A brand-new year is upon us, and we thought we’d take a look back at casino games that launched in 2022 with groundbreaking gameplay mechanics or features.
The titles we listed above all launched in the last 12 months and they all manage to do something different from the usual video slot mechanics, whether that’s incorporating new jackpot features or altering the way the game plays entirely.
All five casino games that we mentioned here are available at most major mobile casinos and are all worth checking out.
Temple Tumble 2 Dream Drop was released by Relax Gaming in May 2022. A sequel to the studio’s Temple Tumble game from 2019, the slot is the first to incorporate the new Dream Drop Jackpot mechanic.
The game, which uses a 6×6 layout with over 46,000 paylines and an RTP of 94.80%, follows a duo of characters as they explore an exciting Egyptian landscape to uncover secrets and riches.
Alongside the usual video slot mechanics, the game comes with the new groundbreaking Dream Drop feature, which can be activated on a randomly triggered Jackpot Spin.
On this spin, only blank symbols and Dream Drop symbols can appear, and landing six Dream Drop symbols and filling an entire reel awards the corresponding Dream Drop bonus of either Rapid, Midi, Maxi, Major, and Mega.
Since the launch of Temple Tumble 2 Dream Drop, Relax Gaming has gone on to release numerous other titles with the jackpot mechanic, including Dream Drop Diamonds, Neko Night, TNT Tumble, Wild Chapo, Volatile Vikings 2, and more.
In October of this year, Push Gaming launched its groundbreaking Space Stacks casino game. Described as a video slot, the game in no way plays like one and comes with some very modified gameplay mechanics.
Space Stacks uses the new Reelbets mechanic and sends you on a journey to space where riches and fun await.
The game uses a 10×10 grid layout with an RTP of 96.23%, and rather than requiring you to match identical symbols on paylines; the game requires you to bet on which symbols you think are most likely to stack up to the top of the grid.
There are ordinary symbols and special symbols that can trigger unique features when their respective reels are filled, such as awarding prizes, increasing multipliers, and more. The game also has a Max symbol that, when its reel is filled, awards a gigantic cash prize.
Space Stacks is just one of many unique casino games to come from Push Gaming, following the launch of Deadly 5, Mad Cars, Fat Banker, Nightfall, Bison Battle, and numerous others.
Pragmatic Play is one of the biggest game developers in the industry. Well-known for releasing slots on a weekly basis, the studio stunned gamers with the launch of its Snakes & Ladders Megadice title.
The game, which is based on the Snakes and Ladders board game, plays like a traditional video slot for the most part but comes with an exciting and unpredictable Snakes & Ladders main feature.
The feature starts with you receiving a random number of rolls, and you will move across a 12×12 grid by the numbers from each dice roll. Like with the original board game, you’re tasked with reaching the end of the grid to win big prizes.
Along the way, you’ll pick up cash prizes, multipliers, and you can use snakes and ladders to move across the grid more efficiently. Ending the feature by using all rolls or reaching the final position awards the total prize amount collected during the feature.
The game proved popular and received a sequel in Snakes & Ladders Snake Eyes, alongside numerous other games like Shield Of Sparta, Spin & Score MegaWays, Striking Hot 5, and more.
Developer 4ThePlayer launched its groundbreaking video slot, 7 Elements, in April of this year.
The superhero-themed casino game uses a 6×4 grid layout with over 4,000 paylines, and it has an RTP of 95%. It uses all traditional video slot mechanics but comes with unique gameplay that changes in real time.
7 Elements has Future Powers, which are abilities possessed by the game’s characters that are unlocked on a regular basis and can be swapped out. What’s more, these abilities regularly unlock on a bi-weekly basis, giving you a reason to return to the casino game over and over again.
Many of these abilities are based on traditional slot mechanics but are bolstered, like cash prizes, wild symbols, multipliers, free spins, and more.
The game is made available via aggregator and distributor Games Global after its acquisition agreement with Microgaming.
Our final pick of a game that launched in 2022 with unique gameplay is NetEnt’s Space Wars 2 Powerpoints. A sequel to 2013’s Space Wars, the game scraps the usual payline mechanic for cluster pays and comes with some unique features.
The video slot uses a 6×6 grid layout with an RTP of 92%, and it requires you to make clusters of matching symbols to create wins. The usual slot mechanics like Wild symbols are in play, but there are Powerpoints that are awarded whenever you make a win.
Collecting 1,000 or more Powerpoints triggers the game’s Free Spins mode, which is played on an additional 8×6 grid and offers the chance to win more spins.
Alongside the above, creating different types of matches unlocks different features like Columb Blaster which removes all symbols within a column, the Row Blaster which works in a similar way, the Zapper which removes several symbols, and more.
There’s also the Bomb that removes adjacent symbols, and you can form combinations of multiple features to remove more symbols and provide you with more winning opportunities.
Space Wars 2 Powerpoints is arguably NetEnt’s biggest release this year, although the famed studio also launched Superstars, Cornelius, Bee Hive Bonanza, Funk Master, and more.
Those are our picks for five games from 2022 that launched with unique gameplay mechanics and features. As mentioned, all of the titles are available at most major mobile casinos, such as those we’ve reviewed here. Go enjoy them!
