Planet Of The Apes

This reviewer deems it's safe to say, without fear of being in the wrong, that NetEnt has spoiled us for good. The wizards of casino game development business are among two or three brands who keep raising the bar and setting standards for everyone else. Standards that are sometimes almost impossible to meet. This is why they don't shy away from taking on some colossal challenges – like how to take a movie blockbuster and a franchise legends are made of and distill it into a video slot worthy of its name. Not only is Planet of the Apes an honorable heir to the empire that spans decades of movies, TV shows, books, comics and merchandise - it even introduces some truly cutting-edge, groundbreaking features. Here and now, we deal with one of the very finest slot games released in recent years. So let's get to dissecting it.

Theme

Back at the beginning of 2017, NetEnt penned a deal with 20th Century Fox that had those infatuated with both the movie Planet of the Apes and slot games psyched and delirious with happiness. They wasted no time and soon after began developing a unique concept modeled after the Sci-Fi classic, only there was an exciting twist to this: the game would be an homage to TWO movies: Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

Such dual nature of the game required a unique solution, and they found it in the split-screen configuration. This may be a five reel, twenty paylines slot on paper, but in reality you're playing simultaneously across two separate sets of reels! That basically means you get to play two games at the price of one. How insane is that!? Obviously, NetEnt is brave and skilled enough to venture into something that crazy. The left-hand side is reserved for the Rise, the right-hand side is where Dawn takes place – and their visuals are both distinctive and derived from corresponding movies: lighter, yellow hues dominate the Rise portion of the reels, while somewhat bleaker shades of grey and red adorn Dawn set. Not only colors are different: their own thematic elements are prevalent on symbols as well. Both movies' main protagonists (humans as well as apes) serve as symbols of higher value (low-end symbols are J, K, A, Q and 10).

When in extra spins mode, the screen comes to life and changes the setting to the post-apocalyptic landscape. Winning combos trigger animations of unprecedented intensity and drama, with some of the cutscenes taken directly from the source, ie. movies. The musical score is a majesty of symphonies and percussion suspense, as if to underline the fact that the game is a direct descendant of the carefully crafted franchise that has been brewing since late 1960s.

Betting Options and Functions

Minimum coin size is 0.01, while maximum is 1. You can wager a maximum 10 coins per line, set the Max Bet and have an overview of the total amount of coins or cash left on the simple, unobtrusive player's panel that looks the same for all NetEnt game (gray-ish and transparent). The info button on the very left will present you with valuable know-how on the payout value of each symbol, special features and winning bet lines diagram. You can set the spins to be faster and the amount of autoplay spins, from 10 to 1000 that can also be set to stop on specific rules.

Features

A swarm of special features and extras make this game complete. The wild symbol, looking like a rune/insignia clothed in gold or red (depending on which reels it lands) substitutes all except scatter and bonus. Scatter symbols are the logos for Rise and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes respectively and landing at least three of them will launch the Extra Spins mode.

Dual Feature – this is a sticky symbol feature that can be triggered at random at any spin. One symbol is picked for each set of two reels and, if it lands in its own reel, it will stick – but should it land on the other reel, it will be transferred to its own set.

Rise Bonus – There is a symbol Rise Bonus that can land on the first reel. If it does, the special feature is triggered and in it will award coin wins for every human or ape symbol that landed on the spin.

Dawn Bonus – Similarly to the previous feature, the Dawn Bonus symbol will yield similar outcome as above should the symbol land on the very last reel – ape and human symbols are transmuted into one unique symbol.

Stacked Wild – When one reel on the Rise set is fully covered with wilds, the stacked wilds will then be duplicated onto the Dawn set as well – and this, as you imagine, create some pretty big wins!

Rise and Dawn Free Spins – each set comes with its own rules and quantity of extra spins, which just goes to enhance that great feeling that you're actually playing two separate games at once. Land three more more Rise scatter symbols anywhere on the corresponding set and you will trigger 10 extra spins during which you can collect all the wild symbols that appear and randomly place them on the last spin. At least three Dawn scatter symbols will procure 15 extra spins on the Dawn set during which three collect symbols will activate a specific meter which can be Multiplier, Extra Wild and Extra Spins. Filling the meter will activate the special feature.

Our Take

Easily one of the coolest, most engaging slot games to ever appear, Planet of the Apes is a modern masterpiece of vigor, depth and ferocity. With an estimated RTP of 96.3%, making it a game with a potentially big payout, tons and tons of wicked features – all neatly wrapped in a stunning package that is not easily replicated...well, it's not difficult to see why most (us included) are raving about this title. Missing out on this one would be a big mistake, so have a go at it right here on this page and share your own opinion of it!