The Phantom of the Opera Slot Review

With the release of The Mummy in 2017, Universal Studios has begun the process of rebooting their classic monster and horror movies in what’s they’re calling their Dark Universe – a sort of shared world similar to what is currently happening in comic book films featuring both Marvel and DC characters. The series is slated to include many of the most famous monsters in cinematic history, including Frankenstein, Dracula, and the Invisible Man.

One of these classic stories is the inspiration for The Phantom of the Opera by NetEnt, an online slot machine based on the original Universal films, including the silent horror version from 1925. Featuring the infamous couple at the heart of this film, this is a game that offers up plenty of bonus features for gamblers to shoot for, from a free spins round to lots of stacked wild icons that can lead to huge payouts.

The Opera Ghost Appears

The Phantom of the Opera video slot is a five reel, 40 payline machine that can be enjoyed at any online gambling site that features software by NetEnt. The machine uses a larger four row layout, but otherwise looks fairly standard for an online slot. Graphically, this falls in line with many of the other NetEnt games, featuring a well-designed background (the opera house itself) and plenty of attention to detail in the symbols as well. While the animations are relatively subtle during the game, many players will enjoy the extended animated sequence that serves as an introduction to the machine – though if your Internet connection is slow, it can lead to long loading times.

As usual, NetEnt has gone to great lengths to make this game as accessible as possible for gamblers. Since it is built with mobile and touch-screen devices in mind, you can play this machine on any Android device, an iPhone, or most tablet brands. Plus, you’ll see this title included in their free online slots offerings, so you can try it to see if you enjoy the gameplay before you play for real cash.

The object of the game is to match symbols across the reels. However, you can make these winning combinations in either direction, allowing for payouts that run both left-to-right and in reverse. For smaller wins, you’ll want to match the four card games suits – hearts, spades, clubs, and diamonds – all of which appear as broken mirrors, adding just a bit more atmosphere to the presentation. Larger prizes are attached to thematic symbols like daggers, flowers, and mirrors, with the Phantom and Christine providing the biggest payouts.

Curtain Call

If you’re going to score big wins on this machine, however, you’ll need to take full advantage of the special features that are frequently triggered during play. For instance, players will want to keep an eye out not only for the regular wild symbols – masks – but also for stacked versions of the mask, the Phantom, and Christine, all of which serve as substitutes.

Each of these stacks is made up of two positions, and the key to activating many of the bonus features is to land the entire stack on the reels at once. The Phantoms can appear on the first reel, while Christine and the masks will show up on the fifth. Should you match the Phantom and the masks, you’ll get a free respin in which all of your wild symbols will remain locked in place, setting you up for a high-paying spin. Meanwhile, pairing him with Christine will earn you a free pick’em bonus in which you’ll click on roses to reveal instant prizes of coins. Once you reveal a blocker instead, you’ll be taken to a screen with three mirrors, where you might unveil a multiplier of up to 3x. The number of coins times your multiplier will instantly be added to your balance.

Finally, players can trigger a free spins feature if they hit three scatter symbols on a single spin. Rather than giving you a set number of free plays, this bonus game features a chandelier hanging precariously over the play area, with one rope attached to each reel. Each time a masked Phantom symbol appears on a reel, it will cut the appropriate rope. Once all five have been cut, the game ends.

A Standing Ovation

One of the things we loved about this machine is the way it combined features in order to create a game that truly feels unique in style and gameplay. The way in which various symbols interact with each other is fun, and the bonus rounds have a lot of thematic flavor. There’s also a lot of variance during play: we’ve had long losing streaks and huge wins in our sessions, which always helps to keep things exciting. We’re very happy to recommend this game to players, but you don’t have to take our word for it: you can play a free The Phantom of the Opera slot first before you play for real money.