The third instalment of NetEnt’s Staxx series has arrived, which, to be honest, came as a bit of a surprise seeing the lukewarm response from the casino community the other games received. Of this we can only come to one conclusion – the recreational gambler is nothing like the hardcore gambler that spends his time hanging in casino streams or on casino forums. If the Staxx series were a complete failure, it would seem like an unusually bad decision to keep churning out these games, but who knows.
So what is this game then, anything new on offer aside from a new theme? The first impression resulted in mixed feelings for sure. Visually, it undoubtedly looks like a Nintendo game! We were literally waiting for Mario himself to pop up with his cheery“woo-hoos!” and iconic catchphrase “it’s a me, Mario”. To further enhance that perception, the soundtrack and sound effects are of similar character.
It’s supposed to be a feelgood-slot and possibly appeal to the generation that grew up playing NES and SNES games, but whatever the psychological approach may be, if there is any, it’s still fundamentally a typical Staxx slot.
Strolling Staxx is a 5-reel, 3-row slot with 10 fixed paylines, which is a bit different compared to the 5×4, 40 payline setup of its predecessors – Neon Staxx and Butterfly Staxx. With the slots now designed using html5, it is playable on all devices between €0.15 and €300 per spin.
Strolling Staxx Symbols & Paytable
On the reels, you will see low-value J to A royals in wooden cubic shapes as well as cubic plums, cherries, lemons, strawberries, watermelons and a golden wild symbol which is of the same value as the top paying symbol, the watermelon. 5 of them across a payline yields 33,3 times the stake.
Any symbol can appear as a 1×1 symbol or a 2×3 or 3×3 Colossal symbol. Since the game is played without a free spin feature, no scatter symbol is included.
Strolling Staxx Features
Next to the max bet button you will see a Bonus Bet button. If activated, the game is played with an increased bet size and enables the Extra Chance feature. It comes into play when the Strolling Staxx Re-Spins are activated and similar to Push Gaming’s smash hit slot Jammin’ Jars, fruits will start raining with the possibility of 3×3 Colossal symbols fully or partially landing on the reels.
Central to the game, just like with all the other Staxx slots, is the Re-Spin feature. The sign standing in the lower left corner displays the symbol that can appear fully stacked on the reels. If one or more reel is covered with the same symbol, resulting in a full stack, the Re-Spin feature comes into play. All stacks of symbols, as well as connected symbols, move one reel to the left on each spin until all stacks disappear out of sight. If more stacks appear on the reels, the feature is re-activated.
This way, players can potentially land a full-screen top symbol worth 500 times the stake without the Bonus Bet button activated and 333 times the stake with the button activated. With the help of the re-spins, Strolling Staxx can reach up to a max win of 5000 times the stake.
Strolling Staxx Conclusion
Strolling Staxx is inarguably the best Staxx game to date, a large part due to the increased win potential. The overall production breaths quality and everything is as smooth as silk. The game appears to be well balanced, at least during our test sessions, and although gambling is serious business, it’s a light-hearted and relaxing slot nonetheless.
As fans of high volatility and jackpot potential, this is probably not a slot we will choose to play, but as we have learned, there are all kinds of different players out there, and a lot of them will undoubtedly enjoy this slot, if not for the potential, at least for the entertaining features and elegant scenery.
