The idea is hardly unfamiliar, as there are several slots with similar themes in the circus genre, but still Zombie Carnival seems like a somewhat original theme in its execution. However, it’s not really as creepy as it could have been, which is taken care of by the daytime setting and the cartoon characters. This is more of a horror comedy than a truly scary game, and it has a lighthearted atmosphere.
Pragmatic Play has done a good job with the audiovisual presentation, but it’s not really enough to keep the base game entertaining. The mystery symbols help a bit, but they get old pretty quickly, and then you’re left with the bonus round as the only highlight of this game. It comes with zombie bear wilds that eat brain scatters, which is pretty fun, and so increases the wild multiplier for possible payouts up to 5,000 times your bet.
Bonus Features at Zombie Carnival Slot
The 4 zombie carnival characters serve as premium symbols and pay between 1.5 to 5 times your bet for 6 matches. Wild symbols substitute for all regular payout symbols to help you complete wins, but you don’t get wild symbols in the base game. Gift-wrapped boxes serve as Mystery symbols and turn into a random matching symbol at the end of the spin. Mystery symbols can appear in both the base game and the bonus round.
The bonus round is triggered when you land at least 2 brain scatters anywhere on reels 2 to 5, and this awards 6 free spins. However, it is beneficial to get more than 2 triggering scatters, as they all turn into Wilds that remain in play for the duration of the feature. When you land brain scatters in the bonus round, the next wild zombie bear moves to an adjacent position and eats the brain. It then moves to the position where the scatter was.
This adds +1 to the wild symbol’s multiplier, and you also get +1 extra free spins added to your account. The wild multiplier increases any win it is involved in, and multipliers are multiplied together if more than one wild is part of the same win. Each wild can only consume 1 brain scatter per spin. So if there are too many scatters, they turn into zombie bear wilds that behave in the same way.
Finally, players outside the UK and all eligible can take advantage of the bonus buy feature. This gives you back 80 times your bet and it guarantees that at least 2 scatter symbols will land on the following spin. The RTP doesn’t change when you buy the bonus round, and the feature is organically triggered every 172 spins on average.
The 200 Spins Zombie Carnival Slot Experience
You can see some minor base game wins before we buy the bonus round at 1:12 in the 3-minute highlights video. This gave us 2 triggering brain scatters and 6 free spins, and you can see for yourself how we fared by clicking the play button below.
Rating Conclusion
Underneath it all, this is pretty standard Pragmatic Play stuff, although the zombie circus theme makes it stand out a bit in terms of graphics. The base game feels pretty barren, as the mystery symbol feature isn’t enough to liven it up. However, the 4,096 ways to win make it theoretically possible to crack the 5,000x potential with a single spin, so there’s that.
Of course, you’re more likely to approach the win cap when the bonus round is triggered, but getting more than 2 triggering scatters didn’t seem so easy. Most of the time, 2 wilds move around to eat brains and increase their multiplier value, as we rarely saw an excess of scatters during the feature. You will get plenty of extra spins most of the time, but overall this seems like a mediocre shelf filler that you will soon forget.
Pros
Mystery symbols in all phases of the game
FS with increasing multiplier wilds that eat scatters
Wins up to 5,000 times the bet (odds of 1 in 3.3 million)
Cons
Base game is not very exciting
Watch out for adjustable RTP ranges
Zombie Carnival Slot FAQs
What is the RTP of Zombie Carnival?
Zombie Carnival’s highest RTP of 96.5% is somewhat above average. However, this release includes customizable RTP ranges.
How volatile is Zombie Carnival?
This is a high volatility episode from Pragmatic Play, scoring 5 out of 5 on the in-game volatility scale.
What is the biggest possible win?
You can win up to 5,000 times your bet in Zombie Carnival, and the maximum win probability is 1 in 3,300,000.
How do the mystery symbols work in Zombie Carnival?
Mystery symbols come in the form of gift boxes and transform into a random matching symbol. They appear in all stages of the game.
Is there a free spins mode in Zombie Carnival?
Yes, the 2+ triggering scatters become zombie bear wilds and they eat brain scatters by moving to that position. This increases the wild multiplier by +1 and also grants +1 additional spin.
How many ways are there to win?
You play Zombie Carnival with 4,096 ways to win, which means that big payouts are theoretically possible with a single spin.
