Gorilla Madness

Gorilla Madness - Overview

Whenever we think of gorillas, our minds automatically wander to the majestic gentle giants we know today, who spend their days in lush jungles and rainforests with thick vegetation, birds chirping, and idyllic imagery. Only going into chest-beating mode when provoked or showing off the alpha male status. Then along came Gorilla Madness from developers Light & Wonder, who forever changed that image for us. We had no idea that gorillas were around in prehistoric times, but according to sources we found online, there was indeed a gorilla-like ape called Gigantopithecus who lived approximately 2 million years ago. The gorillas we see in Gorilla Madness are, thankfully, the modern-day variety with larger-than-life personalities.

Graphically, the design is quirky and fun, with large cartoon-like graphics. Players will find themselves in prehistoric times in a jungle with a bubbling molten lava river flowing by and an erupting volcano in the background, almost waiting for someone to shout Jumanji! Or for the ominous drum beating to start. Instead, as the game loads, we hear the tribal rhythmic drums that beat along in time with a xylophone. While the tune itself is decent, it sounds a bit more like a tropical vacation than Gorilla Madness.

Available to play from 0.18 p/c to $/€88.00 per spin (yes, a rather odd range), Gorilla Madness is a medium to high variance game that can be played on most desktops, mobile phones, or tablets. As far as the layout goes, it's fairly standard and consists of 5 reels, 3 rows combined with 243 win ways that pay on adjacent reels from the leftmost reel to the right by landing three or more matching symbols. According to official stats supplied by Light & Wonder, the game comes with three RTP models, with 96% being the highest, while the maximum win amount clocks in at 2,761x.

For symbols, the grouchy-looking male and eye-rolling female gorilla will pay 0.5x to 11.3x the stake, whilst the three dinosaurs are worth 0.1x to 4.5x your wager. The coloured gems doubling as A-9 card ranks pay 0.05x to 0.5x the bet, and the gold gorilla statue, which is also the scatter symbol, will award 5x to 50x the bet. Do note, scatter wins are paid in addition to ways wins. The Gorilla Madness wild symbol can substitute for all symbols, including the scatter symbol. This wild symbol can appear on reels 2, 3, and 4 in both the base game and free spins round.

Gorilla Madness: Slot Features

Free Spins

As mentioned before, the gold gorilla statue is also the scatter symbol. It can appear in both the base game and the free spins round. Land 3, 4, or 5 scatter symbols on adjacent reels to be awarded 10 free spins. During the free spins round, the low pay symbols do not appear, leaving the opportunity for bigger wins. Moreover, the Gorilla Madness Jackpot feature can be triggered during free spins. On a last note, free spins can be re-triggered during this round.

Jackpot Game

A big drawing card to Light & Wonder's Gorilla Madness is the Gorilla Madness Jackpot feature. This feature may be randomly triggered when one or more wild symbols land on the reels. When the jackpot feature is triggered, a screen will display 12 coins. Here, players pick to reveal symbols. If 3 matching symbols are revealed, the corresponding jackpot is awarded, ending this feature. There are four jackpots, a Mini paying 27x the stake, a Minor awarding 44x the bet, a Major paying 833x your stake and the Grand, which pays a respectable 2,222x the bet.

Gorilla Madness: Slot Verdict

Gorilla Madness was a tough slot to review, not because it's bad or unlikeable, but mainly due to it not having anything new or overly exciting to offer. Graphically, it's well made. The change of scenery at the start of the free spins round is a testament to that, and the big cartoonish graphics along with the bright-coloured animations are welcoming. We can't fault it unless we nitpick at things like, gorillas in a prehistoric setting? Admittedly, the pink, full-of-attitude headband-wearing ape did throw us off a little bit (lol) - though that could be the 'Madness' part of the title. The music, one could argue, is a bit out there as well, sounding more like something you would associate with a visit to the spa rather than flesh-eating dinosaurs. It's all fun though, we get that.

Overall, the gaming session is vanilla with sprinkles. It is easy to play, and the features are far from complicated. During the test run, free spins were not super frequent though a few decent hits did land. As far as the top prize is concerned, 2,761x the stake isn't overly exciting, though the target audience isn't necessarily the hardcore gamer type. While it's not terrible, Light & Wonder could probably have bumped it up a bit for a wider appeal. So, at the end of the day, are there any good reasons to play Gorilla Madness? Well, it depends on your preferences. If you are into high volatility and big potential, then probably no. If you're the type of player who enjoys trying new games and just wants to escape for a bit, it's not likely you'll find Gorilla Madness to be a charming, easy-to-play, and light-hearted slot.