Nip Tuck: Slot Overview
Cosmetic surgery, a nip here, a fold there, an augmentation of those, it’s a divisive topic. Some are all for it, others may prefer we try to be happy with what nature has given us. Each to their own, as they say. Weighing in on the debate is new casino game maker Sneaky Slots. Sheltering under the Evolution umbrella, rumors suggest Sneaky Slot might actually be a side project from the team behind Nolimit City – but hey, who knows. Either way, this new kid on the block has come up with Nip Tuck, an online slot that is not exactly subtle in its use of cosmetic surgery as it piles on a stack of features including regular and super versions of two bonus rounds and a literal assembly line of features.
Nip Tuck focuses the attention on its gaming area by making the background image black and white, and it is a little hard to make out exactly what is going on. Reader response theory here, it looks like a dystopic shopping scene, like a bad dream, where the people aren’t really people, they’re evil entities wrapped in flesh bags that can flip from saccharin sweet to manically evil and back in a heartbeat, depending on their mood swings. An Edward Scissorhands, The Sandman, Stepford Wives nightmare at the mall scenario. Don’t want to presume to know what’s on Sneaky Slots’ mind, but the studio doesn’t seem super positive about cosmetic surgery.
Nip Tuck unfolds on a 5×4 grid with 30 paylines slicing through it, setting the stage for winning combos. Beneath the surgically smoothed surface lies a highly volatile math model, offering a 96.58% RTP on bets ranging from 10c up to $/€40 per spin. For those chasing extra thrills, the Sneaky Boost and Super Sneaky Boost can be activated at 2x or 5x the stake, upping the odds of cutting into the bonus rounds
M, E, R, C, H are the low pays, awarding 2.5x the bet for a 5-of-a-kind winning line, while the high pays are faces made up of various cut-out body parts, awarding 5x to 25x the bet for 5 OAK. All pay symbols may be substituted by the wild, which lands on each reel. An all wild 5 OAK win pays 25x.
Nip Tuck: Slot Features
A bunch of features roll off an assembly line in the base game and free spins round. There is also a Lock & Load round, super versions of both bonus rounds, and feature buys.
Assembly Line
Modifiers in Nip Tuck appear as symbols on an assembly line that travels to the right on each spin. New modifier symbols may appear from the left on each spin. Scanner symbols may appear on reels that have an assembly line and are removed after landing. If a scanner lands on the same reel as a modifier, the modifier is triggered before disappearing. Modifiers include Random Wilds that drop extra wilds onto the reels, Multipliers ranging from x2 to x100 applied to all pay symbols, and Big Tiles where a random face symbol or wild expands to 2×2, 3×3, or even 4×4 in size
Free Skins Symbols
Hitting one free skins symbol on the assembly line and triggering it with a scanner activates the bonus pick feature. Hitting 2 free skins symbols triggers an assembly line feature, or getting 3 free skins symbols in the main game triggers the bonus pick, and makes it possible to land the golden free skins symbol on the current spin. Should the golden free skins symbol hit, the super bonus pick is triggered instead of the regular pick. When the bonus pick is triggered, players may choose free skins or the Lock & Load feature, or super free spins or Super Lock & Load from the super bonus pick.
Free Spins and Super Free Spins
Free Skins grant 7 spins with two assembly lines active from the start, each guaranteeing new features on every spin. Features stay on the line once triggered, scanners are more frequent, and multipliers double whenever awarded. Free Skins symbols add +3 spins and upgrade the round to Super Free Skins, while Bonus Skins symbols grant +2, +3, or +5 spins. Scanners on the middle reels activate both lines, and in Super Free Skins, multiplier tags persist throughout with a much higher chance of scanners landing.
Lock & Load and Super Lock & Load
When the Lock & Load is picked, the Face Deal phase plays first. Here, the values of Receipt symbols range from 1-5 to 30-50, the number of spins from 3-7, and the possible modifier – Collector, Multiplier, and Enhancer, are determined. During the feature, blanks, Receipts, Collectors, Multipliers, Enhancer, and free spins symbols may land. Receipt and Collector symbols are sticky, and locked symbol prizes are awarded when the round ends, either when spins run out or the grid is filled. In the bonus, only one modifier type appears via the Face Deal: Collectors that gather all Receipt values, Multipliers that boost a random Receipt by x3, or Enhancers that add +5 to every visible Receipt.
Landing a free skins symbol instantly awards all visible prizes, unlocks all symbols, and starts the Super Lock & Load bonus. When the Super Lock & Load is picked, the Receipt values range from 2-10 to 60-100, the multiplier applies an x5 value, and the Enhancer adds +10 to all visible Receipt symbols. The free skins symbol does not land in the super version.
Sneaky Buy
The Sneaky Buy is where players can trigger the non-super bonus pick for 100x, or the super pick for 500x the bet. It is possible to trigger the random wilds feature for 4x, the multiplier for 2x, or Big Tiles for 6x the bet.
Nip Tuck: Slot Verdict
Yeah, okay, can’t be saying Sneaky Slots has chosen to leap off the block in a low-key, cautious way. Instead of easing into the scene with an easily digestible fruit slot or something along those lines, the team slaps the gambling community in the chops from the get-go with a slot packing a controversial theme and a stack of features to boot. Nip Tuck is a release that’s bound to attract attention, whether positive or negative, and either way, all news is good news. There’s talk of Sneaky Slots licensing Nolimit City’s suite of xMechanics, but adding to Nip Tuck’s bravery, the studio has refrained from hitching itself to the x-wagon right off the bat, instead wisely turning out something it has cooked up using its own gumption.
As well as hints of Nolimit City’s irreverence about the place, Nip Tuck also gave off a whiff of Shady Lady. All those feature buys, the extensive list of features, the unusual theme, it seems like the Lady has a new competitor, which can only be a good thing for gamblers who prefer to bet using unique, provocative, break-the-mould slots. In the gaming department, Nip Tuck has a few interesting tricks tucked up its sleeve. The assembly line of features helps keep the base game interesting, reminiscent in this instance of AvatarUX‘s Zap Reel, bulking up in the free spins round when a second line appears below the reels. The Lock & Load was the more exciting feature of the two, a hold ‘n’ win style affair enhanced by Face Deal features. ELK Studios arose as a mathematical comparison, and not always in a good way. After ploughing through a stack of bonus buys, they often struggled to break even. Tough enough in demo, IRL it would’ve been brutal. Of course, luck is luck, and results may vary. Wildly.
Winning potential is 10,000x the bet, so if luck is running hot, Nip Tuck can carve its way to solid hits. Based on Nip Tuck, Sneaky Slots appears to be positioning itself as one of those next-gen slot developers, backing a thought-provoking topic with unique features in order to get gamblers’ attention rather than reusing a generic theme for the twelve thousandth time, opening up exciting pathways for the future. Hopefully.
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