Monsters Unchained: Slot Overview

If there were monsters in the world, in the fantastical sense of the word, the last thing anyone would want to do is unchain them, right? That is unless the person in question is bent on world destruction or at least terrorising portions of the general population with creatures with big pointy claws and supernatural powers. Where were we? Oh yeah, in Monsters Unchained, an online slot from Red Tiger, players will want to unchain these beasties as much as possible. The reason why is because the three monsters in the game each bring a different modifier to the table, and unchaining them as much as possible can lead to greater potency in their effects.

The setting for Monsters Unchained is a dank, heavy location, a sort of oubliette, where people, things, or… monsters are put and forgotten about. Like a mediaeval dungeon set deep in the bowels of a castle, all metal grating, thick stone walls, flaming torches, bones, and unsavoury sour water. An ideal spot to host a game where the monsters are the Minotaur, Medusa, and Cerberus, the 3 headed dog. Three characters from Greek Mythology who are no strangers to the iGaming realm. Each one sits next to the game grid with a meter that is filled when certain Chain Breaker symbols hit; the full process will come clear very soon.

First, a bit of bookkeeping and Monsters Unchained is a highly volatile slot with a higher than usual RTP for Red Tiger of right on 96%. It's played on a dynamic reel set, which utilises 5 reels, 3 rows and 243 ways to win by default, but it can grow when the Minotaur is unchained. Bet selection begins at 10 p/c and rises to £/€10 per spin.

Winning ways are created when matching symbols land anywhere on adjacent reels, from the leftmost reel onwards. Monsters Unchained has 9 regular paying symbols; 5 of them are 10-A card rank low pays, the rest are a shackle, an axe, a lamp, and a chest of gold. Hitting a 5-of-a-kind winning way puts a win of 0.4 to 0.8 times the bet for the lows or 1 to 3 times the bet for the highs in your pocket. Wilds only appear as a result of the Medusa modifier, substituting for any paying symbol.

Monsters Unchained: Slot Features

Monsters Unchained has a base game which is played in cycles of 10 spins. For the first 9 spins in the cycle, when Chain Breaker symbols land, they are collected in their respective Monsters' meters. Meters contain 3 steps, and breaking a monster's chain completes 1 step of the meter. On the 10th spin, the monsters with at least 1 of their chains broken will trigger their corresponding feature on that spin. The more broken chains, the more potent the monsters' features will be. After the 10th spin, the meters are cleared for the next cycle of spins.

Three types of Chain Breaker symbols may land – red, green, and blue, and they appear on all spins except the 10th. Only 1 Chain Breaker may land on a spin, and up to 3 Chain Breaker symbols of a specific type may land in a cycle of 10 spins:

  • Minotaur - The Minotaur's chains are broken by the red Chain Breaker symbol. On the 10th spin, the reels expand to 5x4, 5x5, or 6x5, with 1,024, 3,125, or 15,625 ways to win for 1, 2, or 3 destroyed chains, respectively.
  • Medusa - Medusa's chains are broken by landing the green Chain Breaker symbol. On the 10th spin, Medusa adds 2 or 3, 4 or 5, or 6 or 7 wilds to the reels for 1, 2, or 3 destroyed chains, respectively. Wilds will not be placed on the first or last reels, regardless of grid size.
  • Cerberus - The blue Chain Breaker symbol breaks Cerberus' chains. On the 10th spin, Cerberus adds a win multiplier of x2 or x3, x4 or x5, or x6 or x7 when 1, 2, or 3 of its chains have respectively been broken.

Monster Spins

Hit 3 Monster scatters on reels 1, 3, and 5 and 10 free spins are triggered. Scatters do not land on the 10th spin of a cycle, nor do they land on free spins. Any broken chains in the base game are not carried over to the bonus round.

When a chain is broken in the free spins round, its effect begins from the next free spins onwards. The reel expansion and win multiplier remain active, while Medusa will add wilds on random positions on each spin till the feature ends. Breaking all of a monster's chains awards +3 free spins, meaning it is possible to win 19 at the most. When the feature ends, players return to the base game and continue the chain status where it was left off.

Monsters Unchained: Slot Verdict

For a dip into mythology's scarier side, Monsters Unchained has a few neat things to offer gamblers in a mood for monsters. Naturally, it'll be a better fit for those who like games that roll over set batches of spins, storing up modifiers for use on the final spin of the cycle. It's not a hugely numerous mechanic, but it's one that rears up from time to time and which Red Tiger has put to good use here - for a number of reasons. One is the monster angle, which ties neatly into the unchaining idea, and the whole look of Monsters Unchained has been done to the typically high Red Tiger visual standard.

Another nifty thing about the setup is that it's got three distinct features rather than one. For example, the 9 nine spins don't just frame positions where certain symbols hit, then drop a wild onto them for the 10th spin. Instead, it may be possible, with a bit (or a lot) or luck, to have 3 very useful modifiers unchained on the last spin of a cycle - expanded reels and ways, win multipliers, as well as added wilds. Quite intoxicating when you think of the possibilities, adding a compelling element to the base game. As usual, free spins are where the game is most likely going to really flex due to the persistent nature given to the features. All on a ways to win gaming grid which is nice, too, and good for wins as high as 10,500 times the bet.

With features that can get better the more they are unchained and a sweet interplay of gaming components, Monsters Unchained delivered an entertaining adventure through the bowels of a dungeon with three terrifying yet potentially rewarding monsters on our tail. On the other hand, those who are not into progression/collection-type slots of any kind are unlikely to be won over by this game either.