Novomatic Review

Overview

Novomatic are one of the world’s leading providers of casino table games and video slots – and this Austrian-based company was first founded back in 1980, making them also one of the world’s oldest and most reputable names in the market.

Starting off – primarily – offering land-based gambling venues games, Novomatic have since successfully penetrated the online markets, and their high volatility games are loved by players all over the world, thanks to the massive win-potential which can be found in the vast majority of their titles.

Today, Novomatic offers players their games in over 70 countries, and the company boasts over 19,000 employees, making them one of the largest gambling companies in terms of staff. Their slot machines can be found in land-based casinos on almost all continents, including Europe, American, and Asia – and due to the popularity of their slots, Novomatic decided to transition over to online, in 2011. In order to do this, they acquired Greentube Internet Entertainment Solutions. Using Greentube’s expertise, Novomatic (successfully) managed to port most of their games over to online use – and today, despite being a little behind other game developers, in terms of technology and usability, Novomatic continue to release high-quality and exciting games, that are loved by millions of players over the world.

In this Novomatic software review, we’re going to be taking a look at some of the game developer’s most popular slots (10 in total), and we will also look at some pros and cons associated with playing their games. We will also list some company details towards the end. First off, let’s take a look at the software platform Novomatic use to distribute their games.

Software Platform

Novomatic have been relatively slow to adapt to the online world of video slots – and subsequently, their games are often still developed using Flash. This means that players may struggle to run the games from mobile devices – although it’s worth noting that some of the developer’s more popular, and successful slots are built using HTML5, so these are available to enjoy from mobile devices.

Games

One of Novomatic’s strong points, is that they offer games spanning a massive range of categories – and below, we’re going to look at 10 of the game developer’s most successful video slots. These video slots are written about from an ‘online’ point of view – although many of them are available offline as well.

Amazing Stars: Amazing Stars is one of Novomatic’s most popular video slots, and while the base-game doesn’t have a lot going on, the bonus round is where the action is at – and that’s because it’s possible to win a localized progressive jackpot, if you manage to fill the entire screen with star symbols! The star symbols lock in place, and while it’s not “easy” per se to fill the screen, it is possible – and even if you don’t manage to do so, the bonus round can still pay well, too!

Beetle Mania Deluxe: Modelled loosely after the Beatles rock band, Beetle Mania Deluxe features a catchy and euphoric soundtrack, and you’ll find yourself enjoying every spin, thanks to the great soundtrack! Now, if you manage to trigger the feature, you’ll be awarded 10 free-spins, and during the free-spins, any time you manage to land the special Beetle symbol on the 3rd reel, you’ll double your existing win from the bonus – so if you manage to land it a few times, you can enjoy some pretty healthy-sized wins!

Big Catch: Big Catch is Novomatic’s most popular fishing game – and if you want to stand any chance of scooping a decent-sized win when playing, you’ll need to get your fishing boots on, and head to the lake! Now, while the base-game has a tendency to be a little feral, the bonus round is where the money can be found – and you will find yourself able to select from the 5 reels, once triggered. Each time you pick a reel, a fish will be caught, and the size of the fish determines the size of the win! You get to continue reeling in fish until you catch a boot – at which point the feature ends, and you return to the main base-game.

Book of Ra: Book of Ra is arguably Novomatic’s most successful and notable slot release to date, and the game has become a popular choice with players, as it encompasses you into an exhilarating and dynamic gameplay experience. Now, the big attraction  of Book of Ra is the bonus feature, which is triggered by landing 3, 4, or 5 of the scatter symbols anywhere in view. Once you manage to do so, you are awarded 10 free-spins, during which one symbol is chosen at random to be a special expanding symbol. Any time this symbol lands in view, it expands and pays – regardless of where it is on the screen – and this makes it possible to land a full screen of the explorer symbol, for a staggering 5,000X stake!

Book of Ra Deluxe: Following on from the success of Book of Ra, Novomatic decided to release a follow-up slot, called Book of Ra Deluxe – and this more modern game features slicker graphics, a better-looking interface, and better mobile optimization. The game plays out in an almost identical manner, and you’ll find that the bonus round is once again where the big money is paid; land a full screen of the explorer symbol to scoop a whopping 5,000X payout!

Captain Venture: Captain Venture is another of Novomatic’s most popular and successful slots, and the reason why is pretty clear; during the bonus round, it’s possible to win up to 8,000X your stake on a single spin – and this is achieved if you manage to make a 5-of-a-kind combination of the captain symbol. Also known for its frequent re-triggers, Captain Venture offers great gameplay, and it’s no surprise to see that it’s become one of the game developer’s most successful online releases yet!

Dolphin’s Pearl Deluxe: Dolphin’s Pearl Deluxe is one of Novomatic’s most successful games offline – and when the news dropped that the game was coming to the online world, players were excited. The game has managed to live up to the high expectation that was set for it, and, like some of Novomatic’s other games, the action is all found within the bonus. Triggered by landing 3, 4, or 5 of the scatter symbols anywhere in view, during the bonus round all wins are subject to a 3X multiplier, and it’s possible to re-trigger the free-spins quite regularly, making for exciting (and long) bonus rounds.

Gorilla: Gorilla is a jungle-themed slot from Novomatic, and as you can probably tell from the name, the game is themed all around the king of the jungle – the Gorilla. Using a unique 50-payline format, Gorilla allows you the chance of landing a full screen of the Gorilla symbol – and this enables you to scoop up some HUGE wins!

Katana: Katana is an Oriental-inspired slot from Novomatic, and as you can probably imagine, like most of Novomatic’s slots, Katana features impeccable-looking graphics, combined with an exciting bonus round. During the bonus, the Katana symbol – when landed in view – will expand to fill the entire reel, and this makes it possible to land a full screen of the symbol!

Lord of the Ocean: Lord of the Ocean is another hugely-successful Novomatic game, modeled loosely around the Book of Ra series, in that the bonus round features expanding symbols. Once you trigger the feature (achieved by landing 3, 4, or 5 of the scatter symbols anywhere in view), a random symbol is chosen, and this symbol then expands during the bonus round, with payouts occuring for 2-of-a-kind win lines or higher!

As you can see from the slots above, Novomatic offer a tremendous number of games for you to enjoy – and the game developer also offer some casino table games and lotto-style games too, although finding these at online casinos is typically quite a lot harder than their slots, which are undeniably more popular.