The Equalizer Slot Review

The Equalizer is a video slot by Red Tiger Gaming with 5 reels and up to 60 paylines. Released in June 2019, this slot can be played at online casinos such as ComeOn!, Guts or Mr Green.

Theme and basic information

The Equalizer comes with a retro 80s theme. We could almost imagine that we’ve been transported into the video game Tron, which is what this slot reminds us of. Neon colours, abstract buildings of a futuristic cityscape in the background, an equalizer disco electronic soundtrack.

It certainly looks cool and the theme has a certain appeal, which is why we keep encountering in various iterations here and there.

But whilst we really do like the background, the symbols on the reels are rather uninspired. Yes, we get plenty of that neon here as well, but the symbols show us dice, the BAR sign, diamonds, a sports car and a star plus the card suit symbols.

The sports car is the most valuable symbol and pays out 36x our stake for a win of 5 on a payline. However, since we can get as much as 7 symbols on a payline when the reels expand accordingly, wins of 150x our stake are possible. The diamond follows with 21x our stake for 5 of a kind and 90x our stake for 7 of a kind. The other high value symbols pay between 12x and 18x our stake for a win with 5 of a kind and 48x to 72x our stake for 7 of a kind.

The payouts of the wild symbol, by the way, match that of the sports car.

Depending on where you play, you’ll be able to wager between 0.20 and 10.00 on the slot, though this may vary.

Expanding wilds and expanding reels in the base game

Apparently, in this game everything expands, the wilds, the reels and the rows. Usually, not all at the same time, though that would also be possible.

As you spin away during the base game, the wild landing on the reels may randomly expand across the reel, which may result in a decent win.

The rows can expand up to 6 rows high, i.e. up to two extra rows are added to the standard 4 rows in this game.

Finally, two extra reels, expanding the existing 5 to 7, can also be added randomly.

There’s no indication when or how any of this might be triggered, it simply happens and usually it’ll add some excitement to your gameplay. It doesn’t necessarily add wins to your tally, though.

Free spins with sticky expanding wilds

The scatter is a symbol with loud speakers and ‘Free Spins’ written in bold letters across it. Hard to miss, really. Three of them will trigger the free spins. You’ll get 10 of those. Each additional scatter whilst you play will award an additional free spin.

If a wild happened to be on the reels when you triggered the free spins, it will remain as a sticky wild on the reels. It may also expand eventually. Additional wilds will also likely be sticky on the reels, however, the soundwaves from those massive speakers have a tendency to push them to the side and perhaps off the reels. But this is random and may not necessarily impact your gameplay.

Also, expanded rows and reels will stay expanded.

Conclusion: Energetic gameplay that doesn’t quite deliver

The theoretical RTP (Return to Player) of The Equalizer is 96.08%, which is just average. Additionally, the slot is very volatile and even though there seems to be lots going on at any given time, making the gameplay surprisingly energetic, the slot fails to deliver on its promise of decent wins. In fact, expanded reels, rows and wilds could yield wins of 10,000x our stake in a single spin.

But mostly, what you get are smallish wins here and there and never really big ones. Whilst we played, we waited quite a while for the free spins. The first time it took well over 300 spins. The second time we triggered them within the first 50 spins. So, there are no guarantees either way. We will admit that this slot wasn’t too hard on our budget, despite its volatility. But we also don’t tend to stake too much at once, preferring to stretch our budget a little longer and get a better impression of how this game works.

The Equalizer can be fun whilst it lasts. But later we had a hard time recalling details of the game and wondered what the attraction was to keep playing. It might have been more curiosity than anything else.