Vegas Night Life slot review

By NetEnt

Vegas Night Life Basic info

Game provider NetEnt

Release Date 12/2020

RTP 96.00%

Game Technology HTML5

Popularity Medium

Min bet $0.20

Max bet $100

Max Win bet x 300

Gamble Feature Volatility, Bonus game or special game, Freespins, Multiplier, Jackpot

Layout 5x3

Devices Support all devices

Configurable Winlines No

Volatility Low

Progressive Jackpot Yes

Vegas Night Life sets the mood with the classic visuals that many of us associate with Las Vegas: bright lights and miniature versions of famous landmarks. The game also brings us a bonus game, a free spins mode and progressive jackpots.

Developed by veteran studio NetEnt and released in 2020, Vegas Night Life is one of the most recent slots by this developer and it shows the direction they have been taking their games the last few years. The slots with a lot of experimental features and crazy animations are becoming less frequent, while the more middle-of-the-road games have taken over. Its standard 5-reel, 3-row slot with the 20 paylines is just one part of that.

It’s not to say the game doesn’t look good. The background clearly shows Las Vegas with its various attractions. Wins can trigger fireworks that splash across the screen and several of the symbols are lightly animated. Unfortunately, you won’t get to see any fully animated character play a part, or have the bonus game be introduced with an intro. In that sense, the game stays rudimentary.

When it comes to the sound, the game luckily does display some creativity with a relaxing beat-heavy song that combines jazz with some original tunes. Wins are amplified with simple jingles while activating the free spins mode results in a more energetic version of the background song.

Symbols

Although the symbols in Vegas Night Life look good, they aren’t original or especially memorable. There are no animations whenever they’re part of a win, nor do they have many special functions. There is the usual divide between low- and high-paying symbols, where again no risks were taken.

The symbols include:

  • Scatter: Get 3 or more Scatter symbols to activate the free spins mode.
  • Wild: Wilds substitute all symbols except the Scatter. Max. 15x your bet with five-of-a-kind on a winning bet line.
  • Sports Car: Max. 15x your bet with five-of-a-kind on a winning bet line.
  • Watch: Max. 8x your bet with five-of-a-kind on a winning bet line.
  • Ring: Max. 6x your bet with five-of-a-kind on a winning bet line.
  • Champagne Bottle: Max. 5x your bet with five-of-a-kind on a winning bet line.
  • Heart: Max. 3x your bet with five-of-a-kind on a winning bet line.
  • Diamond: Max. 3x your bet with five-of-a-kind on a winning bet line.
  • Club: Max. 1x your bet with five-of-a-kind on a winning bet line.
  • Spade: Max. 1x your bet with five-of-a-kind on a winning bet line.

The game doesn’t have too many symbols but the payouts are low and there aren’t that many paylines. This results in Low Volatility, granting players frequent but smaller wins. I did find my funds to stay pretty even around the starting point. Players can choose a bet between $0.20 and $100 per spin to help them along.

Features

Just like the rest of Vegas Night Life, the features aren’t terribly inspired and do not risk too much in coming up with new ideas. There are a special bonus game and a free spins mode, both of which are hidden behind the Scatter symbols.

The features you can find in the slot:

  • Wilds: Wilds help create wins by substituting all regular symbols in the game.
  • Scatter: Get 3 Scatter Symbols on the screen to activate the Pick Me feature. Players are presented with 3 coins that hide one of 3 features. Players are allowed to pick one.
  • Coin Win: The player receives a direct coin win.
  • Free Spins: Players activate the Free Spins mode.
  • Bonus Game: The Cash Stacker Bonus Game is activated. The playing field is enlarged and filling a reel can award a jackpot.

Most of the game will take place in the base game, while all the interesting things are hidden behind the Scatter symbols. Although Scatter symbols appear frequently enough, they don’t trigger very often.

The main game only really has the Wilds that can help create wins, which happens occasionally. It’s not the best kind of gameplay but it will probably interest people enough to keep going until the Scatter symbols appear on the screen.

Once you manage to get 3 Scatter Symbols on the screen, the symbols are turned into coins. The player is asked to choose one, each hiding one of three possible features. The simplest one is the coin win, instantly rewarding a set amount. The highest I got was 7.5x my bet, but I’m sure there are higher payouts.

The Free Spins mode is activated the same way, granting the player either 5, 10 or 20 free spins. It’s not possible to retrigger additional spins during this mode. The Free Spins mode is largely the same except that a constant 3x multiplier is active as well.

The final mode is the bonus game, changing the playing field into something that resembles a skyscraper and replacing all symbols into either an empty tile or a dollar sign. The bonus game awards the player 3 respins, with every spin potentially adding dollar signs to the playing field. If a dollar sign is added the player receives an additional respin.

This continues for as long as new dollar signs are added, the playing field is filled, or the player runs out of respins. If the player manages to fill reels 2, 3 or 4, it will grant them one of the 3 jackpots. The mini jackpot on reel 2, the midi jackpot on reel 4 and the mega jackpot on reel 3. In my time playing, I did manage to hit the mini jackpot, so it’s definitely something that’s possible.

Conclusion

Vegas Night Life is a slot that was made by the new NetEnt. Less excitement, fewer features and less experimentation. Instead, the player is treated to a very solid but standard gameplay experience. The game offers what most players are looking for: a basic slot that uses some popular features to keep the player engaged.

There are 3 jackpots in the game, with the biggest prize a progressive jackpot. The max. regular win is 300x your bet, which is not much but in my experience within reach for any player. This might be enough of an incentive to give this slot a try.

It’s a shame NetEnt has decided to scale back their inventive slot designs but that doesn’t mean this new game is bad. There are just a lot of similar games like it and I doubt many players will remember this slot in a few months time. There just isn’t enough to set it apart from every other Vegas-based game.

Leticia Miranda

Leticia Miranda

Slot Games Analyst

Leticia Miranda is a former gambling reporter who knows everything about slot games and is happy to share her knowledge. She has covered a broad swath of topics and trends on gambling and is always full of new ideas and energy. Leticia also has a master’s degree in journalism from New York University and is passionate about writing.