Bizarre

Bizarre: Slot Overview

Gamblers looking to relax, unwind, and take a punt with something that isn't going to alter their perceptions on life would do well to click on something less challenging right about now. However, gamblers who like to be shocked, or who possess an insatiable curiosity, prepare to have those desires satiated by Nolimit City's online slot Bizarre. What makes this game bizarre is not only its focus on genetically modified animal genomes, but also one or two unusual mechanics as well. And while the gameplay isn't as freaky as the skin, there are oddities to discover amongst Bizarre's collection of features.

With a name like Bizarre, there were expectations that the game was going to be odd to look at, though it's not stomach-turningly so. Thankfully. However, animal lovers may feel uncomfortable with the twisted creations Dr Bizarre is busy cooking up in his lab, which was converted from an old farm. Quite why he felt the need to graft a bird's head onto a peeled banana is anyone's guess; the guy is likely off his rocker, insane. It does make you wonder what's going on in secret laboratories across the world, the ones hidden deep underground in bunkers filled with emotionless scientists fiddling with things best left alone. For intrigued, yet regular people who don't have access to those sorts of places, then Dr Bizarre turning out abominations from his farm turned freakshow will have to suffice in filling in knowledge gaps.

Bizarre is a paylines game, and there are 20 of them evaluating winning combinations from the leftmost reel, on the 5x4 aligned grid. An extreme game gets an extremely volatile math model running it, with 96.06% recorded as the highest RTP of the three possible configurations. Stakes of $/€0.20 to $/€100 may be placed, to go along with a bunch of boosters and bonus buys.

Pay symbols in this odd wee game include 10-A stitched together card ranks as the lows and five creations as the highs. Royals are worth 1x to 1.8x for a 5 OAK winning combination, while the high pays are worth noticeably more at 17x to 44x the stake for a line of five. Wilds replace all paying symbols and are able to create their own wins, which have the same value as the highest pay symbol.

Bizarre: Slot Features

Bizarre's menagerie of features are xSplit symbols, Chimera Spins, Super Chimera Spins, extra spins, Coinage, Nolimit Boosters, and bonus buys.

xSplit

The xSplit symbol can land on the leftmost or rightmost reels as a single symbol or fully stacked. When it lands, all symbols on its row (except itself) are split, doubling their size. After splitting symbols, the xSplit acts as a wild.

Chimera Spins

Landing 3 scatters triggers 3 Chimera Spins. A scatter on the middle reel transforms into a wild, which remains sticky throughout the round. Before free spins start, the three middle reels spin. Wilds, extra spins symbols or empty symbols may land. When wild or extra spin symbols land, they remain in their position, and a respin is awarded. This continues till no new extra spins or wild symbols appear. If a wild lands, it stays sticky through the feature. Extra spins symbols add their value to the free spins count. If a wild is split by an xSplit during free spins, it gets a multiplier that is also sticky for the entire feature.

Super Chimera Spins

Landing 2 scatters and a super scatter in the base game triggers 3 Super Chimera Spins. It has the mechanics of regular Chimera Spins, except all scatters transform into sticky wild symbols.

Extra Spin

Players may get the chance to buy an additional spin, keeping the wild symbol and multiplier from the previous spin, when free spins end. The cost is based on the wild symbol multipliers, and an extra spin is only offered if the cost is less than or equal to the win.

Coinage

Players can activate the Coinage feature for 200x the bet. During this feature, only coins with values of 1x to 1,000x or special symbols may land. If a position is empty, a respin occurs, filling empty positions with new symbols. When this feature ends, the sum of all multiplier values is awarded. The possible special symbols which may appear are:

• xSplit - Splits all coins and used Collectors on its row, doubling their values. It is removed after it triggers.
• Collector - Collects the total value of all visible coins and removes them from the reels. The used Collector stays on the reels, and if another Collector later lands, it collects the value of the previously used Collector.
• Scatters - When 3 scatters are collected, Chimera Spins trigger when Coinage ends. Or Super Chimera Spins if one of them is a super scatter.

Nolimit Boosters and Bonus Buys

The xBoost costs 2x the bet and guarantees a scatter on the second reel (could be a super scatter), making it 3 times more likely to trigger Chimera Spins or Super Chimera Spins. Bonus Hunt costs 30x the bet to make it 49 times more likely to trigger free spins. In this mode, only scatters or empty symbols land, with a maximum of one Super Scatter. The game's bonus buys are Chimera Spins, Super Chimera Spins, lucky draw, or Coinage costing 120x, 400x, 190x, or 200x the bet, respectively.

Bizarre: Slot Verdict

When chancing upon a slot called Bizarre from a studio with Nolimit City's reputation, the odds are pretty good we're about to witness something truly freaky. And on the whole, it has to be said that Bizarre does live up to its name. It's maybe not as out there as some players might have been hoping or fearing it would be, but it certainly is odd. From poo poo dead symbols before free spins begin, to Dr Bizarre's sad creations, this is not a comfort slot to unwind and mindlessly relax with. In saying that, it's by no means one of Nolimit City's more complex puzzles either. The base game, for instance, trundles along carrying just xSplit symbols as its extra. This is not a complaint, but more of an observation or a heads up not to expect crazy out there action until bonus rounds come about.

One of the strangest things about Bizarre is the way players have to buy the Coinage feature if they want to witness it. There simply is no way of organically triggering Coinage, a main feature, which is something you don't often see. On the positive side, once triggered, gamblers are practically guaranteed to win something, though whether that's a big something or not, there is no way of foretelling. Every position must be filled sooner or later, and special symbols may be involved, so it is an engaging feature. Not cheap though, so it will be interesting to see how being forced to buy it is received. The free spins rounds are more regular - win spins, stick wilds, apply multipliers to them, and hope for the best.

As such, without Coinage, Bizarre's features would be whatever the opposite of the word 'bizarre' is. How about conventional? But, as it stands, the package in its totality, the 20,000x max win, the gameplay as a whole, the peculiar wannabe Dr Frankenstein and his peculiar collection of genetically modified biomatter is an oddity. So Bizarre might not be one of Nolimit City's best pieces of work, but it's worth poking with a stick to see what happens if you're curious.