If you know anything about this new NetEnt game, you’ll be forgiving for thinking it actually cursed.
Due to come out over the summer of 2017 under the name ‘The Phantom of the Opera slot’, it’s taken almost 6 months before we get NetEntertainment’s version of this sad, dramatic tale.
But why the delay? Is it doomed to be cursed from the start by bad gameplay? Or can this slot machine actually be saved from it’s own damnation?
What we know about the The Phantoms Curse slot
As usual, our tale begins with a video of the cursed object – it’s around 3 minutes long if you’ve got some time to spare.
We’ve got a lot to go through, so let’s get on with the show.
The exact same game NetEnt announced back in July 2017
Back in July 2017 NetEnt announced that they would be releasing a Phantom of the Opera slot, before it was quietly pulled from the schedule.
Instead, we got the beautiful Emoji Planet mobile game, and whilst we are not complaining about that, we’ve always wondered what happened to this mysterious monster.
Apparently he was just shy, because looking at the mechanics and screenshots, nothing has changed in the 6 months this NetEnt slot machine has been sitting on the shelves.
Who owns the right to the Phantom? Microgaming or NetEnt?
Back in February 2017, Microgaming announced that they had gotten the rights to the Phantom of the Opera brand – specifically the 2004 film based on the Andrew Lloyd Webber theatre production.
We eventually got the Phantom of the Opera Microgaming slot in November of the same year, because sometimes it takes a little while to create a great game.
So why did NetEnt back off from a fight and delay their own game which was due to come out before Microgaming?
NetEnt has the rights to the Universal Monsters Film
Now, we’re not saying that upon hearing that Microgaming was making a Phantom slot game, NetEnt immediately decided to try and beat them.
But… let’s just say it was an unfortunate coincidence? They just happen to pick this one character from the whole characters of Universal Film Monsters.
See, NetEntertainment have a deal with Universal studios that allows them to create games based on their best loved monsters.
From Dracula, to The Creature of the Black Lagoon, to The Invisible Man, there’s plenty here to choose from.
The curse came to bite them in the a**
The thing about competition is that you have to hope no one fights back.
Microgaming complained to mummy, in this case Andrew Lloyd Webers company The Really Useful Group, who ultimately complained to Universal.
Now here’s where it gets tricky. Technically, Universal had a film way before Andrew got his hands on the character (who, having been written in 1909 is up for grabs by anyone).
But it was the musical that made the Phantom famous again, so you could argue that Microgaming had the rights to make a success of it first.
Can NetEnt step out of the shadows of Microgaming?
Whilst it was sneaky for NetEnt to try and scoop Microgaming of their big branded slot of the year (after the Highlander phone game, of course).
But, ultimately, we think it was fair game. NetEnt has had the rights to the Universal Monsters way before Microgaming decided to sing it’s first opera note.
That said, there’s no way that this Phantoms Curse slot game will stand judgement alone now; it will have to be better than the Microgaming phone slot or it will fall under it’s own curse.
Will the Phantom’s Curse slot be any good?
With all this back story and anticipation, this Phantom’s Curse online slot had better knock it out of the ball park.
That said, whilst we enjoyed Microgaming version, it wasn’t the smash hit everyone was hoping for.
We’d take a guess that basing a mobile video slot on a film no one has heard of can be problematic at best, even if you add all the singing Gerald Butlers in the world.
Is there hope for NetEntertainment?
Not a huge amount of hope, but some hope.
We have to admit that the theme of the Universal Monsters’ the Phantoms Curse slot game didn’t give us shivers. Surely if they managed to make their Invisible Man slot creepy, this super creep of a character should have been a shoe in.
The characters look generic at best, half finished at worst, with simple mirrors, roses, rings and mirrors completing the high paying symbol.
And with 40 payline on show, the symbols can make or break your enjoyment of a good game.
But there is some interesting slot features
For one, it looks like all the symbols come stacked, meaning easier wins over these 5×4 reels.
For two, you get three slot bonus games; a click me feature, free spins, and one re-spin bonus.
The free spins are particularly weirdly interesting because you get unlimited spins until the Phantom breaks all the ropes from the chandelier. He does this whenever he shows up on screen as a wild.
So you are basically cursed by having wild symbols during the free spins? Is that… is that right? It feels wrong not to want to get wilds.
But NetEnt have surprised us many times before, so lets give them the benefit of the doubt.
Will it break the curse on the 24th of January 2018?
Honestly? This one is too hard to call as to whether this NetEnt phone slot can manage to lift itself from the curse it put itself under by going head to head with Microgaming.
However, you don’t get to be a huge brand like NetEntertainment without having some a loyal following, and we suspect many of us will be the first to open the Phantom’s Curse mobile casino game come January.
Meanwhile, we will relish all that the Universal Monsters have to offer by playing on their other iconic villain 40 payline slot Dracula.
Or you could choose from a whole selection of NetEnt no deposit bonus slot games the moment you register at Leo Vegas casino.
