The Final Countdown Slot (Big Time Gaming): Review

The previous time Big Time Gaming made headlines was back in January, when Holy Diver launched. With an approval rating of 93%, it became the highest-rated title in Bigwinboard history and one of just three online slots ever to break into the 90%+ bracket. Player feedback, though, was far more divided and nowhere near as glowing. Early on, the Reel Adventure concept drew plenty of compliments, but over time enthusiasm cooled, with some calling it “tedious” and others simply labelling it boring.

Of course, gamblers are notoriously hard to please—especially when the wins aren’t coming—yet, looking back, some of the community’s complaints were fair. Even so, Holy Diver remains a remarkable display of ingenuity, innovation, and creativity, and it proved to be a major success for Big Time Gaming, beating both Extra Chilli and Millionaire in launch performance. That’s a strong result for a slot concept whose origins go back to the pre-Bonanza era.

After months of steady rumours about Danger High Voltage 2, Big Time Gaming finally posted an announcement on its official website on the 29^th of January, confirming the speculation. The original Danger High Voltage—often praised as a masterpiece—is one of the few BTG titles that doesn’t use the Megaways engine. That said, it’s still a serious heavyweight, famous for surprising players with wins exceeding 5000x without even needing the bonus to trigger. With a sibling like that, the sequel clearly has big shoes to fill.

As the name suggests, the storyline once again revolves around a classic hit—The Final Countdown, recorded and released by Swedish rock band Europe in 1986. While the slot itself is fundamentally different, anyone who knows the original should instantly recognise the 6-reel, 4-row, 4096 win ways setup. Beyond that, though, the overlap is fairly limited.

This top-down sci-fi action slot packs in a variety of mechanics to keep things lively while you wait for launch. Active in both the base game and the bonus, the Reel Clone feature can appear on any spin, syncing up to 4 reels. Cloned reels can also create Clone Wilds, which arrive with multipliers reaching as high as 256x. When you trigger the bonus, you’ll have two paths to choose from: The Countdown feature, where a roaming multiplier wild grows with each retrigger, or the Heading for Venus feature, which leans into Reel Clones and introduces a Velocity Wild.

Visually, you’re dropped onto a space shuttle launchpad with lift-off imminent—perfectly matching the theme. With a neon city skyline in the background, reels bordered by a lighting rig, and a spacecraft positioned alongside, The Final Countdown delivers a striking retro-futuristic look that’s amplified by the famous title track. True to BTG tradition, you’ll see low-value A to 9 royals plus green, blue, red, and purple gems. As is often the case, the purple gem pays best among the regular symbols, awarding 25 times the stake for 6 across a payline. Two special symbols are also included: the golden bonus scatter and a base game wild shown as a female crew member.

The Final Countdown Slot (Big Time Gaming): Features

The Final Countdown comes loaded with several high-impact features that can deliver enormous payouts—running into several thousand times your stake—even during the base game.

Leading the way is the Reel Clone feature, which can activate at random on any spin. When it hits, up to 4 of the middle reels will lock and synchronise, creating matching reels where even scatter symbols may be copied. If a wild lands on one of these cloned reels, the Clone Wilds feature activates. Depending on how many reels were cloned, the wild increases in both size and multiplier strength. Cloning 2, 3 or 4 reels produces x4, x27 or x256 multiplier wilds respectively.

Despite the strong upside in the base game, you’ll still want to reach the bonus, as it greatly boosts your chances of landing a huge win. Landing 3 or more scatter symbols anywhere on the reels triggers the bonus, after which you can choose between two features:

• The Countdown – beginning with 8 free spins, you’ll get a roaming 2×2 multiplier wild that shifts across the reels on every spin. To access the real power here, you’ll need retriggers. This happens by landing countdown scatters—starting at 10, the countdown drops by up to 3 each time a scatter appear on the reels, retriggering the feature once it reaches zero. Crucially, the roaming multiplier wild also increases in size with each retrigger, climbing all the way to a massive x256.
• Heading for Venus – starting with 15 free spins, this option guarantees the Reel Clone feature on every spin. On top of that, a Velocity Wild can also show up on the cloned reels, with the ability to grow up to an incredible x888 wild multiplier.

The Final Countdown Slot (Big Time Gaming): Verdict

Trying to push past their own limits, BTG has gone completely over the top with the multipliers. The volatility is equally huge and feels almost contradictory. One moment it’s like drifting in zero gravity; the next it’s like sitting atop a rocket with crushing g-forces pinning you down. Either way, the explosive style of play will keep you alert and could even leave you catching your breath.

Everything feels finely tuned and fits together smoothly—from the visuals and the instantly recognisable soundtrack to the carefully calibrated RNG. Interestingly, you can also spot echoes of other BTG releases here, including the synchronised reels reminiscent of Queen of Riches.

If Holy Diver was more of a test run, The Final Countdown feels like a return to basics—bringing a new spin to Danger! High Voltage while serving up a heavy dose of raw, high-variance, in-your-face action. In the 1986 chart-topper, Joey Tempest asks “Will things ever be the same again?” For anyone brave enough to step aboard the space cruiser, a major win may be closer than you think.