ALL ABOUT VAMPIRE SENPAI SLOT
Quickspin is a game developer whose slots are instantly recognizable thanks to their distinct artistic style. Over the years they have produced a mixed range of games, occasionally hitting a high note with slots like Big, Bad Wolf or Sticky Bandits. Wilds, and in particular, Sticky Wilds, are something of a motif, and they popup once again in this summer 2020 release, Vampire Senpai.
The term Senpai is derived from Chinese folklore, referring to a zombie-type creature who kills the living to extract their life force for themselves. But this is no Immortal Romance or Blood Suckers. No, Quickspin have opted for a more light-hearted cartoon-ish approach to their graphics instead, and it looks great. The little vampires fulfill the role of the wilds and also transform standard symbols around them to boost your win opportunities. It’s a cool concept, deftly executed. And thanks to its neat design and amusing narrative, enticing 8,8000x top payout and medium variance, Vampire Senpai will have quite a broad appeal to casual players and more hard-core slots fans alike.
GAME SET-UP, SYMBOLS AND GRAPHICS
So, we join the action in what looks like an ancient Chinese garden bathed in a red-ish, orange glow of dusk that turns to night time in the free spins round. The reel set is a 5×5 grid set in a pagoda and there are 40 active paylines in play at all times. The low value symbols on the reels are represented by the cards Jack through to Ace. Premium symbols come in the form of humans (not vamps!). They are in the colors green, purple and red.
Then there are the top paying Wilds (or Vampires) which can pay out as much as 40x in the free spins round, and also perform the role of subbing in for other symbols and transforming those around themselves. Look out as well for the Golden Bell which is the scatter and is required to unlock the free spins round.
VAMPIRE SENPAI SLOT RTP, VARIANCE AND PAYOUTS
Vampire Senpai is a medium variance game. That means it will pay out fairly regularly, but it’s a bit tighter than low variance fodder like NetEnt’s upcoming Cash Noire for example. This is why we think it may have a broad appeal. Casual gamers can enjoy spinning from 20p whilst the 96.19% RTP means that the game is good value, particularly as it can deliver an 8,800x top payout, something that will appeal to the high variance fans. Of course, it’s worth noting that the odds of hitting that jackpot are very slim indeed! But mid-range wins of 500x + are surely on the cards.
GAMEPLAY AND FEATURES
Quickspin’s latest slot is all about the Wilds and the Free Spins.
First up is the standard Vampire Wild. When this little creature lands not only does he perform the standard role of the wild, subbing in for all other symbols on the grid, but he also takes a chunk out of any human symbols in adjacent positions. When he does so, he transforms those symbols into more zombies! These new zombie creatures are known as Turned Wilds and they perform the same trick, transforming humans on adjacent positions into more Turned Wilds. And so on … you get the idea.
Free Spins are triggered by landing 3 or more of the Golden Bell scatters simultaneously. That gets you 7, 9 or 12 spins. The bonus round comes with a Vampire enhancement. Here, the Vampire Wilds are sticky for the duration of the spins, always present on the grid, but hopping between positions at random between spins. There is also a Talisman Wild available in the Free Spins round, on reels 1 to 4. You’ll know when they are arriving because a Vampire will appear on screen in a little animation that triggers between 3 and 9 Talismans to take their positions on the reels. When this happens the Talisman Wilds sub for all other symbols and stick for the rest of the spins.
OUR VERDICTÂ
Vampire Senpai is a typically cool looking slot from Quickspin. To our knowledge this is a totally original theme (don’t think anyone’s covered Chinese folklore zombies before!). It uses Wilds to good affect and the Transforming feature can set off some pretty decent win sequences when the symbols line up right for you. The only drawback may be that those Wilds are pretty much all the features you get here, with small enhancements in the bonus round. So things could get a little repetitive. Nevertheless, with the regular maths model and decent potential we anticipate this one keeping us interested for a good few sessions. If you want to give it a try too, be responsible and have fun.
