One of the most legendary horror/slasher films of all time, 1978's ‘Halloween' tells the tale of the psychotic Michael Myers, who goes on a murderous rampage in a small American town. The film continues to haunt viewers to this day and Microgaming have decided to immortalize it further by making a video slot about it.
As of this week, they have released some footage which shows us what we can expect from the slot including some key features and gameplay. Read on to find out more!
An Ominous Atmosphere
The video, as you can see below, opens with some clips from the movie, which build towards a menacing atmosphere with characters spouting lines like: “Death has come to your little town, Sheriff”. This reflects what happens when you score a winning combination on the reel.
It's perfect for evoking the movie's original atmosphere and qualities and justifies the use of license. Take a look at the video yourself down below and see what we mean.
The animation, too, is pretty stellar, featuring large kitchen knives stabbing forward, ominously fluttering autumnal leaves and that iconic front porch, which serves as the slot reel's primary backdrop. All of it adds up to a faithful recreation of the film's tone in slot form and you really do get a creeping dread just by looking at it.
The slot can be played with as little as 25p or 30p and has either a 30 fixed pay lines set up of 243-ways-to-win format that depends on how you play.
Main Features
As we've pointed out (and as you can clearly see for yourself while watching the video), Microgaming have put in a fair few important features that come with the Halloween video slot. Two of the most significant, however, are the bonus wheel and the ‘Click to Escape' bonus games, which turn the game from what could have been a mediocre parody to a next-level licensed property-based slot that could become the industry standard.
Bonus Wheel – Players can trigger the bonus wheel by aligning three or more bonus icons on the main reel. This brings up a massive bonus wheel with a terrified Jamie Lee Curtis sitting off to the side with a menacing silhouette behind her. The wheel has various multipliers and characters on its face and depending on where the arrow lands you could end up with some serious cash or some extra bonus symbols on the main reel.
Click To Escape – Another chilling bonus game shows the player from a character POV perspective at the top of a shadowy staircase. Next to it are a bunch of orange leaves. This is the part of the film where Michael Myers is in pursuit of somebody. Select different leaves for more multipliers and prizes. This bonus can only be activated on the bonus wheel when the arrow lands on Michael Myer's face.
Why Halloween?
So, this slot is shaping up to be quite a good one. Not only is the sound design and animation chillingly evocative of the original 1978 classic, there's plenty for players to chew on in terms of extra content. This begs the question, though — why are Microgaming making a slot out of a 40-year-old horror movie?
The most appropriate response to this question is… a question — why not? Halloween has a massive fan following that has been around since its initial release in theatres. Although it could be argued that the slasher genre is all but dead at this point, it still holds precedence for being one of the best, if not the best.
With all these loving fans still around and with nostalgia being a good cash-cow these days, of course Microgaming are going to make a slot out of the Halloween franchise. This slot's haunting piano keys will come to Micogaming casinos near you in early October, just in time for… well, Halloween! Play it on release day over at LeoVegas casino.
