Slot Developer Net Entertainment have a reputation for producing some of the best games in the online slots genre including Starburst and Dead or Alive. Their flagship games combine some of the best graphics and animations you’ll see from any of the major manufacturers in the genre, coupled with some incredible features that tick along nicely when the momentum is on your side. NetEnt games tend to be themed around a definite concept, which runs from the title through to the design of the reels, the nature of the game’s features, the soundtrack, and even the jackpot. Fisticuffs slot is no exception, and as you can probably deduce from the title, this is a game that has its roots in the nobility of pugilism.
To you and me, that means this is a boxing themed slot. Boxing isn’t the most common theme for slots titles, but Fisticuffs is far from alone in the genre. Other games have proven successful over time, and NetEnt looks to capitalise on the existing interest in boxing and sports themed slots through this offering. While the game is somewhat more basic than some other video slots, it still delivers in all the key areas, and when it comes to winning potential, it definitely packs a punch.
The reels are covered in symbols that you associated with boxing, drawn in a sort of cartoon style that harks back to the early days of the modern sport – well before the big money circuses of today’s PPV superfights. Expect the likes of boxing gloves, corner stools, championship belts, the bell and various other symbols, all in a consistent style that gives this game its overarching feel. In addition to these symbols, there are a couple of feature symbols to take into account, which can be useful in helping you complete winning paylines as you spin your way through.
Underneath the design, this is a five reel slot – consistent with the standard across most modern video slots games. There are 10 paylines across these reels, which pay on combinations of three or more symbols of a kind from left to right. Players are competing for a 500x jackpot from the base game, with spins ranging in value from £0.20-£200, so there’s plenty of mileage for both small and bigger spinners to make this game work.
With the RTP clocking in at a very generous 96.70%, you can be assured of good value for money with this slot, relative to the house edge on other similar games. With this in mind, let’s dig a little deeper into the feature symbols that can appear on your reels, and what they might mean for your game.
Fisticuffs is slightly unusual, in that is contains not one but two wild symbols. These are the boxers – the heavyweight, and the lighter fighter, respectively. When these appear on your reels, they act in the usual way, substituting for symbols you’re otherwise missing from your paylines. But the two symbols have their own distinct characteristics. The heavier boxer is the straight wild, which works on straight combinations – i.e. horizontal combinations of winning symbols. Meanwhile, the more slender fighter applies diagonally on any qualifying paylines.
The straight wild appears only on the third reel, while the diagonal wild appears only only slots two and four. When the wilds appear side by side, there’s another cool feature that benefits your game. The heavy wild punches the diagonal wild to either reel 1 or 5, creating an effective combination of three wilds for the present spin – virtually guaranteed to land you a win. Even better, these symbols stay locked in place for the following spin, which comes to you in the form of a free spin bonus.
Similarly, if the diagonal wild appears diagonally adjacent to the straight wild, the symbol above or below the diagonal wild becomes another wild, and you’re similarly granted another free spin with these wilds in place. This all has the effect of loading up the board with wilds, which is always more likely to land you a win than your average spin.
There’s also the possibility of stacked wilds on reels 1 and 5 when you’re respinning, which also weighs in on increasing your chances of a successful spin. In lieu of any external mini-games or more developed bonus features, this plethora of wilds can make it easier to get a decent win from your spins.
Fisticuffs is good fun, and despite lacking the same range of bonus features as you’d expect to find in other video slots, the multiple wilds and free respins do help keep things flowing, on your way to hopefully winning some decent money. The high RTP helps compensate for any lack of bells and whistles, and there is enough entertainment value in the graphics and animations to keep you coming back for more. For anyone who is a boxing fan, this is a game well worth checking out. You can enjoy Fisticuffs from NetEnt for yourself today, right here at PartyCasino.