Reactoonz

Play’n GO pumps out a fair amount of slots, even if they don’t quite hold the same reputation as NetEnt and Microgaming. Then again, it’s tough to reach the shoulders of giants, not that it dissuades these developers. And every so often, they hit us with a great treat and give us something a little bit different, showing they’re more than capable of standing up and giving gamblers some cheer of their own. Reactoonz is a 7×7 reel slot with cascading reels, a randomly activated feature that can make a whole bunch of symbols turn into Wilds, a meter that slowly fills up when wins chain together, and pumps out several different special features, closing off with the amazing Gargantuan, which guarantees a massive win if you can get to him. There’s a lot to enjoy and a bit of patience to unlock it all, but it’s honestly great fun.

The graphics of this game are nice, if very clearly childlike. Then again, with Toons being right in the name, you really can’t say you weren’t warned ahead of time. Still, it’s interesting how much personality they managed to squeeze into little geometrical shapes with faces drawn onto them. Beyond these, you also have the Wild icon that’s one swirling ball, so while all the symbols are unique, there’s really not much amazing about them. The animations are rather decent if we’re honest. The way lightning arches through the reels or the mini explosions happen when one of the special features is triggered looks great and really helps to immerse people into the slot.

But graphics are only half on the story and Play’n GO’s release is very rigid in how it plays, even if it is enjoyable. Most of the time, Reactoonz is happy to let you stay in your pen and hit a few dead spins, before unloading a very small win your way, usually about 2x your wager, maybe a bit less. You’ll occasionally get bouts of success, though nothing that really bounces you back, meaning you’ll be down for a while before you finally get lucky and unleash the Gargantuan, which is the three eyed creature on the lower right of the reels just waiting for his chance to come out – when he’s not making kissy faces or sleeping in his cage. So the gameplay loop consists of small and medium wins staving off total collapse while you’re waiting to unlock the most powerful bonus in the game. Some people will love it, others will loathe it. For us, it was a lot of fun.

The path to success lies with swirling Wilds and their positioning. Wilds can only appear when one of the symbols is highlighted at the start of a spin, and then those symbols result in a win. Alternatively, some special features can place Wilds on the reels, and for gamblers looking to unlock the Gargantuan, this is going to be the single biggest factor that decides if you succeed or not. Reactoonz is simple in that regard – it provides a clear path to success and you just need to grind it out and succeed.

While they do look cute and cuddly, it’s tough to really commend or condemn them. They have personality, and the higher paying icons stand out a bit, but at the same time, there’s not a lot to show off. The animation quality is pretty good, but that’s about it when it comes to amazing us. For Play’n GO’s standards, it’s a good showing, but for the market as a whole, it’s an average.

Apart from Instability, which appears randomly to spawn between four to eight Wilds, the only way you can activate a special feature is by collecting enough wins to fill up the meter on the upper right. This will trigger one of four different and random bonuses. Implosion that transforms between three to six symbols into Wilds while destroying all adjacent icons. Incision that cuts a Wild symbol into the middle of the reel while destroying everything in a diagonal line and replacing it with a random icon (which can include Wilds!). Demolition that destroys all one-eyed monsters and matching icons. And finally, Alteration that switches out one random one eyed monster symbol and transforms it into another icon.