There’s tougher questions in the entire of the iGaming world to answer than “what are the best NetEnt slots?”The Swedish software giant has been revolutionising the world of slot games on a near weekly basis for some years now, picking the best of the slots the provider has to offer is nigh on impossible.However, guides to the nigh on impossible are what we do here, and so we have gathered this list of NetEnt’s most popular slots, so if you are new to the industry, you can find a starting point that suits you, and will allow you to get familiar with what NetEnt has to offer.
The Old Guard
When it comes to NetEnt slots, it’s easier to separate them into the old favourites and the new releases, so let’s start with a collection of the former.Gonzo’s QuestThe first NetEnt game to go platinum, Gonzo’s Quest, based on the legend of Don Quixote, is a definite for any list of the top NetEnt slot games.Released in 2010, this is still one of the most visually striking slots that the developer has released, and also became the first to be available in virtual reality.If you don’t have a VR headset though, this is still a great game, with falling stones creating the reels, and the ever-popular Avalanche feature which sees winning combinations crumble, to be replaced by the symbols above them for the chance of multiple wins from one spin.StarburstAnother classic, Starburst was released in 2012 and immediately took the online casino world by storm. What is perhaps even more impressive, is that Starburst still enjoys the level of popularity now that it did on release.Coinciding perfectly (and far from coincidentally) with the rise of games like Candy Crush, this gem themed slot has a fun soundtrack, and boasts win both ways options, as well as stacked symbols, respins, and other exciting gameplay features.You will find many a welcome bonus offers bonus spins on Starburst, and this is mainly due to how loved the slot is.Jack and the BeanstalkBringing classic stories to life is something of a mainstay of the NetEnt portfolio, and as such, this will not be the only slot on this list that does so.Based on the classic fairytale, Jack and the Beanstalk was released in 2011 and its artwork is reminiscent of Gonzo’s Quest, showing that the developer had more of a house style at the time, as opposed to the various design styles they offer these days.With five-reels and 20 paylines, the slot follows Jack as he battles the giant and steals his treasures. There are Walking Wilds, where respins see Wilds walk across the reels, with the respins only stopping when all Wild symbols have fallen off the edge of the screen.BloodsuckersA sequel, Bloodsuckers II, was released in 2017 to great acclaim, but it arguably cannot quite reach the heights reached by its predecessor.A vampire-themed slot that came to life (or perhaps to afterlife) way back in 2009, this was one of the slots that put NetEnt on the map, not least because of its RTP (return-to-player) of 98%, which is incredibly high for a slot game.A popular feature of this game is the Click Me Coffin Stabbing Bonus pick and click feature, where you pick one of 12 coffins with an aim to stab the sleeping vampire within, for a cash bonus.Blood and gore galore, but also excellent gameplay, makes Bloodsuckers feel as fresh now as it did on release nearly a decade ago.Hall of GodsProgressive jackpot slots are a huge part of the NetEnt portfolio these days, but that wasn’t always the case, and it all started with the release of Hall of Gods in 2010.Many life-changing sums of money have been paid out to lucky players in the years that Hall of Gods has been on the market, and it shows no sign of letting up any time soon.With a highest win of nearly €8 million, and an average win of over €5.5 million, the jackpot alone would be enough to tempt in players, but there’s a lot more than that on offer here.Norse Gods including Thor and Freya appear on this five-reel, 15 payline slot with an epic design and some exciting gameplay features outside of the three progressive jackpot amounts.
The New Breed
In early 2016, it felt like there was a change in the output NetEnt was producing, it got more varied, HTML5 became the norm, and a new generation of slot games hit the market. Since then, there’s a host of NetEnt slots that have found instant popularity, here are just a few of them.Aloha! Cluster PaysThe Cluster Pays gameplay mechanic was one of the most innovative features that NetEnt brought to the table in 2016, and it was Aloha! Cluster Pays that started the whole movement. Having since been followed by The Legend of Shangri-La: Cluster Pays, Aloha! is still arguably the best slot to use this feature.With a Hawaiian theme and a soundtrack as colourful as its design concept, with a sunset and a volcano in the background, this six-reel slot doesn’t have paylines, instead you are rewarded for clusters of symbols landing on the reels, clusters of nine or more symbols end in prizes here and there’s some huge wins to get, with 100,000 coins being the highest win.Guns ‘n’ Roses2016 was NetEnt’s 20th birthday as part of the online casino world, and to celebrate they released the NetEnt Rocks Trilogy. Followed by Jimi Hendrix and Motörhead, which were both truly epic slots with unsurprisingly rocking soundtracks, the trilogy was started by the exceptional Guns ‘n’ Roses slot.Based around many of the seminal rock band’s most popular songs, there are exciting and unique features throughout this slot, something that continued with the next two instalments.If you are fan of rock music and slot games, no other options come close to NetEnt Rocks, and especially to Guns ‘n’ Roses.Planet of the ApesAs NetEnt moved into 2017, their slots continued to evolve, and their attention partly went to creating epic games based on huge blockbuster movies and television shows. Perhaps the most exciting of these was Planet of the Apes.Based on the first two movies of the recent trilogy, Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, there are two five-reel, 20 payline reels, one representing each of the movies.Playable from 20p to £200 a spin on all compatible desktop, mobile, and tablet devices, footage from the films and sublime graphics and animations really bring the source material to life here.You’ll also find a host of different features, playable on either, or occasionally both reel sets. The Dual symbol is one of the most exciting, triggering randomly, it will make a different symbol in each reel set becoming the only symbol that lands on the reels alongside blank spaces, which can lead to some huge wins. A free spins feature for each reel set can produce even more wins.Fairytale Legends: Hansel & GretelOften a second instalment in a themed series from NetEnt cannot quite live up to the prequel, largely due to the quality and innovative nature of the first release, however, in the case of Fairytale Legends: Hansel & Gretel, things were different.Fairytale Legends: Red Riding Hood was a hugely popular slot on release and had a lot of great features, and then Hansel & Gretel took it all to the next level.With five-reels and ten paylines, and playable from as little as 10p a spin, another fairytale is brought to life in style by NetEnt here.The famous, witch-killing, brother and sister tandem walk next to the reels, dropping breadcrumbs behind them, while stacked wilds can appear on up to four reels on the base game, opening the chance for some big wins.The Fairytale Legends games are a little darker in tone and style than the likes of Jack and the Beanstalk that came before them, but they are no less enjoyable to play, and Hansel & Gretel remains arguably the best fairytale slot we’ve seen from any developer.Universal Monsters: The Phantom’s CurseAt the beginning of 2018, a slot we never though we’d seen finally arrived. The idea that the first in NetEnt’s Universal Monsters series, based on the classic film series, would be on the Phantom of the Opera excited many players, and then the announcement was retracted, but finally, we got what we’d been waiting for, and it was worth the wait!An opera house is the setting from this stunning slot, while rings, characters from the story, roses, and more adorn the reels, bringing the theme to life.Five rows and 40 paylines mean there’s a fair few ways to win here, and three features, including a pick and click feature, sticky wild respins, and a free spin feature with extra wilds throughout.
What’s Next?
NetEnt have already release a plethora of exciting slots in 2018, despite us not being two months into it yet.Asgardian Stones, the above Universal Monsters title, and Fruit Spin are just a few of the top-quality releases we’ve seen, and with dates announced for Witchcraft Academy (June 11th, 2018) and Bollywood Story (June 14th, 2018) and recent statements that television shows Vikings and Narcos will both be getting the NetEnt treatment towards the end of the year, the list of the best and most popular NetEnt slots will keep right on growing!