Cash Vandal (Play’n GO): Review

If you’re curious about the headline, it’s a nod to an old meme that felt like a perfect match for this review. It’s also pretty difficult not to think of the endless runner mobile game Subway Surfers when you look at the visuals in this Play’n GO slot. Luckily, the developers didn’t lean into Hugo-style gameplay or anything similar, because that would have looked a little too questionable, wouldn’t you say?

One thing you’ll notice right away when launching Cash Vandal is its slightly odd 4-reel, 10-payline layout. At a time when many studios are pushing win ways to the extreme, Play’n GO has boldly gone the other way here, which actually fits the defiant vibe of the theme. Three- and five-reel slots have always been the norm, and even six reels isn’t exactly rare—but four? That’s genuinely unusual. Still, there’s more going on in this game than you’d expect from such a tight setup. Volatility is high, the upside is strong, and yes—there’s plenty of tense, edge-of-your-seat potential if that’s what you’re after.

In Cash Vandal, you’re basically encouraged to go on a rampage through train systems in three of Europe’s biggest cities—Paris, London and Berlin. With each skyline sitting in the background, the reels appear inside a railway carriage. On the reels you’ll find graffiti-styled cherries, blueberries, raspberries, oranges and watermelons, alongside stacks of cash, gold bars and diamonds. The diamond is the main regular symbol, paying 10 times your stake for 4 of a kind. The wild pays even better though: land 4 on a payline and you’ll collect 50 times your stake.

Cash Vandal (Play’n GO): Features

Beyond the standard symbols, keep an eye out for the spray cans. If a golden spray can scatter lands on reel 4 with no other spray can symbol showing anywhere else, the Re-Spin feature activates. When this happens, reel 4 stays locked while the remaining reels spin again. If 1 spray can then lands on any other reel, the City feature is triggered. If 2 spray cans land, you’ll enter the free spins bonus instead.

During the City feature, you receive 1 free spin with a stacked wild on reel 4, plus an extra reel modifier —each modifier being tied to one of the three cities mentioned earlier. Once the spin is completed, the modifier (and its associated city) changes. To emphasise the switch, a brief animated cut scene plays, taking you on a train ride between the cities. The modifiers are as follows:

• Paris – the modifier synchronises reels 1 and 2, combining them into a 2×2 mega symbol.
• London – between 2 to 9 mystery symbols are added to reels 1, 2 and 3. As the reels come to a stop, the mystery symbols transform to reveal matching symbols.
• Berlin – in this modifier you’ll see 2 or 3 wilds randomly added to reels 1, 2 and 3.

To activate the Free Spins bonus, you need to land the golden spray can on reel 4 along with 2 or 3 spray cans on any other reel. That awards 5 or 10 free spins respectively. To begin, you’re given the choice to select one of the modifiers above—Paris, London or Berlin. These modifiers don’t just apply to a single spin; they remain active for every spin, and you also get a full stack of wilds on reel 4. The maximum win on any one spin here is 500 times your stake, but because retriggers can theoretically continue indefinitely, there’s room to chase much bigger totals than that. As is common with Play’n GO, though, the overall win is capped at 5000 times your stake.

Cash Vandal (Play’n GO): Verdict

Cash Vandal is a cheeky, troublemaking slot that manages to deliver plenty of impact even without a 5th reel. It’s not revolutionary, as you’ve seen, but the tight reel layout and the fairly high number of symbols appear to boost hit frequency, making it feel quite active and eventful despite the high volatility.

That said, it still carries that familiar Play’n GO feel, so it doesn’t come across as completely new—though the attempt to separate it from the rest of the catalogue is noticeable and appreciated. All in all, it’s a solid release that should suit most players, offering both entertainment and enough firepower to land huge wins. In other words: different enough to be interesting, without going too far off the rails.