April is already in full swing and it’s a big one for the online casino industry in Canada. Ontario’s newly regulated gaming market is live and there are plenty of exciting new online casinos to try your luck on. And there are plenty of exciting new slot games to get spinning on too!
In this article we have picked out five of our favourite new titles on release this month – and there are some absolute gems to get your teeth into. Pragmatic Play are on a wild adventure in Ancient Egypt; Play n Go are exploring Mexican dancing festivals; NetEnt are getting funky on the dancefloor; and SG Digital are gazing at the stars!
And our writers have been picking through these totally ace slots to show you what you can expect when you load up and start spinning. Here’s the lowdown.
EYE OF CLEOPATRA BY PRAGMATIC PLAY
- Release Date: April 18th
- Reels: 5
- Rows: 4
- RTP: 96.5%
- Variance: High
- Top Payout: 4,000x
Pragmatic Play are taking inspiration from a classic era for slots themes in their latest game, Eye of Cleopatra. It’s a stunning looking game with temples, blue skies, palms and sand dunes in the background.
But the headline grabber is the Random Wild Pattern feature that appears to the right of the 5×4 reel grid. It is designed like Cleopatra’s eye with eight blue lights around it. When they light up at random, extra wilds are added to the reels to trigger wins. There is also a free spins round with up to 30 free spins to play for and a choice of four different Wild Patterns configurations to play with.
Eye of Cleopatra has a max payout of 4,000x and an RTP of 96.5%. It’s a high variance game too – so one for those who like to take risks with their betting. It’s live from 18th April at real money casinos in Canada.
STARGATE MEGAWAYS BY LIGHT AND WONDER
- Release Date: April 23rd
- Reels: 6
- Rows: 2 to 7
- RTP: 96.13%
- Variance: High
- Top Payout: 25,000x
SG Digital have been making video slots for decades from Vegas casinos to the online world. They are about to change their name to Light and Wonder and one of their first releases under their new moniker will be Stargate Megaways™, an expanding reels game based on a sci fi movie from the 1990s.
Stargate follows the standard Megaways™ template with six reels and up to seven symbols per reel, giving up to 117,649 paylines in play at any one time. However, a clever twist has been added with a trail down the right of the screen. With every successive win you can unlock another light on the trail with new modifiers introduced at each stage, including Free Spins, Random Wilds and Wild Reels.
Stargate Megaways™ is another high variance slot with a top payout of 25,000x and a favourable RTP of 96%. It’s stunning interface and relentless features will make it a favourite in Canada this month.
PUEBLA PARADE BY PLAY N GO
- Release Date: April 23rd
- Reels: 6
- Rows: 2 to 7
- RTP: 96.13%
- Variance: High
- Top Payout: 25,000x
SG Digital have been making video slots for decades from Vegas casinos to the online world. They are about to change their name to Light and Wonder and one of their first releases under their new moniker will be Stargate Megaways™, an expanding reels game based on a sci fi movie from the 1990s.
Stargate follows the standard Megaways™ template with six reels and up to seven symbols per reel, giving up to 117,649 paylines in play at any one time. However, a clever twist has been added with a trail down the right of the screen. With every successive win you can unlock another light on the trail with new modifiers introduced at each stage, including Free Spins, Random Wilds and Wild Reels.
Stargate Megaways™ is another high variance slot with a top payout of 25,000x and a favourable RTP of 96%. It’s stunning interface and relentless features will make it a favourite in Canada this month.
FUNK MASTER BY NETENT
- Release Date: April 28th
- Reels: 8
- Rows: 8 to 12
- RTP: 96.04%
- Variance: High
- Top Payout: 3,337x
Next up is one of the most anticipated slots of April 2022 – Funk Master by Netent. This Swedish game developer is of course one of the biggest in the business, famous for producing classics like Aloha! Cluster Pays and Gonzo’s Quest. Once again here they have opted for a Cluster Pays mechanic, this time with a stunning funky, dance-floor vibe and a definite 70s disco feel.
Like all good Cluster Pays slots, Funk Master uses a Cascading Wins mechanic, so after any win, winning symbols are removed and new ones drop in to replace them, potentially creating more wins! There are also plenty of Dancing Wilds that move around the grid, Multipliers of up to 10x and 2×2 Dancing Wild Hotspots where additional Dancing Wilds can be unlocked!
Funk Mater has a free spins round too in which the Dancing Wilds remain throughout the round and you can win up to 3,337x. The game has a 96.04% RTP and will be available from April 28th.
BIG CAT RESCUE MEGAWAYS BY RED TIGER GAMING
- Release Date: April 14th
- Reels: 6
- Rows: 2 to 7
- RTP: 95.75%
- Variance: High
- Top Payout: 10,481x
Our final pick of the slots releases for April 2022 is Big Cat Rescue, another Megaways slot, this time from Red Tiger Gaming. One of the stand-out aspect of this game is its stunning interface that has a huge gaming grid set up against the backdrop of what looks like a Safari lodge with lush green vegetation. And, of course, a ferocious set of big cats staring out from the reels!
Like all good Megaways games, Big Cat Rescue comes with Cascading Wins which can trigger more than one consecutive payout from a single spin. The other key feature is the White Tiger Mega Wild which can cover an entire reel. Additionally, these wilds come with multipliers whose value is equivalent to that of the number of symbols on the reel they appear on. So, a 7-high reel with a White Tiger Mega Wild will come with a 7x multiplier!
You can also trigger a free spins round here with up to 22 spins and a 10,481x jackpot when wild reels, big multipliers and win cascades all work together to drive up the payouts.
IN SUMMARY
In summary then, there are lots of new slots to look out for in April 2022, but these are five of the very best. For Megaways™ fans there are two fantastic new variations on the classic expanding reels format, each bringing something new to the table. Movie fans will love the 1990s trip that is Stargate Megaways™, whilst Red Tiger’s big cat adventure is a wildlife fan’s paradise.
Meanwhile, Pragmatic Play’s Eye of Cleopatra treads familiar ground with its Ancient Egyptian theme but introduces a unique Wild Pattern feature that is a new way to bring Wilds onto the reels and creates compelling win sequences. And Puebla Parade from Play n Go has a gorgeous Mexican flavour with a clever twist as walking wilds join together as dancing pairs to increase your wins and boost your multipliers!
But perhaps our favourite game for April 2022 is NetEnts Funk Master, a Cluster Pays slot that could well turn into a classic. The combination of a fever-ish 70s disco dance floor and the potential for huge multiplier wilds makes this a game with big potential that you won’t want to miss.
Ready to spin? Check out the best online slots in Canada to find out where to play right now.