Well, we didn’t have to wait long for Nolimit City‘s controversial slot Mental to blow its lid and show what it is capable of. In fact, within hours of release (2 hours?), a lucky player located somewhere in Asia brought together many of the right elements to smash Mental into its impressive win cap. It’s an entertaining clip, yet you may be aware of the game’s complexity, so even repeat viewings might not be enough to gain complete illumination. Not to worry though, we’ll try to dissect some of the key moments and see what makes Mental tick.
First, a quick introduction to Mental if you’re unfamiliar with it. In classic Nolimit City style, the team has taken on a theme most studios wouldn’t touch with a lengthy stick. The action takes place in a psychiatric institute, and to be honest, that’s putting it politely. Basically, this is the sort of institution you would hesitate to send your worst enemies to for treatment. Visually very polarising, the 5-reel game grid is surrounded as well as covered in images of anatomy, creepy crawlies, and some very disturbed patients, all set in a dingy, sepia, stained environment. Some players are well up for an ‘edgier’ game; for others, it’s understandably a little too much.
The star of this clip is a player who’ll be chuffed they took on Nolimit’s confrontational juggernaut. And juggernaut it is because even deciphering the paytable can be hard going. Then even when everything seems sort of clear, the game is so manic, you’ll be questioning how well you read it. Whatever you do, don’t go in dry. Anyway, the mental-ness kicks off in the clip after the player forks out 1,000x the base bet to buy Mental Free Spins. This results in 3 scorpion symbols and 3 spider symbols landing to award 11 Mental Free Spins. Of the three bonus rounds, this is the most potent of them all. To be honest, we could spend a lot of time explaining the rules here, but it wouldn’t add a whole lot of value. Instead, let’s break down spin number 8, the one where all heck breaks loose and causes the bulk of the winnings.
This spin starts with locked spider symbols transforming into premium patient symbols. Next, two premium symbols benefit from the Dead Patient feature, which applies a multiplier to them – bearing in mind this figure multiplies the instances of that symbol on the reels, not the combination value as such. Enhancer cells at the bottom of reels 2 and 4 become wilds or premiums, then one symbol on each reel is sliced into two. Makes perfect sense, right? If not, then the resulting win washes any confusion over what exactly just happened down the pan.
Combine spin 8 with what occurred in the previous 7 spins, and the grand total comes to $13,333.20, or 66,666 times the base bet. The count up takes place against a Hannibal Lecter look alike having his hand removed; just why isn’t totally obvious… However, the mysteriousness contributes to an utterly singular game that often raises more questions than answers. It’s dark, different, downright sinister at times, and there is nothing else like it on the market. It has also quickly gone on to prove big win credentials. Sum it all up, and there’s not much else you could possibly call the experience except ‘mental’.
