In all lines of entertainment media, production companies want to follow trends and popular themes to make a successful product. In Hollywood right now, annoying as it may be for those who want to see something original and creative, remakes, reboots, and long-detached sequels or prequels continue to do well at the box office.
For the slot gaming industry, while trend-following certainly exists, many studios prefer to create games that align more with classic themes in order to uphold appeal. For this, they’ve taken a lot of inspiration from classic monster movies and their more contemporary successors. With monster movies trending in popularity once again, so are themed slots in this regard.
Year of the Wolf
Werewolves have been a feature of many a mythology and folktale throughout the centuries of human civilization. A part-man, part-beast creature that combines the cunning and intelligence of a human with the pure ferocity of a wolf makes for quite the terrifying prospect. On screen, werewolves have been plentiful, but few have depicted the monster quite as well as An American Werewolf in London (1981), thanks, in large part, to the makeup by Rick Baker used in the film.
Seen as a great curse in the film, and in many tales about the beasts, while the transformation bestows tremendous power to the cursed one. It’s the raw power of the werewolf and its infamous howl has been reflected extensively in popular culture. For example, the beast has inspired the popular casino game, Curse of the Werewolf Megaways, that can be found at reputable online casinos like SkyCity. In this game, triggering the beast is the path to new features, and a potential 40,000x max win.
This year, the werewolf-inspired slot game could rise in popularity thanks to the ever prevalent nature of the werewolf in cinemas. On July 26th, Kit Harington returned to the big screen furrier than ever in The Beast Within. Also, on December 6th, Stephen C. Miller’s new film Werewolves depicts how a supermoon trigger causes a mass werewolf transformation. Finally, on January 17, 2025, it’ll be Christopher Abbott’s turn to play a werewolf in the horror flick Wolf Man, showing how the trope continues to develop.
Greatest of Great Apes
The 1933 silent film Wasei Kingu Kongu welcomed the giant ape to the big screen in Japan, but perhaps not in the most ethical way. It was, more or less, a knock off of the American movie, King Kong, which came out earlier that year to collect around $10 million at the US box office. After, it was more the Japanese kaiju flicks of the 1960s – especially when the ape fought Godzilla – that gave King Kong prominence.
Now, everyone knows what it means to see a giant ape approach human civilization. It’s as awe-inspiring as it is terrifying, which is likely why the Mighty Kong slot is such an instant draw. The kaiju-themed slot game is all about uncovering the ape deep in the jungle and unleashing its power in the four different free spins modes that take you from the forest to the top of the Empire State Building.
Now, King Kong’s team-ups with Godzilla are making hundreds of millions at the box office, with more movies in the works. Werewolves also continue to dominate on the big screen. Now, slot gamers can enjoy the action beyond the screen with hit slot games inspired by the films.