Mermaids Slot Review

It had been a while since we reviewed a NetEnt game, a pause that we broke with our analysis of this company’s Gladiator Clash slot. There is no argument that as far as casino game software suppliers go, NetEnt is one of the most relevant ones, as it has played a pivotal role in this sector’s development and has been responsible for some of its most popular games, like Gonzo’s Quest and Starburst.

There has not been much news on the NetEnt front, aside from this supplier releasing their usual number of games per month (two to three). We only saw a tidbit of news that this Sweden-headquartered company made its debut in the Croatian-regulated market in May of this year. It did so after entering the Colombian and Swiss ones in April.

Mermaids is the latest NetEnt title, which popped in online casino lobbies everywhere on July 4th, 2024. It is a bit early for it to trend anywhere, but we assume that it will do Okay in most developed markets due to the reputation NetEnt carries. The company’s name carries weight, and its products usually get a decent position on most gambling sites’ game pages.

Theme & Design

Everyone probably knows that a mermaid is a mythical creature that is half-human-half-fish. It has an upper human female body and the tail of a fish. They are present in the folklore of many cultures around the globe. There are mermans, their male equivalents also. But these beings have not gotten as exploited in works of fiction as their female counterparts, probably best known as the sirens of Greek mythology, which would sing and seduce sailors. They would lure these seamen into their traps with their enchanting voices, killing them as soon as they get near enough to do so. These tales originated the medieval European folklore, where people would blame shipwrecks and foretell storms of sirens.

Mermaids, aside from their shimmering fishtails, are also characterized by their long flowing hairs. Although they usually get depicted as malevolent monsters. In some stories, they are kind and helpful. They symbolize beauty, mystery, and danger.

Mermaids have long been an established motif in the slot sphere, and some of our favorite games featuring them are Pragmatic Play’s Queen of Atlantis, Spinomenal’s Poseidon’s Rising, and the classic Mermaid Royale by RTG. None of these titles are super engaging. Nonetheless, they are among the best this category offers.

In our opinion, Mermaids by NetEnt may be the best-looking game with Mermaids in it. That is largely because many of the products where these creatures take center stage are a tad older. It has cool painterly graphics, with a blue underwater background that depicts what we assume is the fallen city of Atlantis. The character designs here are pretty good, and we like the Barbie-style font used for the logo and other game areas. The sound side of things is also not too shabby. We do not want to leave an impression that we are overly praising the presentation of this game, as it falls in line with our NetEnt expectations. It is nothing that stunned us and is a bit static, but we found it pleasing overall.

The game’s buttons sit below the 5×3 grid, with the spin ones lying below the reel layout, with the spin one under a golden ornamented element. You get the bet selector to the left of these functions, and to the right of them is your win and balance info.

Specs & Gameplay

As noted above, the reel-spinning entertainment here plays out on a standard 5×3 grid, one with twenty paylines. The game comes with two possible RTP settings the first is 94.01%, and the second is 96.09%. The variance in both is high, and the max here is an unimpressive x1,974 for a spinner with this high of a math model. The betting range in NetEnt’s Mermaids starts at $0.10 and goes up to $40 per spin.

You win something in this game by landing two to five identical symbols. Only the red and blonde mermaids give rewards for two matching tokens featuring them, and for the rest, you must get at least three in view. The low-pay ones are card royals (five), paying up to x20 for five-of-a-kind combos. The four mermaids are this slot’s premiums, which can produce rewards up to x100 for five-of-a-kind combinations.

Bonus Features

As far as bonus features go, there are four distinct wilds here. Three are progress ones, and the other is a regular, only appearing through the Random Wilds feature. All wild symbols can substitute pay symbols, and only the progress ones contribute to filling Progress Globes. When you fill these, corresponding features activate. These are the Picker Bonus, Wild Spins, or Mermaid Spins.

The Picker Bonus starts with ten Purple Progress Globes collected. Upon reaching fifteen, you get three picks, with the prizes randomized, including rewards up to x50, Mermaid Spins, or Wild Spins. The Wild Spins begin with ten Green Globes collected, and it activates ten free spins with the Random Wilds feature when you reach thirty Green Progress Globes. Now, in the Wild Spins, the Green Progress Wilds do not appear, and the random ones feature adds two to six regular wilds.

Lastly, the Mermaid Spins begins with ten White Globes collected, and sixty give you ten complimentary reel rotations with the Random wild feature but no low-pay symbols.

GOSU Verdict

Mermaids was better than expected, but we would still classify it as your standard NetEnt fare. It has been a while since this legendary provider has stunned us with something super creative and unique. Know that filling the progress globes here is not easy and that especially holds for you reaching the final stage. There is nothing new or distinctive about this game, which has just Okay specs. That said, concerning mermaids, this may be a top-five title that solely focuses on this creature. There are others that feature them, but we are talking about ones where mermaids are central motifs.

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