Karen Maneater Slot Review: Bonus Features & Gameplay Overview

Nolimit City has once again drawn upon some rather unique ideas to develop the new and highly volatile online slot, Karen Maneater. As with many of this provider’s recent releases, the gameplay unfolds across a dynamic play area that initially consists of 6 reels in a 2-3-3-3-3-3 setup that delivers 486 ways to win but can increase to greater heights courtesy of several special features.

Speaking of which, in true Nolimit City fashion a number of the studio’s xFeatures can come into play on each spin – this time you’ll experience xWays, Infectious xWays and the new xBet. Plus, there’s also an engaging free spins bonus that vastly increases your chances of landing anything close to the game’s 11,757x payout.

So, if you’re keen to find out more be sure to continue reading our in-depth Karen Maneater slot review for all of the details!

Karen Maneater Features

If there’s one thing that Nolimit City is renowned for, it’s the inclusion of innovative and engaging features that can generate massive payouts. Thankfully, Karen Maneater is another prime example of a feature-rich slot game, with plenty of base game features and an upgradable free spins bonus available.

xWays & Infectious xWays

Special xWays symbols can land on the middle 4 reels. Whenever they do, they will transform into a regular paytable symbol of 2-4 in size thus increasing the overall number of ways to win.

The Infectious xWays symbol, an upgraded version, can only ever land on the first reel. When doing so, it will reveal a symbol of 2-7 in size and also transform all occurrences of that specific symbol present on the reels, including xWays symbols, into symbols of 2-7 in size.

Both the xWays and Infectious xWays symbols can only land in the main game and will reveal the same symbol.

Infectious Wilds

Whenever a Wild symbol lands on the final reel it will nudge to the bottom position, with each nudge increasing the Wild multiplier by +1. The final multiplier will then apply to each symbol on the last reel, giving you a fantastic opportunity for massive wins.

xBet

If you’d like to increase your chances of triggering the free spins bonus you can opt to activate the xBet feature. Doing so will increase your base bet by 30% and each spin will guarantee a Scatter symbol on the second reel.

Note that this feature may not be available in certain markets due to regulatory restrictions.

Scatters

The Scatter symbol is not only key to triggering the free spins on Karen Maneater, but it also activates several other effects depending upon how many of them land, as follows:

• 1 Scatter: All reels to the right expand one extra position.
• 1 or 2 Scatters: Symbols will convert to an xWays symbol.
• 3 or 4 Scatters: Triggers Bonus Meal Free Spins

Karen Maneater Free Spins and Bonus

Landing 3 or 4 Scatter symbols during a single base game spin triggers the free spins feature.

• 3 Scatter symbols: Awards Value Bonus Meal – 7 free spins, plus 3 Sticky xWays symbols.
• 4 Scatter symbols: Awards Deluxe Bonus Meal – 10 free spins, plus 4 Sticky xWays symbols.

All Scatters that trigger the feature transform into Sticky xWays symbols and remain in their expanded state for the duration of the bonus. There is one major alteration to how they work though – the xWays reveal size will start at 2 and then increase by +1 for each winning spin up to a maximum size of 42.

Any Infectious Wild landing on the last reel will adopt the behaviour from the base game. Additionally, extra spins and xWays reveal size will increase with the same value as the Wild Multiplier during the trigger or inside the Bonus Meal feature.

Finally, during the Value Bonus Meal feature, Scatters can only appear on the middle reels which don’t currently hold a Sticky xWays symbol. If another lands, the feature is upgraded to the Deluxe version, you’ll earn +3 free spins and the Scatter converts to a Sticky xWays symbol.

Karen Maneater Theme and Symbols

In all honesty, nailing Karen Maneater down to a specific theme is something that we’re struggling to do. Nolimit City has let its design team’s creative juices flow in full force here and the end result is gloriously bizarre and over the top, with a slight nod to the studio’s earlier release xWays Hoarder xSplit.

As for the game’s symbols, they’re split into two categories – low-paying and high-paying. The former is depicted by silhouettes of toilet roll, beer, syringes, batters and guns, whilst the latter are represented by the game’s titular characters, the most valuable of which is worth 3x your stake for each instance of 6 of a kind – it may not seem like much of a payout at first, but when you factor in the potential number of ways to win, the winnings soon start to add up.

Karen Maneater RTP and Volatility

Nolimit City has developed this new online slot with a dual RTP setting – 96.00% and 94.09%. As such, we advise that you check with your operator before playing, as one setting falls in line with the industry average, whilst the other sits much lower.

As for the general gameplay, one thing this provider is known for is the extreme volatility of its releases. On Nolimit City’s own scale, Karen Maneater ranks as ‘insane’, so you should be prepared for large swings in your bankroll. Despite this, however, the 24.58% hit frequency means you should still see somewhat regular payouts, even if they’re not always particularly profitable.

How To Play Karen Maneater

Like many of Nolimit City’s recent slots, Karen Maneater may appear rather confusing to new players at first due to how much is going on. The initial structure features 6 reels in a 2-3-3-3-3-3 format to deliver wins across 486 ways to win. However, this can increase when certain special symbols land, which invariably increases the game’s payout potential.

Players can browse the game’s rules and paytable via collapsible tabs located to the left of the play area before setting their preferred stake. Like most Nolimit City slots, there’s a wide range of stakes available, starting from as little as the €0.10 minimum bet and reaching as high as the €70 maximum bet.

Slotsia’s Review

If there’s one thing that Nolimit City excels at, it’s developing online slots that deliver the unexpected, both in terms of gameplay and style. Karen Maneater is another great example of this, coupling a bizarre theme with innovative and exciting mechanics.

The slot offers up a fantastic range of symbol features that can combine to deliver fantastic payouts throughout the base game, but the true payout potential is unlocked by triggering the free spins feature, where Sticky xWays symbols play a huge role in landing the game’s largest wins.

If you’re looking for something out of the ordinary that has the capability to generate immense payouts, you needn’t look any further – Karen Maneater ticks these boxes with ease, even if it may be rather confusing at first.

Great maximum win potential – 11,757x

Upgradeable free spins bonus

Base games features

‘Insane’ volatility rating