New Slots Round Up: 23rd May – 29th May 2026

This week brings everything from bizarre punk penguins to a Wild West-themed sequel from Nolimit City.

But we start with Hacksaw‘s Aliens Among Us, a reskin of Life and Death from last year. The stats are the same (96.36% RTP and 15,000x max win) and so is the gameplay – we’re talking plenty of full-reel Multiplier Wilds on reels 2-5, but instead of Pestilence, War, Famine, and Death, we now have 4 different colored aliens. The visuals are fun and wacky with a touch of The X Files – certainly different from those that came in Life and Death.

Now for 2 soccer-themed titles from Gaming Corps. They’re both part of the Goals to Glory series which debuted last week with Goals to Glory – Football Fever. Of course, these are all in preparation for the soccer World Cup beginning next month.

Goals to Glory – Penalty Champion is an instant game where you can build returns on your wager by selecting squares in the goal to shoot at, hoping the goalie doesn’t save them. In practice it’s a lot like a crash game or Chicken, as you’ll be looking to cash out before your shot gets blocked and you lose all of your wager. Jackpot Football from TaDa Gaming is another new instant game with a very similar concept, funnily enough.

Then, Goals to Glory – Instant Blitz is part of Gaming Corps’ new Instant Blitz series. I covered this new type of game 4 weeks ago when Instant Blitz came out. It’s basically a combination of slots, scratchcards, and Slingo gameplay – you’ll have to give it a go to see how it all unfolds.

Back to the slots with another new title from Gaming Corps: Banknote Blitz. A glance at the stats (95.80% RTP, 5,000x max win, and medium volatility) didn’t fill me with confidence, but on loading it up I was in for a surprise. This game has 5 reels that spin from right to left, each with 2 rows. There are also banknotes in place of normal symbols.

The important part is the Win Frame, which roams up and down as the reels spin, and the idea is to have it land on a full note that covers the whole reel. Each note has a multiplier value attached, and that’s how you arrive at your win total. Plus, if you land the Expand Note, the Win Frame grows to cover 2 reels, and Multiplier symbols also come into to be collected. It might not be for everyone, but kudos to Gaming Corps for trying something new once again.

Charge Bison is our second entry from TaDa Gaming this week, and the RTP is nice and high at 97%. Experienced slots players will probably get a good idea of the kind of game this is from the title. Yes, it’s North American-themed and it’s a fairly standard all ways pays slot on a 6 x 4 grid. Landing 3 or more Scatters triggers the free spins, and here the main benefit is that Wilds become Multiplier Wilds. All in all, did we really need another basic game like this?

Don’t get your hopes up for a new Le slot with Le Catcher, although I don’t think that idea excites too many players by this point anyway. Either way, this one is simply a Stake exclusive reskin of Le Fisherman which came out in February this year.

Crypto Crown 5 is another lazy release from AvatarUX. We’ve already had 3 versions in this very mediocre series (Crypto Crown 40, Crypto Crown 20, Crypto Crown 10), with the paylines dropping in number as the releases go on. Shouldn’t it be the other way round? Either way, we’re now at the point where we’re on a 3 x 3 grid with – you guessed it – 5 paylines. I could perhaps understand multiple such releases for an amazing title, but this series is just boring from start to finish. Let’s hope this is the last; I don’t think there’s anywhere to go after 5. Or maybe 1 payline? Damn.

True Grit Redemption 2 from Nolimit City is the latest in a line of sequels the studio has been pumping out. These sequels have been fine but have felt a little flat compared to the originals, often released in NLC’s heyday. What about True Grit Redemption 2, and how does it compare to True Grit Redemption from 2021?

The original had a lot going on, even for an NLC game. There was a top reel, a bottom reel, and the main grid with unlockable positions, then multiple special features like Wild Transform, xNudge Wild, xWays, and more. That’s all on top of a dark and atmospheric Wild West-style storyline.

True Grit Redemption 2 maintains the story, of course, while the gameplay has threads from before, but also some big changes. Now things are more multiplier-based with a global multi whose value gets applied to each new tumbling symbol. And it goes up 1 with every win, plus through certain other features. With exploding xBombs, Rats with their own multipliers, and much, much more, it’s one of those games where you just let the action wash over you as it’s hard to keep track of everything happening. It might be too much for some, but it feels like a bit of an improvement on recent NLC titles, so I’m pleased. There’s also a 34,000x max win.

By contrast, Arena of Iron from Bullshark feels relatively straightforward. This studio tends to build its games around prominent multipliers and rigid, repetitive mechanics. That’s not to say these slots are dull – sometimes the simplicity definitely works in their favour. In the case of Arena of Iron, the main special symbol is a Multiplier Adder which adds a random multi to every symbol in a random direction, or in all 4. It’s pretty novel and fits well with the techy combat theme. Combined with all the Wilds, there are plenty of wins to be had on the 20 paylines. Max win is 12,000x and RTP is 96.33%.

Grug Make Fire by Hacksaw comes with a stone age theme and a stylized art direction – it looks pretty unique. The gameplay revolves around 14 paylines and Burning Wilds, and these scorch all symbols above them on the reel, while the result depends on the type of symbol. Low-paying ones transform into Wilds, and high-paying symbols change to Burnt Wild Multipliers (2x-200x).

That’s mostly the gist of it for the base game, but 3 or more FS symbols will trigger the free spins, and the amount of spins will be decided randomly, while Burning Wilds can help boost those values. In the bonus round, there’s basically just an increased chance of landing Burning Wilds, so this is one of those more basic Hacksaw games rather than a blockbuster. And in typical Hacksaw style, it’s fun, but only if you turn on the Bonus Buy to guarantee a Burning Wild on each spin, and by that point, you’ll be burning through 50x your wager per spin.

Game of the Week

It’s always a pleasure to try out a new slot from Print Studios, and Punk Penguin, its latest, is no exception. The action takes place on a 5 x 5 grid with 15 paylines while punk/ska music plays away in the background and a cast of punky penguins (Johnny Rotten-Egg, Travis Beaker, and pals) adorn the reels. Yes, the game’s title is pretty literal – these are Punk Penguins, alright.

SuperSpinners make an appearance again (you might recognize them from games like Dreadworks and Royal Potato). These are numbers that sit between the reels, and if your winning lines happen to pass through them, they’ll apply their value as a multiplier.

Other features include Mosh Pit and its giant symbols, which can randomly land to create easy payouts. Then there’s the Stage Dive Wild: a penguin launches itself from the stage and crashes down across the reels, turning between 2-5 positions Wild while also collecting any adjacent SuperSpinners multipliers along the way.

In the free spins (land 3, 4, or 5 Scatters) a similar thing happens called Power Slide, where a penguin travels across the wheels, picking up SuperSpinners and randomly throwing them onto other lines. In fact, heading into the free spins you choose from the 3 mechanics I just mentioned.

This is a lighthearted slot with some lively, dynamic features, and this feel is fully helped on by its theme and music. In a world where the more successful slots tend to have a dramatic atmosphere, it’s a nice change to have a quality game that just screams fun! 20,000x max win isn’t too shabby either.

Play For Real