Reactoonz (Play’n GO): Review

Reactoonz is a 7×7 cluster pays slot featuring cascading symbols. Icons fall onto the grid to create winning groups, and payouts are made when five or more matching symbols connect in a cluster – horizontally and/or vertically. Any winning symbols disappear, and fresh ones drop in to refill the grid. Cascades keep going until no further winning clusters can be formed.

Every win within a round helps charge the Quantum Leap meters one step at a time. Once a meter is fully charged, one of the following quantum feature is randomly placed into the queue:

• Implosion: Turns 3 to 6 symbols into wild symbols, and also removes all surrounding adjacent symbols
• Alteration: Selects 1 random one-eyed symbol, and all identical symbols change into a different symbol. If there are no one-eyed symbols on the grid, the feature may pick any symbol that is present
• Demolition: Eliminates all one-eyed symbols along with all matching symbols
• Incision: Inserts a wild symbol into the centre and draws two intersecting diagonal lines across the grid. Both diagonals display the same random symbol.

After all five meters are completely filled, the Gargantoon feature is added to the queue. Gargantoon begins by placing a 3×3 wild symbol onto a random spot on the grid. If no more cascades are available, it then splits into two 2×2 wild symbols, and ultimately breaks down into nine 1×1 wild symbols.

Before each move, new symbols fall from the top to repopulate the grid. When no more cascades can occur, the queued Quantum features activate. The round then continues as normal, letting the charge meters build again for further effects and potentially extra wins. The charge meters only reset at the end of the round, once there are no winning combinations left.

On any initial non-winning spin, there is a chance for the Gargantoon to drop 4 to 8 wild symbols onto the grid. 4 matching normal symbols adjacent to each other in a square shape automatically form Giantoonz. Any win is doubled when one or more Giantoonz are included in the winning combination. Each spin marks one random one-eyed symbol type as the fluctuating symbol. If any marked symbols take part in a win, they leave 2 wild symbols behind. Wilds substitute for all normal symbols.

Reactoonz (Play’n GO): Verdict

At first, Reactoonz can feel a little confusing and overly complex, so it often helps to just play along and watch how things unfold until it clicks. Play’n GO have specialized in these types of cluster slots which have become extremely popular. The potential is clearly there, and the base game delivers plenty of momentum and suspense as you work to fill the meters. The engine is excellent, and the maths model feels well judged despite the game’s volatile nature.

That said, Reactoonz can be seriously tilting. It’s fairly common to reach the 3rd or 4th bar only for the progress to disappear in an instant. On top of that, don’t be surprised if the Gargantoon lands in what feels like the worst possible position on the grid. Even so, Reactoonz is not only among Play’n GO’s top cluster slots, it’s also one of the best titles they’ve released to date.

Don’t Miss…

Roughly three years after the original Reactoonz arrived, Play’n GO finally released a follow-up. Named simply Reactoonz 2, it offers slightly higher win potential along with a completely new set of modifiers. There’s also a Gigantoonz slot that pushes the Toonz storyline even further, and it’s worth checking out that one too.