Grim Muerto slot review

Grim Muerto is a brand new slot from Play ‘n Go released this July 2016. The game opens up with an intro featuring Mariachi music and a tutorial overview of the different bonus games and features available. The name translates to Grim Death, or Grim Dull, or whatever my poor Spanish and Google translate can dream up. Most likely the inspiration is drawn from the Mexican Dia De Muertes with people wandering around in their skeleton masks. The history of the celebration goes way further, and includes one of the most popular Spanish female saint of Santa Muerte(Holy Death) . This in turn goes back to the Aztecs with their god of death. But, that is quite enough of macabre history, and the game itself only shares the theme with it’s skeleton mariachis.

The slot itself is quite fun to play, and the music and sound effects can even be considered next level from previous games. Had there not been several music themed slots released by Net Ent lately I would recommend the game solely for the mariachi themed guitar music that plays on the background. As it stands though it complements the basic gameplay well, with the sound effects and intros adding their own sweet spots to the slot.

Grim Muerto at a quick glance

  • Produced and released by Play ‘n Go
  • Published in July 2016
  • Available in several languages
  • 20 paylines in five reels with several bonus features
  • Return to player 96.51%

Basic gameplay and the skeleton mariachis

The game comes with 20 paylines and the traditional five reels in three rows set up. The basic symbols are represented by the familiar ten to ace values from a deck of cards, all done with decorative graphics that fit the theme. The main symbols are however the four skeleton mariachis, which is a term for Spanish street musicians. There is also a set of special symbols such as the wilds, scatters and of course the symbol for free spins, and one more to trigger further free spins. The background graphics feature occasional animations, and otherwise decorate the screen with the colors of a feast.

The game functions quite well, and there’s a win on the reels every few spins. In general the paytable dishes out decent wins, with the occasional big pot throw in. With a theoretical return to player of 96.51% the game is not a coin hog and is especially well suited for those who like to play spin after spin for enjoyment and entertainment rather than for the elusive big wins. The maximum win, assuming you get all the reels full of wilds, is 20 000 coins. Bonus games might lead to further and bigger wins. The player can also set the coin value and the amount of coins per line.

Bonuses and features

The Grim Muerto comes with several features that add extra playability and enjoyment to the game. Some features can be triggered during game play at random, while others require certain symbols to land on the reels in combinations. Below is a quick overview of the different features:

  • Marco Siniestro – every turn a single reel is chosen to be highlighted. Should a wild land on this reel it will quickly expand to cover the entire reel. During the free spins this feature can activate on a minimum of two and in the best case on all five reels.
  • Second Chance – a bonus game activated when two scatter symbols land anywhere on the reels. The scatter is of course presented by the book of the dead, and it gives the player the chance to activate the free spins, win up to 1000 coins, 200 coins or no win at all. The player gets to choose one of the four mariachis in the game.
  • Free spins – three books on the reels activates the free spins, and at the same time pays out 10 times the set bet. Should one to two candles appear on the reels during free spins the player is credited 3 or 6 extra free spins.
  • Extra Wild – during free spins one of the skeleton Mariachis becomes an extra wild that substitutes for all symbols except scatters.

Summary

The game is quite well done, and sticks to the theme through and through. For example the wild is presented by an acoustic guitar, and the music and sound effects are most likely done by a professional. This is quite a difference when compared to the musics and sound effects that we are used to from few years ago.  Back then it was no surprise to find out that all the sound effects were shared across most games of a single publisher.

This slot dishes out wins on a steady basis, and it is quite rare to hit long stretches of no wins at all. The bet level can be set high or low, with the lower reaches recommended for longer gameplay. Though there game doesn’t feature any jackpot sized wins the biggest combinations can still land quite massive amounts of coins. We heartily recommend this slot for anyone looking to be entertained.