Should You Play Psycho?
It’s a good game to experience, with Nextgen Gaming putting a lot of effort into executing the base theme in an ideal way. The addition of scatter symbols, random wilds and a free spins round also add to the basic appeal of Psycho. It’s a medium to high variance release though, so those with lower bankrolls may prefer to bypass it for something else. That being said, there is still a lot to appreciate about the game.
Should you play it? Well, definitely check it out here in the free-play format first. It could have something extra added to it to bring even more intrigue for gamers, we would say. Even so, it will likely offer an entertaining experience. Read through this review of Psycho to learn more about it.
Things We Like
Has a fantastic base theme
Inviting random wilds with multipliers
Bonus free spins round
Things to Consider
Slightly lower-than-average RTP
Medium to high variance
Psycho Gameplay
The Psycho online slot comes with a layout consisting of five reels and three rows. That’s quite standard fare for a video slot, so it doesn’t deviate from the norm for this. Across that layout, you can form wins on 25 paylines, which are all fixed in position.
Before you proceed with anything in the game, you should note the RTP rate and variance level. The former of these stands at 95.5%. That’s a single per cent under the general average for video slots, which is something to bear in mind. It’s also a medium to high volatility game, so it could work well for those who choose to play at high-roller casinos online.
It’s at this point that you need to determine an appropriate wager for your betting activity on Psycho. To change the value of this, you need to use the coin button, which is directly next to the spin button. Clicking on that opens up a slider bar featuring various values on it. Pushing it to the bottom end allows you to introduce a bet of £/$/€0.01 per line while pushing it up to the maximum offers a coin value of £/$/€2.50. As a result, Psycho has a maximum bet possibility of £/$/€62.50 per spin.
Whenever you’re ready with your bet level, you can spin the slot’s five reels. Click on the big button on the right of the game screen to do this. The reels then spin and produce a result for you. If three symbols match on a payline from the leftmost reel to the right, then you receive a payout in accordance with the paytable.
If you prefer to use an autoplay function in an online slot, then this is also possible in Psycho. Just click on the cog button in the top-right corner and then on the second button along to do so. This allows you to spin the reels up to 100 consecutive times at the same wager level.
Storyline
The Bates Motel. While driving down the highway, you feel yourself getting tired, and this is the first place that you spot to put your head down for the night. You pull into the parking lot, get out and then head for the reception area. Ringing the bell, it seems as though nobody else is present at the establishment. That is until Norman Bates arrives behind the desk and allows you to check into a room.
He's a bit of a curious character, but you still trust him enough to take the room he’s offered. Now you need to be on full alert, though, because Norman is hiding quite a trove of secrets – and none of them are good!
Taking its cues from the 1960 American horror film of the same name, Psycho returns to the motel where Marion Crane suffered at the hands of Bates. Dressing up as his mother, he waited until Crane took a shower and then proceeded to stab her in disguise, resulting in one of the most horrific death scenes in film at that time. Her character may have been killed off quite quickly in the film, but Marion Crane is able to provide a maximum reward of 1,000x your bet in this Nextgen Gaming slot.
Once you load the Psycho slot up, you’ll see that the house where Norman Bates lives behind the motel is on display in the top-left corner. It’s an oddity of a house, and Bates himself appears to drift from the garden area to the porch and beyond as you play. Lightning also crashes down, predicting the oncoming of a storm. At the same time, the flickering Bates Motel sign to the left of the reels makes for an eerie scene.
What makes this game even more appealing is the fact that the reels are placed against a backdrop of the famous shower curtain from the ‘60s film. Everyone who has seen it knows the scene where the shower curtain only displays the silhouette of Bates dressed up as his mother. It makes for a scary impression, especially when Marion Crane does not notice the character’s approach.
Everything comes together in an ideal way in the Psycho online slot. Doubtless, this helped it to be included in the lobbies of many of the top slot sites around the world. The symbols on its reels are all relative to the base theme, too, with even the playing card inclusions fitting in well. These provide payouts as follows:
Marion Crane: 5 symbols provide a payout of up to 1,000x for your bet.
Sam Loomis: 5 symbols provide a payout of up to 250x your bet.
Spyhole and Cash: 5 symbols provide a payout of up to 200x your bet.
Room Key: 5 symbols provide a payout of up to 150x your bet.
Playing Cards (10 to A): 5 symbols paying between 100x and 150x your bet.
