NetEnt’s New Game? The 80’s Inspired Neon Staxx Slot, Out 24th of June 2015

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Whilst two months in advance might seem a little early to release details of a brand new NetEnt game, the Neon Staxx slot is unusual enough to deserve special attention, even if you won’t get it till the end of June 2015.

Still, after the incredibly successful launch of their Spinata Grande and Dracula Touch games, any 5×4 reel slot is going to seem exciting.

Doesn’t mean that Neon Staxx with it’s 1980’s style reels, will be any good.

So whilst we wait, let’s over analyse every last frame of this Neon Staxx slot video preview. We won’t have another video for a while, so might as well enjoy it.

Watch the Neon Staxx slot preview video:

So what did you think? Impressed? Not?

Want to know what we think? We had a very unfair thought when we first loaded this NetEnt slot game.

To our shock, we have to admit, that our fist thought was… wait… is NetEnt… copying someone else?? Is that even possible?

What are we talking about?

Now in their defence, and before we put our foot somewhere we won’t be able to remove it, we don’t know how long Net Entertainment have had the Neon Staxx slot as an idea.

Maybe it’s been part of the books for over a year ago, or longer.

What we couldn’t help think is that Neon Staxx comes after the Thunderkick game Arcader, which is one of the better received slots from this new casino slot software provider.

And the similarities, in theme if not in gameplay, are a little too close not to deserve comparison.

Both have retro 80’s arcade look and feel to them, both have 5 reels that lean back, almost as if the top row is slightly further away than the bottom row.

Both have that kind of electronic music so reminiscent of Tron and shoulder pads.

And whilst Arcader doesn’t have stacked symbols, it does have the ‘expander symbols’ which expands any symbols on the reels to cover the whole reel… so kinda like SuperStaxx feature in this Neon Staxx game, where at any point one symbol can fill a whole reel, then?

Thank-fully that’s where the similarities end

So lets be generous and say that, maybe, two completely different people, in two different companies had a similar idea for a retro game.

Or, lets be less generous and say that someone in NetEnt saw Arcader and went ‘wow cool! let’s do that!’ and pitched the idea.

It’s not the first time software providers borrow from each other. Starburst and Gonzo’s Quest have certainly got their pick of imitation games.

Because, let’s be honest, there is no such thing as a truly 100% original slot machine and there’s only so many themes out there – though that said, Net Entertainment have always been the best at making each game feel totally fresh and new.

So whilst it’s unusual for NetEnt to borrow from others, at least the Neon Staxx online slot is different enough, that only the really finicky people who follow the news of every single game release (us) will notice the similarities with a small release from a small software provider.

But we like to give credit where credit is due.

What to expect from the Neon Staxx video slot

There is something about mobile slot games that make us remember the past that makes them automatically attractive.

Whether its having flashbacks to your Mario Bros Nintendo days whilst playing on the Reel Rush slot, or heading back to the 1970’s lounge casino days of the brilliant Twin Spin Touch.

And as soon as you open Neon Staxx, children of the 80’s will remember long afternoons playing down at the arcade with neon pink, purple, and blue attacking the senses.

This slot is not subtle. But then, neither were the 80’s.

Yes, this will be an online and mobile slot

So that’s the good news.

The bad news is that the 5×4 reels feel really small on mobile. We’re not sure why, because Dracula or Spinata Grande didn’t. Maybe it’s that slanted look that makes the reels feel too far away, especially on smaller screens?

But then, we’ve only seen the video in the NetEnt official YouTube channel. Perhaps once we are playing on the go, it won’t be as annoying?

Not as hard hitting as others

Looking at the big wins in the video, which seem to be anything from 20 times to 40 times your bet (and that includes 5 reels full of the same stacked symbol), Neon Staxx slot machine probably won’t be the hardest hitting game in the NetEnt collection.

But that’s ok. Some of their more popular ones aren’t – the obvious one being the Starburst video slot.

That’s because, from time to time, we like casino games that will entertain, and dazzle, and amuse. And as long as you have an outside chance of walking away with more than you came in, most of us are happy to play on what are ‘safe slots’.

Ie. games that can lead to wins, but don’t eat all your budget in a few short spins, or that you can only win big whilst betting big.

It’s the SuperStaxx and not the free spins, that will keep you hooked

Yes, there are wilds and scatters throughout this new NeonStaxx game.

But we suspect that the difference between this being a good slot and a great one will be on how often and effective the SuperStaxx feature is at bringing you edge of your seat excitement.

The 15 free spins bonus will be a part of that, as one symbol will be guaranteed to come stacked on each spin. Whether thats on one reel, or more, is down to the arcade gods to decide.

Yet, to be truly great, the SuperStaxx feature needs to be equally as effective in the base game. We have to believe that we can win on every single spin of the reels to get truly excited.

Meanwhile, if you can’t wait to play on some retro reels, we’ve got a great offer for you:

Get 15 free spins on Twin Spin, no deposit needed and exclusive, at Guts casino today. Then, you’ll get 300 in bonus and 100 free spins to keep you playing at a great NetEnt casino.

That should keep you busy till June 24th.