Players choose games for all kinds of reasons. They go after particular bonus features or hunt for high-RTP slots. Each player has their own process. While the look of a slot is probably not a top priority for most people when selecting one, it is certainly a bonus. A good-looking slot is just more entertaining to play.

Some game developers, like Hacksaw, have become masters of great-looking slots packed with bonus features. BGaming has not always been at the top of my charts in the aesthetics department. So why not collaborate with someone at the top of this field? Enter BGaming Art Collabs, a concept so brilliant that I’m shocked it hasn’t been done before.

The series has a simple premise: BGaming gives a talented artist a slot game to use as a canvas. For its Yokai slot, that artist is Portuguese street artist Gonçalo MAR. In his interpretation, MAR draws on legends of yokai, the supernatural spirits, monsters, and demons of Japanese folklore. It reminds me of a Studio Ghibli movie with a slightly more menacing edge.

Welcome to the world of the Yokai

The Yokai slot features a betting range from $0.20 to $35 a spin. When betting at the top end of that range, you’ll have a shot at winning up to $280,000 thanks to the 8,000x maximum multiplier.

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With medium-to-high volatility, the slot may deliver smaller wins with some regularity, but larger payouts are likely to be less frequent. The slot’s expected RTP is 96%.

Wild symbols can appear on the slot’s three middle reels carrying values of +2, +3, +5 or +10. These aren’t exactly multipliers. Instead, their values are added to a global multiplier, which is then applied to your total win from that spin.

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In the base game, the global multiplier resets after every spin. During a round of free spins, it will continue to increase throughout the feature.

When it comes to free spins, you’ll trigger a round by landing three scatter symbols on the reels or by purchasing a round with the Buy Bonus feature. The number of spins is not fixed. Our samurai friend will cut open nine moons, with each moon revealing one, two, or three free spins. The values revealed determine your starting total.

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During free spins, wild symbols will remain sticky after landing on the reels. Landing two scatter symbols during a round of free spins retriggers the feature. This awards another randomly determined set of free spins and gives you additional opportunities to increase the global multiplier.

Hoping the Yokai slot is one of many to come

The Yokai slot is almost great. The biggest issue I have with it is a disconnect between some of the visuals. The characters, setting, and symbols are all in the artist’s style, and they’re beautiful. Then there’s the Moon. It has a cheaper digital quality that doesn’t feel like it was created by the same person. I just don’t understand why they didn’t give it the same treatment. I would definitely like to see a Yokai 2 with a consistent look and feel.

While that did give me pause, the bonus features, max multiplier, and winning potential mean the slot has a lot to offer. And I do genuinely like the Art Collab idea. I give this one a nine out of ten.

If you’re looking for a few other interesting new BGaming slots, I recommend Dusty Duel and Gates of Power.