Sabaton

Sabaton (Play'n GO): Review

Based on the Swedish power metal band, Sabaton is the first ever branded title to come from the Play'n GO production line. Having first caught a glimpse of it at the London iGaming conference in February and being actual fans of the band, it's one of the slots we've been looking forward to the most. With over 1 million monthly listeners on Spotify and their top 10 most popular tracks having been played over 250 million times, Sabaton is not some small obscure garage band.

For those not familiar with Sabaton, they have a strong inclination to nationalism and the lyrical themes are often based on war, historical battles and acts of heroism. Even if you're not particularly fond of metal, the music tends to be more melodic and likeable, hence the great mainstream success of the band. Whether you're a fan or not, there's some intense highlights to look forward to here. The combination of famous bands and slots is not a new one, however. NetEnt has been doing it for ages with games like Guns n' Roses, Mot?rhead and Jimi Hendrix. Big Time Gaming is another provider that's into the idea with The Final Countdown being the most recent example.

Sabaton is a rather typical Play'n GO slot when it comes to the setup. With 5 reels, 3 rows and 10 paylines, you join the band on center stage to benefit from a large selection of features that include mystery symbols and metal stacks on each spin, mega symbols, randomly activated Chained Reels, the randomly activated Last Stand feature and, most importantly, the Battalion Spins free spin feature. You can play Sabaton across all compatible devices from between 0.10 to 100€ per spin. The default RTP here is 96.50% but some operators may have it set to 94.50% for particular markets.

In line with Sabaton's kink for war, you'll see a tank in the backdrop, something that is actually often part of the band's stage act. The visual design is quite intense here - on the reels you will see an arsenal of low-value old-school weapons such as hand grenades, swords, ammunition and Galea helmets. Moving up in the hierarchy of symbols, the premiums are represented by the band members with bassist P?r Sundstr?m being the most rewarding, giving you 10 times your stake for 5 on a payline. The most rewarding out of all symbols, however, is Joakim, the lead singer of Sabaton. He's the wild and will give you a total of 100 times your stake if you land 5 of him on a payline.

Sabaton (Play'n GO): Features

When it comes to features, there's no shortage of ammo here. To begin with, you will benefit from Metal Stacks and Mystery Symbols - one random symbol is selected to be stacked on each spin and added to the reels. Furthermore, all band members can also appear as Mega Symbols during the feature to potentially cover the full screen.

The Chained Reels feature may activate randomly on any spin. Between 2 and 3 adjacent reels of the three middle reels are randomly chosen and will spin in synchronisation to display the same symbols. This feature is not active during the free spins.

Named after the band's most famous song, Last Stand is another randomly activated feature - either 1 or 2 reels are chosen at random to become stacks of wilds. This feature is active in both the main game and during the free spins.

Despite the action-packed main game, it all comes down to the Battalion Spins which is played when you land 9 scatters, either by a completely visible Mega Scatter (3x3), regular scatters or a combination of them. Starting with 7 free spins, one symbol is randomly chosen to become your Metal Stacks and Mystery Symbol during the bonus round. You can also retrigger the feature to give you an additional 7 free spins.

During the Battalion Spins, the three middle reels are always linked and will display the same symbols, including Mega Symbols. Finally, if you land between 3 and 8 scatter symbols (just below the amount required for a retrigger), all of them will be replaced and transformed into your designated symbol.

Sabaton (Play'n GO): Verdict

Sabaton is a loud and intense slot loaded with features. It's also highly volatile (10 out of 10 on the Play'n GO volatility scale) so you need some heavy armour to take on this tank of a slot. With a handful of memorable highlights, it's the Battalion Spins that stands out the most where the powerful combo of Metal Stacks and Mystery Symbols can land you wins of up to 5000 times your stake.

Being fans of the band, it's hard not to be enthusiastic about the Sabaton slot. Even if you're not into the band, Sabaton is a fine-tuned Play'n GO creation that offers entertainment as well as that thrill of landing the big wins that most gamblers are looking for. We have to say, Sabaton is one of the Play'n GO's better efforts in quite some time and one we thoroughly enjoyed playing.

Don't Miss...

If you enjoyed Sabaton we suggest you also try Demon and Black Mamba, both of which are part of Play'n GO's line of branded rock band themed slots.