Frightening Frankie

Frightening Frankie: Slot Overview

Editor's note: This review is based on an early access version of the game. We may update the review after the full release if necessary.

'Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus' was penned by Mary Shelley and published in 1818, forever transforming the world of horror. In a nutshell, it told the story of Victor Frankenstein, a scientist who creates life and faces terrifying consequences when his monstrous creation rebels against him. Containing warnings of unchecked ambition, the dangers of science run amok, and playing god, the story has morals that are relevant in modern times, which is one explanation why it remains popular. Another reason is the monster himself, who has reappeared countless times in various forms over the years, and who plays the leading role in Pragmatic Play's and Reel Kingdom's online slot Frightening Frankie.

First things first, in the book, Frankenstein is the name of the scientist who created the monster, not the monster itself, but in Frightening Frankie, it would seem this has been altered so Frankie is the name of a lumbering monster. He joins players as they try their luck, grimacing to one side of a game screen which has a certain B-movie quality to it. Whether Reel Kingdom did this entirely on purpose, or this style just so happened to match the particular way the studio often paints slots is a debate for another day. Can't say it's very frightening, but okay, Frightening Frankie leans towards the uncanny side of the spectrum.

Stitched together like a bunch of body parts is a 5x3 gaming grid that provides 20 paylines to land wins along. The heart of this machine is a highly volatile math model, generating a maximum RTP of 96.53% whether betting $/€0.05 to $/€250 per spin, using the ante bet, or buying the feature. When using the ante bet, the stake gets doubled to increase the chance of winning Monster Trail Free Spins.

Pay symbols create winning combinations left to right from the rightmost reel. They include 10-A low pay card ranks, buildings, torches, bolts, and moons. A winning combination of 5 matching lows awards 1.6x the bet, rising to 3.2x to 4.8x when comprising the higher paying picture symbols. Frankie is displayed on the wild symbol, which hits on all reels. As well as replacing any paying symbols, wilds pay 16x for a 5 wild winning line.

Frightening Frankie: Slot Features

Bubbling out of Frightening Frankie's feature lab are Lightning Free Spins, Monster Trail Free Spins, and a feature buy.

Lightning Free Spins

When 1+ Lightning symbols land, Lightning Free Spins trigger with 2-6 spins. Each Lightning symbol removes a low-paying symbol (up to 5 total) and adds 2-6 extra spins. Once 5 symbols are removed, Lightning symbols stop appearing. Hitting 3+ scatters during the round triggers Monster Trail Free Spins, with any leftover spins carried over. This new feature begins with already removed low-paying symbols excluded from the reels.

Monster Trail Free Spins

Hitting 3, 4, or 5 scatters triggers 10, 15, or 20 Monster Trail Free Spins, respectively. At random in the base game, when only 2 scatters hit, a lightning animation may place a third scatter on the screen. Monster Trail Free Spins start with an x2 multiplier that applies to all wins. As in the other bonus round, landing Lightning symbols removes the lowest paying symbols from the reel strips, and only the 5 lowest paying symbols may be removed. After the fifth Lightning symbol hits, it no longer lands. In addition, Test Tube symbols may appear. Each time a Test Tube hits, it is collected by a meter. When 7 Test Tubes are collected, +10 free spins are awarded, and a random multiplier of x1 to x10 is added to the round's current multiplier.

Feature Bet

It is possible to buy the Monster Trail Free Spins feature triggered by 3, 4, or 5 scatters for 100x the total bet.

Frightening Frankie: Slot Verdict

Mary Shelley's Gothic novel has inspired countless retellings, so how does Reel Kingdom's rendition of 'The Modern Prometheus' fare? For the most part, pretty mid. There's not a lot here to trigger major jolts of electrified entertainment. The base game is a bit of a write-off; nothing much really happens there. Instead, Frightening Frankie relies on its two bonus rounds to pick up the pace. This they attempt to do, for one thing, with a low pay symbol removal feature, which both rounds share. Clearing reel strips of up to five of their lowest value symbols is no bad thing, so if you're planning to take Frightening Frankie on, hopefully a good number of Lightning symbols hit when doing so.

It's unclear whether Lightning Free Spins were totally necessary, but their inclusion beefs up the game to an extent. At the least, they provide a symbol removal sideshow before launching into the main event. That main event, Monster Trail Free Spins, could be okay, depending in part on how the symbol removal and Test Tube collections are going. Despite connotations to the contrary, Frightening Frankie is not a monster of a game in terms of winning potential, as the most it can produce is 2,800x the bet. This puts Frightening Frankie into Big Bass Bonanza territory while lacking the fishy theme and symbol collection feature, which helped its older sibling explode.

By the end, Frightening Frankie felt like a stitched-together creation that never quite fully came to life. The presentation has a certain appeal, but the B-movie charm only goes so far when the gameplay lacks major bite. Fans of Reel Kingdom's style might extract entertainment, but all in all, Frankie's escape from the lab creates a fraction of the thought-provoking mayhem of his literary counterpart.