Psycho also includes its own range of special features, including both a Wild Symbol and a Scatter. The first of these can substitute for all the others previously mentioned, helping you with creating wins across the reels. Wins with the Wild may also be multiplied by up to 20x.
The Scatter, on the other hand, can appear anywhere on the reels and still reward you with a payout for two or more. You can win up to 2,500x your stake with the appearance of this symbol, which is represented by the Bates house.
Design and User Experience
Anyone who loads this online slot game up and sees it will be able to understand what it is based on. Psycho was a top-selling movie and has remained a staple in the horror/thriller genre throughout the decades. The design of this Nextgen Gaming release adds to that, providing players with wonderful graphics and animations to match the thrills of the film. The video package that plays out at the start of the game takes its cues from the movie too, and the shadowed figure of Norman Bates moving across the top of the screen brings an altogether eerie presence to gameplay.
The developer has also added a compelling soundtrack to the slot, which ups the tension as you spin the five reels. Crashes of thunder and flashes of lightning add to the “on-the-edge-of-your-seat” experience. You’ll probably want to go and watch the film again once you go through a gaming session on Psycho. Every spin of the reels heightens the game’s music and wins ring out in startling fashion. If you find yourself jumping with fright at every winning combination, we wouldn’t blame you!
Nextgen Gaming has also done a fantastic job with the overall usability of the slot. All the functions are easy to find and use, while the reels always spin in a smooth and effective way. It’s definitely a game that keeps you compelled throughout.
Psycho Bonuses and Free Spins
As well as featuring a Wild Symbol that substitutes and a Scatter that pays out from any location, Psycho hosts a couple of other special features. One more part to note about the Wild Symbol is that these can be added at random on any spin. A slash of the knife will mark their arrival, and they can still come with multipliers of up to 20x, too.
Free Spins
There is also the addition of entertaining free spins round in the slot. It is the Scatter that triggers these, and that occurs when three, four or five of them show up anywhere. This will activate 10, 15 or 20 free spins, respectively. More Wild Symbols can show up during this feature round as well, with multipliers of up to 40x attached to them. The round can also be retriggered with the appearance of three or more Scatters.
How to Play Psycho
If you do decide that Psycho is the game for you to play, then you will need to find the best online casino featuring Nextgen Gaming software. We have a selection of these that we can recommend to you to sign up for, so be sure to check through our suggestions at CasinoTopsOnline. Once you find the platform for you, these are the steps to take to play Psycho:
Register for a free account at the casino by entering your personal details into the sign-up form.
Make your way to the cashier page and choose a payment method that you want to use for your first deposit. Enter an amount and complete the transaction.
Visit the game lobby and search through the games for Psycho, or enter the title into the search box if one is present.
Click on the game to load it up, and then spin the reels.
What is Psycho’s RTP?
If you do choose to play this game, then you will be experiencing a slot with an RTP rate of 95.5%. This sits slightly lower than the general average for video slots, which is usually 96%. Even so, Psycho was released in 2015, so rates may have been slightly lower back then. The RTP rate determines how much you can expect to get back from a slot in winnings, and this percentage is calculated over thousands of spins.
You do need to consider the RTP rate of a slot before you start placing bets on it. Yet you should also factor in the volatility level of the game, too. Psycho is a medium to high variance release, so it will provide payouts on a less frequent basis, in general. However, when they do hit, they will usually be of a higher amount.
How Can I Win at Psycho?
Nextgen Gaming always creates high-quality, fair and secure online slots. It ensures this is the case by including random number generators (RNGs) in their makeup, which is the case with Psycho. This helps its games appear in the lobbies of the top safe online casinos. As a result, you cannot utilise any tricks to try and change that result on your spin. Instead, you can make use of some tips to try and heighten your chances of a winning gaming experience.
Our Top Tips and Tricks to Winning
Psycho only has a single special feature round in free spins. If this hasn’t hit after many spins, then try upping your wager to try and get the most out of it if it does trigger.
The random wilds can hit at fairly frequent intervals, so you may be able to experience a bolstered win balance from these, as they can also include multipliers.
Even if you don’t get three or more scatters on a spin, two showing up will provide a payout to you, so keep this in mind for your bets.
