What the Latest Slot Releases Tell Us About Popular Themes
The online casino market has been going through a period of immense growth, but you might wonder whether the latest game releases are still exploring new themes or if they’ve reverted to building on the classics. By looking at a few examples, we can see how the market is changing and providing new ways of playing.
Super Hoopers – Sports-Themed Slots Are Making Up Ground
The Super Hoopers slot by Rival Gaming brings the world of basketball to casinos. It’s played over five reels, with a collection of basketball items as the main symbols, and an NBA-style arena setting as the background. It also includes three possible bonus rounds, where the basketball theme comes to life with special rounds like Buzzer Beater and Ally-Oop.
The relative lack of sports-based games has been something of a mystery in this industry. The combination of the dominance of traditional themes and the cost of presenting real players or teams may have stopped developers from focusing heavily on this area. However, the way that online casinos are rapidly gaining ground in the US suggests that we may start to see more titles featuring the most popular American sports, like basketball, baseball, and football.
Frostborne – The Fantasy Genre Is Still Going Strong
When we look through the new releases in the Slots LV Casino, we can see that the fantasy genre is still a popular choice among players. Merlin’s Wild Spells and Guardian of the Realms show how this type of game can go in different directions by adding characters from historical periods. Yet, it’s the Frostborne game by Wingo that catches our eye by offering a stylish trip into a mysterious world.
Played over five reels, it has symbols including skulls and scrolls on the screen. The inclusion of dragons and a sort of Ice Queen character helps to set the scene, with a free spins round giving a classic slots bonus. This type of fantasy slot seems certain to remain popular as upcoming movies like Avatar: Fire and Ash put the public’s attention back onto this genre. The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is another film that will be released soon, giving fantasy fans the chance to see what Gollum got up to between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogies.
Mexican Clusters – Games Set in Mexico Are Growing Fast
Mexican culture has proved to be a rich source of inspiration for slot creators over the last few years. Day of the Dead-style images, fiestas, and hot chillies have all been used to let us enjoy some Latin American style while spinning the reels. Mexican culture has been becoming more visible in movies and TV shows in recent times. This list of the best telenovelas of all time by AARP includes titles such as Los Ricos También Lloran and Cuna de Lobos from Mexican TV, with many Americans now discovering these timeless shows.
In terms of slots, Mexican Clusters by Wingo uses the cluster-style payout mechanism, rather than fixed paylines. The 7×7 grid also uses the avalanche feature to replace winning symbols with new images that fall into place. Tacos, Day of the Dead masks, and chili peppers are among the symbols that make us feel that we’re enjoying a typical Mexican atmosphere.
Plundering Pirates – Classic Themes Can’t Be Overlooked
While new themes constantly emerge in this industry, the classics are still much-loved among players. Pirate adventures have proved to be a huge success, thanks to the larger-than-life characters and the instantly recognizable images like hooks, pirates, and the feared Jolly Roger flag that was often red or black in real life. A planned Pirates of the Caribbean movie could reignite interest in pirates in popular culture, but in the casino world, this interest hasn’t ever gone away.
Plunderin’ Pirates is one of the latest releases to take us on a sea-faring adventure where we could end up grabbing a treasure chest or walking the plank. This game by iSoftBet uses the Hold and Win feature with modifiers and coin boosters to add to the basic gameplay.
What Can We Expect in the Future?
The way that the online slot industry has grown and evolved in recent years is at least partly due to the ever-expanding range of themed slots that attract and retain new players. With this in mind, it seems certain that we will continue to see new themes explored, while the most popular settings and characters will still be heavily featured on new releases.
The online slots industry generally reflects the themes that are currently popular in general entertainment. However, given the growing popularity of casinos, it wouldn’t be a major surprise to see slot games begin to front-run other trends, leading the way in the world of what’s new and exciting.
