Sidekick Jack

Sidekick Jack: Slot Overview

When you think about it, the sidekick concept is pretty popular, but how popular is it amongst sidekicks themselves? Forever just out of the main frame, getting some but never the bulk of the love, glory and adulation heaped on the main character. Then again, other people are more than happy not being in the spotlight, not having the full burden of responsibility resting on their shoulders. If the hero massively messes up, bye-bye, they're done, but it's arguably easier for the sidekick to slink away and hook up with another hero to play second fiddle. Heroes, villains, and sidekicks are what this here slot Sidekick Jack is all about. It's the debut offering from up-and-coming studio Wicked Games, where the mechanical protagonist of the show is a sticky wild free spins feature, accompanied by various other add-ons.

The first impression of Sidekick Jack was that it right away brought to mind a Light & Wonder production. Something about the wiry-framed game grid and the UI. Let's leave it up to readers to decide whether this is a criticism or a rizz. Another eye-catcher was poor old Jack, whose face looks like it had a close encounter with a cheese grater - courtesy of the game's resident wolf creature. Amazingly, Jack seems totally unfazed by his "rugged" look, like he's auditioning for the role of a pirate in a low-budget movie. In any case, Sidekick Jack is set in London: in one of the city's many parks in the base game, then its mean streets in the free spins round. The theme is a little bit confusing, not necessarily in a bad way, and the background artwork, with its 60s comic book style, adds a nice touch. While it may not come across as a cutting-edge production, it gets the job done.

Jack does his sidekicking on a 6x4 game grid. Given all the blood and slashing on show, Sidekick Jack's low-medium volatility was a slight surprise, though few will be let down by the 96.10% RTP or the wide 25 c to $/€250 bet range - increasing to 35 c to $/€350 when the Sidekick bet is switched on.

Embedded in the gaming matrix is 50 paylines. They are used to award wins left to right from the leftmost reel, and there are 10 regular pays in the game. The list includes 10-A card rank lows, then a policeman's hat, bullets, a slashed warning sign, a bus, and a lady character with big bulging eyes. The wolfie chap is wild, substituting for all regular pay symbols. Wilds land on reels 2 to 6.

Sidekick Jack: Slot Features

Sidekick Jack's features are the Sidekick Bet optional extra, free spins with sticky wilds, and a bonus buy called the Superbet.

Scatters

There are 2 different types of scatters available in the game - the moon scatter and the Sidekick Jack scatter. Both appear on the leftmost reel, plus reels 2 and 3. However, Sidekick Jack scatters are only activated when players turn on the Sidekick bet. More on these below.

Free Spins

Landing 3 moon scatters awards 10 free spins. During free spins, any 3 moon scatters awards an additional +5 free spins - once only, for a maximum of 15 free spins. During free spins, wilds landing on reels 2-6 are sticky and are held in place till the feature ends.

Sidekick Bet

Activating the Sidekick bet increases the bet by 1.4x. This activates Jack scatters. Activated Jack scatters can trigger a 10 free spins bonus round when 3 Jack symbols land. Hitting 3 moon scatters during this feature awards +5 free spins once. In addition, any 3 Jack scatters during the bonus round retriggers +5 free spins once, for a maximum of 20 free spins.

Superbet

The Superbet is where players can buy the free spins bonus round for the cost of 66 times the bet. It is possible to retrigger free spins by landing 3 moons for +5 spins and +5 spins for landing 3 Jacks - one time each.

Sidekick Jack: Slot Verdict

Not trying to be a villain, but Sidekick Jack did give off sidekick rather than main event vibes. On a positive note, it is unusual; that's one way for a debut to stand out. The theme is somewhat out there, somewhat confusing, a sort of Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde meets An American Werewolf in London B-movie bonanza. Jack's unusual, too. The game docs mention the wolf bowing to his sidekick, Jack, yet it looks like the wolf has tried to tear him to pieces. Or did the big-eyed lady on the highest-paying symbol do that using her fingernails? So many questions.

One question is whether to engage the Sidekick bet. There's no major reason why not; it provides an obvious on-screen difference when using what is effectively an ante bet feature while adding personality and all. More importantly, it increases your chance of barrelling into the free spins round; plus, the activated Sidekick scatter makes it possible to squeeze out an extra 5 free spins, bumping the maximum possible total from 15 to 20. Odd that Wicked Games capped the number of max free spins in this way, but hey, such was their choice. As for max win, the game docs mentions 10,400 credits per spin, which is a little vague, as well.

On the gameplay side, apart from the Sidekick ante bet effect, Sidekick Jack isn't exactly a flowering garden bustling with new ideas. The main event, well and truly, is the sticky wild free spins bonus round, and you know, this is a proven mechanic. It performs well enough in Sidekick Jack, though a lack of multiplier prevents things from going nuclear. Have to say, there were high expectations going into Sidekick Jack, given some of the studio's background, which weren't exactly met, but hey, it's a debut, so onwards and upwards and all that.