Our Personal Experience Playing Psycho
If you’re a fan of the original movie, as we are, then a game surrounding Psycho will always stand out to you from the get-go. Nextgen Gaming has definitely done a nice job with the design and user experience of this release. I would have liked to have seen at least an extra bonus game incorporated into it, though. There is so much that could have been done with using the Psycho theme for your base. In any event, the random wilds and free spins do add something for you to look forward to activating and experiencing. Plus, the music and imagery included within are quite spine-tingling, as all good horror-themed slot games should be!
Psycho vs. Similar Slot Games
Psycho has a wonderful theme behind it, and it bases itself on a popular movie. Various other games have been released in a similar fashion, and you can compare a few of the top ones below with this Nextgen Gaming slot.
Slot | Developer | RTP | Max Win | Theme | Bonus Features |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Psycho | Nextgen Gaming | 95.5% | 2,500x | Horror-Themed, Movie-Themed | Free Spins, Wilds, Random Wilds, Scatters, Multipliers |
Halloween Jack | Netent | 96.28% | 3,000x | Horror-Themed, Thriller-Themed | Expanding Symbols, Free Spins, Respins, Scatters, Wilds, Symbol Collection |
Mental | Nolimit City | 96.09% | 66,666x | Horror-Themed, Movie-Themed | Free Spins, Multipliers, Wilds, Splitting Symbols, Nudge Feature, Scatters |
Jumanji | Netent | 96.33% | 504x | Movie-Themed, Adventure-Themed | Bonus Game, Free Spins, Wilds, Scatters, Respins, Features Map, Random Wilds |
Other Slot Games
Maybe you want to steer clear of movie-themed online slots. If so, then we have some other suggestions for you to try out. Have a look at the games outlined below, and access some of them in our free online slots section at CasinoTopsOnline.
Gorilla Kingdom
Perhaps you have a penchant for playing slots that base themselves on the jungle or animals. If so, then you will likely want to play the Gorilla Kingdom release from Netent. Launched in 2020, it features a medium variance level and an RTP rate of 96.30%. Across the five reels, you can win in 1,024 different ways, and the maximum payout possibility in the game is 5,000x your in-play stake. It’s a fantastic game featuring the developer’s usual blend of top-quality graphics and animations. Free spins can be triggered via scatter symbols, while wilds substitute to form wins. There is also a Symbol Swap feature, and Symbol Collection is also present.
Assassin Moon
Triple Edge Studios doesn’t get as much love as it should do, and if you play Assassin Moon, then you’ll realise why we say this. The game features a wonderful interface comprised of stunning graphics and a fabulous design. It’s a high variance slot, which comes with a maximum payout of 12,500x your bet across its 25 paylines. The theme surrounds a beautiful but deadly assassin, and it incorporates a compelling bonus game for you to experience as well. The five reels and three rows pave the way for respins, a Hold and Spin function, free spins rounds, and both scatters and wilds.
Sisters of the Sun
Maybe you’d prefer to play a game that bases itself on Ancient Egypt instead? If so, then Sisters of the Sun by Play’n Go will cater nicely to you. It’s a cluster pays game, so you need to cluster together matching symbols to form wins. Play’n Go has executed the theme in an ideal way and includes a maximum payout of 15,000x your stake in the slot. The goddesses Sekhmet, Hathor and Bastet bestow specific perks to you in the game, with bonus features like free spins, avalanche wins, scatter symbols, wilds, multipliers, and more also being present within.
Our Final Thoughts
Playing the Psycho slot will certainly provide you with an enjoyable (if not a little jumpy) gaming session. Nextgen Gaming knows what it is doing when it comes to game design and player usability. That much is clear. The free spins feature alongside the random wilds does provide extra incentives to play it. Yet we wanted to see the Psycho theme drawn out even more. A bonus round would have been a perfect addition.
Overall, it’s a pleasing game visually. It likely couldn’t have been topped in this area by any other developer. Plus, it can provide some decent payouts once they hit. Be sure to play it in demo mode first because while it may not be firing in every cylinder, we do recommend playing Psycho.
Psycho FAQs
The Psycho game was released in 2015 by the Nextgen Gaming brand.
If you play the Psycho slot, you stand the chance of experiencing wilds with multipliers, random wilds, scatter symbols and a free spins round.
The Psycho online slot has an RTP rate of 95.5% and is a medium to high variance game.
Anyone choosing to play Psycho is able to move the bet slider up to its maximum level, introducing a bet of £/$/€62.50 to proceedings.
Fact-checked by Julia Attard
Senior Author & Online Casino Expert