Def Leppard Hysteria

Def Leppard Hysteria: Slot Overview

Developer Play'n GO has pulled in another big-name band to expand their popular branded rock range of slots. This time it is English group Def Leppard, which formed in 1977, and has been rocking out ever since. The slot, titled Def Leppard Hysteria, zeroes in on the album, 'Hysteria', which the group released in 1987 and went on to be their best-selling release. Rammed with fist-pumping tunes, Hysteria boasts no less than seven hit singles and has sold over 20 million copies worldwide.

This puts it up there amongst the biggest bands Play'n GO has worked with, and for Def Leppard Hysteria, the studio has gone cluster paying grid slot style. They've also gone full 80s, and like some other rock slots in the series, the game is set on stage amidst smoke and spotlights. Sadly, for fans, the band members are highly conspicuous by their absence, and the stage looks a bit lonely. No matter, if you want to squint and fantasise you're at a gig, just pretend this is in the electrifying moments when the band is just about to take the stage, or they're waiting for a bit of adulation before knocking out an encore. Helping feed the fantasy is some of Def Leppard's greatest hits, making their way into your ear canal.

Hit the go button, and 35 symbols drop onto a game grid laid out in a 5-column, 7-row formation. On it, winning clusters form when at least 5 identical symbols are connecting in horizontal or vertical directions. The math model running the show does so in a medium volatile manner (rated 6 out of 10) while producing a default, though variable, RTP value of 96.27%. Stakes of 10 p/c to $/€100 can be selected, and both desktop computers and mobile devices are suitable for hosting the gig.

If you were hoping for the band to show up on symbols, then prepare to be disappointed by some vaguely related, though fairly generic symbols. This includes a motley crew of stars and playing card suits as low pays worth 0.1-0.3x for five symbols clusters, rising to 20-40x for 15+ sized clusters. Then there are four a bit more personable premium symbols, paying 0.2-2 times the stake for a 5 symbols cluster, all the way up to 80-1,000x for a 15+ cluster. Wilds, no matter how they are injected into the fracas, can substitute for any paying symbol.

Def Leppard Hysteria: Slot Features

Following up on the previous point, wilds are integral to most of the features in Def Leppard Hysteria, such as in Break It Up, Fire Me Up, and Pour Some Sugar On Me Free Spins. The other extras include Sugar Me Sweet and cascades.

Cascades

A classic feature accompanying grid slots is a cascade mechanic. When clusters hit, they are removed by this feature. Symbols cascade down into the gaps, and if new clusters are created, the process repeats.

Break It Up

At random, on non-winning spins, symbols move to new positions, and 3 to 6 wild symbols are added to the board.

Fire Me Up

On each spin, a pay symbol type is randomly selected. Wins made up of this selected symbol are used to fill a charge meter. When the meter is filled, and there are no more cascade wins, 3 to 6 wild symbols are added to the grid. The charge meter resets, but it can be refilled again after the extra wilds have been triggered. It takes 4 selected symbol wins to fill the meter.

Pour Some Sugar On Me Free Spins

When a win occurs on an indicated position, a letter is activated. Spelling SUGAR with activated letters wins you 5 free spins. During free spins, the charge meter is filled the same way as in the base game, but now when activated, it awards dropping multiplier wilds. These wilds drop down 1 step on each cascade, destroying any symbols below them. Each step increases its multiplier by +1, up to a maximum of x7. If more than one multiplier wild is part of a cluster, only the highest multiplier value is used.

Sugar Me Sweet

On a non-winning spin in free spins, 6 to 9 symbols are randomly chosen and transformed into the symbols selected in the charge meter.

Def Leppard Hysteria: Slot Verdict

While a decent muso slot, we didn't get the impression Play'n GO are huge Def Leppard fans. The reason why is that if you mute the sound, Def Leppard Hysteria doesn't exactly exude Def Leppard-ness. There was probably a good reason why members of the band don't appear in the game, but their absence creates a lack of personality. You don't get the partying with band impression of a game like Kiss Reels of Rock, by comparison. Of course, Def Leppard Hysteria does blast a few of the band's greatest hits, fair dues. Yet since the visuals are so generic, you could probably slap on the Hysteria tape and blast it while playing any old slot and get a similar effect.

So on to the features, which like the rest of Def Leppard Hysteria, are good but lack major character. Collecting symbols to trigger modifiers can be fun when a sweet roll is on, though again, you don't get the feeling Play'n GO pulled out all the stops to honour their heroes. Maybe we're sweating the details too much, though. The music's here, the features are alright, and potential wins of up to 10,000x the bet are on the cards. With a bit of extra effort, Def Leppard Hysteria might have blown the roof off and pushed closer to rock legend status.

All in all, Def Leppard Hysteria is a decent addition to the rock range of slots; it just could've rocked harder. It's hard to knock the game's features or stats too hard, but it would have been nice if there was a bit more of a Def Leppard presence. The fairly nondescript visuals could have been used in any band-related slot, as if Play'n GO reached into a folder of premade games, slapped on some Def Leppard tracks and a few token sprites, then called it a day.