The Alter Ego: Slot Overview

‘All human beings, as we meet them, are commingled out of good and evil: and Edward Hyde, alone, in the ranks of mankind, was pure evil.’ Those words come from the Gothic staple ‘The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ by Scottish author Rober Louis Stevenson. Whether there’s only one “real” version of ourselves is debatable, but it’s hard to argue we don’t behave differently depending on who we’re with, the situation we’re in, or even when no one else is around. The Alter Ego from Pragmatic Play leans into that idea, shifting from a base game with relatively few extras into a bonus round loaded with room for big developments.

Even though The Alter Ego never directly names Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde, the inspiration is obvious. Players are taken “to an old-fashioned street under moonlight” that strongly resembles Victorian or Edwardian London, with the city’s iconic clock tower (or something very similar) framed by a huge full moon, while a well-dressed gentleman stands on the cobblestones opposite the reels. A suitably unsettling soundtrack helps sell the spooky, classic-mystery vibe.

The Alter Ego is firmly in the high-volatility camp, with a default RTP of 96.07% in standard play. The base game runs on a 5-reel setup using a 3-4-4-4-3 symbols layout and 576 ways to win. That’s only part of the story, though, because during free spins each reel can expand to a maximum of 10 positions high, unlocking a huge increase in active ways. Stakes range from 20 c to $/€240 per spin, and there are also three bonus buy options available.

Payouts are awarded when matching symbols connect across 3 or more adjacent reels, starting from the leftmost reel. Ornate, slightly steampunk-styled 9 to A card ranks make up the low-value symbols, paying 1.5 to 1.75 times the bet for 5-of-a-kind. Higher-value icons include a hat, pocket watch, pistol, and gentleman, worth 2 to 6 times the bet for a 5 OAK win. Logo wilds appear on reels 2, 3, and 4, and they substitute for all symbols except scatters or mystery symbols.

The Alter Ego: Slot Features

There aren’t many add-ons in the base game beyond mystery symbols, but The Alter Ego’s free spins round becomes far more lively thanks to the expanding reel mechanic.

Mystery Symbols

Symbols marked with a ‘?’ are the mystery symbols, and they can land on any reel in both the base game and free spins. Whenever mystery symbols appear, they all transform into the same pay symbol.

Free Spins

Landing 3 or more green serum scatters triggers 3 free spins. Throughout the feature, each time a scatter lands, the free spin counter resets back to 3. The highest-paying symbol in free spins replaces the base game’s top-paying symbol, and the green serum scatter is replaced by a red serum scatter. At the beginning of the round, the reels that contain the triggering scatters each increase by +1 symbol position vertically. Then, every time a scatter lands during free spins, the reel it hits increases by +1 symbol position vertically, up to a maximum of 10 high. When all reels reach 10 positions, the game offers 100,000 ways to win.

Buy Free Spins

Free spins can be purchased from the base game for 100x the bet for a 3-scatter trigger, 150x the bet for a 4-scatter trigger, or 200x the bet for a 5-scatter trigger. The RTP for the 3 scatter trigger is 96.05%, decreasing to 96.01% for the 4 or 5 scatter trigger.

The Alter Ego: Slot Verdict

Knowing the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde story isn’t necessary to enjoy The Alter Ego, but familiarity with the novella can add an extra layer. It’s also a compelling read, exploring the back-and-forth tension between good and evil, repression, psychological struggle, and more, and it’s packed with memorable lines like: ‘My devil had been long caged, he came out roaring.’ Still, none of that is required—players who prefer their slots intense and volatile should find plenty of that energy inside The Alter Ego.

The Alter Ego also earns its title. While the base game is rich in atmosphere, it offers relatively few features and doesn’t fully hint at the chaos that can unfold in free spins. In that bonus, the goal is to land as many red serum scatter symbols as possible. With only 3 spins on the counter, there’s little breathing room, and scatters are crucial for keeping the feature running longer—during the review it often stretched to 20+ spins as a sign of what can happen. More spins are also valuable because they give you time to build the grid into the ideal setup of 5 towering reels of 10 symbols each, unlocking the full 100,000 ways to win, in a way reminiscent of the Extending Reels feature in Big Time Gaming’s iconic White Rabbit slot. Like drinking a glowing green serum, the outcome can be unpredictable.

And sometimes the result is fairly modest—there’s never a promise that a bonus round will turn into a monster. But when the feature lines up correctly, The Alter Ego can provide a genuinely exciting, ever-expanding experience, perhaps like Dr Jekyll racing through the foggy London night while wearing the face of Mr Hyde.