have to fill the screen with Captain Jim Brass.

The Wild is the word itself, substituting all other symbols except for the specialty ones. The Scatter (two Scatters pay x3) is the acronym CSI, while the Free Games and Bonus Games symbols are their corresponding words.

Bonus Features

Landing Scatters on reels two and four, along with a Bonus Game symbol on reel three, activates the Crime Scene Bonus Round. It is a pick ’em mini-game where you have to select four marked items out of ten. Each selection reveals one of three prizes, a cash reward, a reward plus an extra pick, and a prize plus evidence. If you manage to collect four pieces of evidence, your win will get multiplied by x2.

To enter the Case Files Free Game, you will have to hit two Scatters on the second and fourth reel and a Free Games symbol on the middle one. That will get you eight complimentary rotations, and you will have to select one of eight case files to start this mode. Once you do, it will reveal a team member and a low-paying symbol. These two will be the only ones that appear for the duration of this round, allowing for more frequent wins. You can reactivate this mode indefinitely.

GOSU Verdict

There is also a CSI slot from IGT and a CSI: Miami one from MGA Games. Both are also licensed products. We’re on the fence with this one. It is simple, yet the bonus rounds are fun, and we always respect branded slots because we know that the providers have invested in the game. If you are a fan of the show, play CSI from Skywin. If not, look for something a bit more exciting. There are plenty of medium variance games that feature a higher RTP and max exposure. Though, we doubt that you can find others with the same hit frequency as this one.

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