Reviewed by Stephen Cummings | Expected reading time 5 mins
- Expanding reels
- Max payout of 83,333x
- Mystery symbols
- Difficult to trigger the bonus game
SITES WHERE YOU CAN PLAY SKELETON KEY
GAME INFO AND RTP
| FEATURE: | INFO: |
| Slot: | Skeleton Key |
| Theme: | Horror |
| Slot Provider: | IGT |
| RTP: | 96.00% |
| Release Date: | 17 December 2020 |
| Slot Type: | Video Slot |
| Mobile Friendly: | Yes |
| MinMax Bet: | £0.10 – £300 |
| Maximum Payout: | 83,333x |
| Reels: | 5 |
| Rows: | 3 (6) |
| Paylines: | 243 |
| Free Spins: | Yes |
| Respins: | No |
| Bonus Game: | Yes |
| Multipliers: | Yes |
| Progressive Jackpot: | No |
| Scatter Symbol: | Yes |
| Wild Symbol: | Yes |
| Sticky Wild Symbol: | No |
| Autoplay: | Yes |
| Variance: | Medium variance |
| Hit Frequency: | N/A |
SLOT OVERVIEW
Written by Stephen Cummings
I must admit that despite being released in 2020, this was the first time I had ever played Skeleton Key. Initially, I expected it to be a scary slot game, but the Skeleton Key title is related to a key that can open doors (although I have included Skeleton Key on my list of the top horror slots). Skeleton Key slot is played on five reels and three rows, however there can be up to six rows in play due to the Skeleton Key symbol which will unlock more rows if it tumbles down into the reels. This aspect of the slot means that there is always something to look out for and it makes for a very entertaining online slot game from IGT.
Medium variance slots are rare these days, so it’s nice play and review one as they tend to be a bit nicer to play overall. I had a lot of fun playing, although I had to enter the autoplay mode in order to access the bonus game. In my experience, the Skeleton Key bonus game is one of the hardest to trigger in any slot I have played. However, that does not mean that I did not hit any wins. The mystery symbols turning into purple gem symbols enabled me to hit a huge win in the base game of £115.20 – 115x multiplier. This happened after around 10 minutes of spinning the reels at £1 per spin. Despite this win, I was yet to trigger the bonus game, so I continue to play. The big win allowed me to spin until I hit the bonus game without any pressure of crippling my bank roll. With that being said, my winnings soon depleted without me ever entering the bonus round!
SKELETON KEY RTP AND FEATURES
Skeleton Key slot has a lot going for it including an good RTP of 96%. This is bang on average of what we would expect from modern slot games in 2024.
There are plenty of modern slot features too including the aforementioned Skeleton Key symbol which unlocks more reels. There are also mystery symbols which are the ones which allowed me to hit my big win. The tumble feature is here too, although it rarely comes into play. There is of course a Skeleton Key slot bonus game too, but it is very difficult to trigger – I did not manage to trigger it after 45 minutes of gameplay.
Full list of features in Skeleton Key:
- Free spins
- Bonus game
- Reel expansion
- Mystery symbols
- Tumble feature
- Scatter symbols
- Wild symbols
- Autoplay
SKELETON KEY MAXIMUM PAYOUTS
Skeleton has high maximum payout potential of up to 83,333x your stake, making it one of the best paying slot games around. In addition, the medium volatility aspect of Skeleton Key means that you do not have to wait too long before you trigger wins, which is one of the downsides of slot games with high variance.
Add to the fact that Skeleton key has a maximum bet per spin of £300, and you can generate some huge wins.
STRATEGIES FOR PLAYING SKELETON KEY
When I was playing Skeleton Key for real money, I placed bets of £1 per spin. Within the first 10 minutes I hit a big 115x multiplier, but after that big payouts dried up. I did hit a number of smaller payouts, but never anything above 4x. I did not even mange to trigger the bonus game. Therefore, I would recommend a smaller betting strategy, but it entirely depends on your bankroll really.
Skeleton Key can get you hooked because it is so easy to expand the reels which makes you feel like something is going to happen with each spin.
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
I had a great time playing Skeleton Key, but it did begin to frustrate me when I was not even coming close to triggering the free spins. At least three scatter symbols are needed to trigger 10 free spins and I was rarely even seeing one of those symbols on the reels!
Advantages:
- Lots of fun and something happens almost every spin
- High max payout
- Decent RTP
- Expanding reels
- Mystery symbols increase wins
Disadvantages:
- Bonus game is extremely difficult to trigger
THE SLOTSHAWK VERDICT
“One of the most fun slots I have played in a long time, Skeleton is a relatively unknown slot but it has a lot going for it including expanding reels and some great payouts.”
– SlotsHawk Casino Team
CONTRIBUTORS
Greetings, I’m Stephen Cummings
Stephen Cummings is often referred to as ‘The Oracle’. What he doesn’t know about slot games isn’t worth knowing. He’s our genius slot machine analyst who spends most of his time reviewing new games & sites.
Slots analyst since 2020
