Demon

Demon (Play'n GO): Overview

We'll be honest, we had never heard of the rock band Demon before Play'n GO announced this title, and while doing some background research, it becomes entirely clear that most of you likely haven't either (at least not if you live outside of the UK). On Wikipedia, the list of the band's past members is longer than the actual article and, although they seem to have a few loyal listeners on Spotify, the activity is far from impressive. We might be a bit mean now, but if this is the best Play'n GO could come up with for their second branded slot, it makes you wonder if they actually used a random number generator to make the pick.

So who exactly are Demon? Well, if you're too lazy to follow the link to the Wikipedia article we can tell you that it's an English band formed back in 1979 by a couple of guys called Dave Holl and Mal Spooner. In the article, it's also claimed (with no sources) that they're considered an important band in the new wave of British heavy metal movement. Whatever the case may be, as a branded slot it's not going to draw anywhere near as much attention as Sabaton did, that is for sure.

The 5x3, 30-payline setup is about as exciting as the band's latest album - so far nothing that sticks out in other words. The default 96.51% RTP offered by Play'n GO is great, but avoid the game like the plague if you come across the 94.51% version, which some casinos will be tempted to list. Highly volatile, it comes with a symbol transformation feature which can turn all singer symbols into wilds. There's also a free spins game where you'll benefit from randomly selected win multiplier values and where Hell Spins can come into play if the free spin feature is retriggered. You can play Demon on desktop or mobile devices from 30 cents to 90€ per spin.

Visually, Demon has an infernal feel. Set within the gates of hell, behind the transparent reels you'll see a stone wall pentagram, and further in the background an army of demonic creatures shave been summoned ready to rock to the tunes of the band's greatest hits. There are 7 songs to choose from in the jukebox that has been included in the game plus a song called "The Devil Rides Out" that was recorded exclusively for this slot and only becomes available after 100 real money spins have been played.

So what about the paytable? On the reels you will see the usual 10 to A royal values in a heavy metal design. You'll also see more rewarding lady stone statues, masked demons, gargoyles, and crosses. More rewarding still is the singer himself, giving you 10 times your stake for five in a combination. The Baphomet is the wild and appears on reel 3 only, substituting for all regular symbols except the scatter.

Demon (Play'n GO): Features

As you would expect from a slot based on a heavy metal band, it's loud and fast-paced with some intense features to go along. Central to the action is the Wild Mask feature - it appears on the middle reel only and will transform all instances of the singer symbol in view into wilds when it hits. That's all you get as far as the main game is concerned.

The highlight of the Demon experience is the Free Spins game. It comes into play when wild amulets appear on reel 1 and 5 together with the wild mask symbol on the middle reel. You will get 11 free spins if the wild mask hits the centre of the reel or 6 if it lands on in the top or bottom position of the reel. During the feature, you'll benefit from a win multiplier - a multiplier value from 2x, 3x, 5x, or 8x will be randomly selected on each spin and applied to your winnings.

Moreover, if you land both of the wild amulets on reel 1 and 5, you'll unlock the Hell Spins. Starting with a random number of spins ranging from 4 to 8, during the Hell Spins, the win multiplier is locked to the multiplier value selected for the triggering spin. Now, if the wild mask also appears on the middle reel, a random number of between 6 to 10 spins are awarded. If the wild mask appears in the middle position of reel 3 during triggering or retriggering of the Hell Spins feature, the win multiplier will be doubled for all remaining spins. The most you can win here is 5,000 times your stake, but given that a win like that only comes along once every 500 million spins, you should set the bar way lower in order to avoid disappointment.

Demon (Play'n GO): Final Verdict

Don't be misled - sale's pitch reviews of the game have been popping up on the web from the first day Demon was announced, all making big promises and hyping it as if it's the next best thing since sliced bread. It's not. The truth is that, even if you're a fan of the band, the slot is just an average Play'n GO release that involves high risk but not so much reward. For such a volatile slot (maximum Play'n GO volatility), the max win is unexpectedly low. Hopefully, it's mathematically designed to award wins of around 500x+ more frequently, but we'll have to see about that.

Mechanically, Demon is a variation of Legacy of Egypt, which in turn was inspired by the iconic WMS slot Montezuma. Overall, it comes across as a half-hearted effort nowhere near as ambitious as Sabaton. If you're a fan of the band it's a no-brainer - you have to give it a few spins at least. If, like us, you've never even heard of Demon, don't bother.