Member Reviews

It’s not uncommon to see game developers reach out to books and films for inspiration, and a few providers have already chosen this particular one as the theme for their slots.

The story originates from the novel by Gaston Leroux, originally named Le Fantôme de l’Opéra, which was published as a series in 1909. It was later transformed into numerous stage and film adaptations, among which Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1986 musical and the 1925 silent horror movie from Universal Studios.

So what is it all about? Phantom of the Opera Ghost tutors a lovely young soprano called Christina, presenting himself as the Angel of Music sent by her deceased father. The phantom, who is in fact heavily deformed conjuror inhabiting the opera house cellars, falls in love with the beautiful opera singer and performs all sorts of tricks to make her his. While the phantom’s story doesn’t feature a particularly happy ending, yours easily could thanks to NetEnt’s new release.

Developer

Net Entertainment is a name every online gamer is doubtlessly well familiar with. Their journey has started back in 1996, and while it was far from being plain sailing at all times, the developer has clearly managed to find the winning formula and claim its position in the minds and hearts of players around the world.

NetEnt today boasts numerous industry awards, a huge team counting more than 900 employees, partnership with close to 200 casino operators, and a portfolio of more than 100 video and classic slots, dozens of table games, plus a good selection of Video Pokers and specialty games.

Although the company has not entered live gaming segment until 2013, they already provide several top-notch Live Roulette and Blackjack games. Thanks to the NetEnt Touch™, the developer’s mobile gambling platform, their products can be enjoyed just the same on a wide range of iOS and Android devices.

How To Play

Set against the background designed as the opera house, you’ll see transparent reel area consisting of 5 reels, 4 rows and 40 paylines. Winning combos can be formed both ways, either by low-value playing card icons fashioned as broken mirrors, or higher-value daggers, rings, flowers and the two heroes: lovely Christine and the Phantom himself.

The latter will occasionally show up stacked to help you land big wins. Bet sizes ranging from $0.20 $200 should make the game equally interesting for both high rollers as well as players with more modest budgets.

Special Features

Special symbols in this game include Wild Masked Phantom and stacks of Mirror, Christine and the Phantom icons. While the first two land only on reel 5, the latter will appear exclusively on the first one. Getting stacked Phantoms and Masks to land simultaneously transforms them all into Wilds and earns you a re-spin with all Wild icons held in place.

Combine Phantom and Christine stacks and you’ll be taken to a Pick and Click bonus round which initially prompts you to choose among eight roses to claim cash prizes. Picking goes on until you hit a blocker, which is when the game moves to the second round and asks you to choose among 3 mirrors to reveal a multiplier to previously won cash reward.

Land 3+ Scatters to trigger the free spins round and you’ll see a chandelier mounted above the reel area and 5 ropes which it hangs on. Each Masked Phantom showing up while you’re spinning for free gets one of the ropes cut and sticks around for the remainder of the bonus round. Once all ropes get slashed, the chandelier drops and free games end.

Maximum Payouts

NetEnt’s Phantom of the Opera is low to medium variance game with an RTP of 96.57%. Individual winning combinations pay only up to 4,000 coins (20x your bet), but thanks to stacked symbols and features your balance could receive a boost of as much as 160,000 coins or 800x your total stake.

Summary

NetEnt’s interpretation of the Phantom of the Opera story is beautifully designed game with a dramatic soundtrack worthy of turning your speakers on. There’s enough of special features to make the gameplay interesting, and we particularly liked creatively executed free games round. Get lucky by combining bonuses and high-value symbols and the experience could also prove to be highly lucrative.