Space Mutants

Space Mutants Slot

There is a familiar feel to Space Mutants before the first cascade has even finished. Colourful creatures bouncing around a large Cluster Pays grid immediately bring to mind games such as Reactoonz, and Hacksaw partner NowNow Gaming hasn't exactly found an unexplored corner of the universe for its latest release. Fortunately, the mechanics have a little more going for them than the theme, combining cascading wins with an increasing multiplier, Giant Wilds and several ways of converting symbols into Wilds.

The action takes place across a 6x6 grid where clusters of at least 5 matching symbols produce wins. Winning symbols disappear and are replaced from above, while every successive cascade increases the spin multiplier by +1. The multiplier returns to x1 when the sequence ends, so the aim is essentially to keep a spin alive for as long as possible and let both the multiplier and other features begin feeding into the action.

One of those features is Mutant Surge. Every cascade fills one section of a five-part meter, and completing it places one or more 2x2 Giant Wilds onto the grid before the meter starts filling again. Astro Mutants can provide another useful interruption once the cascades have finished. They either transform into a Wild and add two additional Wilds along the same row, or select one low-paying symbol and convert every instance of it into Wilds.

Space Chaos is triggered by landing 4, 5 or 6 Scatters, awarding 10, 15 or 20 free spins respectively. This is where the multiplier mechanic becomes considerably more useful, as it no longer resets between spins. Astro Mutants can also add multipliers ranging from x2 to x100 directly to the total multiplier meter, creating the possibility of the feature becoming progressively stronger rather than repeatedly starting from scratch. BonusHunt FeatureSpins cost 3x the bet, Astro Mutation FeatureSpins cost 50x and guarantee at least one Astro Mutant, while direct entry to Space Chaos costs 100x where these options are available.

With a 96.31% RTP and max win of 10,000x, Space Mutants doesn't have any obvious problems in the numbers department. Its bigger difficulty is establishing much of an identity. Cascades feeding an increasing multiplier is hardly new, nor are Wild conversions, oversized Wilds or persistent bonus multipliers, and the colourful space-creature theme makes comparisons with several much better-known slots almost unavoidable.

The mechanics do at least fit together reasonably well. A cascade can increase the multiplier while simultaneously moving the Mutant Surge meter towards another Giant Wild, and Astro Mutants have the ability to keep promising sequences moving. Space Chaos improves matters further by allowing the multiplier to survive between spins.

However, there isn't really one feature here strong enough to make Space Mutants stand out from the many Cluster Pays games built around similar ideas. It's perfectly capable of producing entertaining sequences when several mechanics start interacting, and the 10,000x ceiling is respectable, but between those moments the experience can feel rather ordinary. Space Mutants isn't a bad release; it's simply one that may struggle to remain memorable once the little creatures have disappeared from the screen.