Space Donkey Slot (Nolimit City)

This 100 Spin test was updated by Steve Madgwick on 18/10/2023

The Spin Test criteria can be found at the bottom of the page

Test Comments

A relatively uneventful 100 spins on this release from NoLimit City which harks back to previous retro style games, and I have to say, it was a bit of a slog getting through all 100 spins without wanting to give up. But that personal preference so on with the information - 

The 100 spins provided 28 spins with some return, averaging out at 2.46x per win, with a couple of double figure returns, the biggest in the base game being a 14.5x win

little else happened, the bonus was not achieved and I don't think there was even a bait of a couple of scatter and a slow spin going on. Overall, boring, but not a bad session rtp of 68.95% given what we know these NLC games can do.

As a child of the 80s, I appreciate an arcade game - Space Invaders or Donkey Kong anyone? Wow, those were the days. Playing arcade games whilst munching on a pack of Iced Gems. If you know, you know. Playing Space Donkey makes me feel nostalgic for that happy-go-lucky time. It encompasses vivid graphics, 80s electronic arcade music and the robotic sound effects of zapping and beeping.

I've already mentioned the Hellfire Feature but the headliner is their free spins feature with not one but two rounds. The Hide N’ Seek and Seek N’ Destroy rounds have oodles of exciting elements to keep you on your toes including an exciting cat-and-mouse aspect.

With my in-depth Space Donkey slot review you’ll be able to read about every part of this hot off-the-press game. Let's blast offffffffff!

Graphics, Music, and Sound Effects

Once you launch the game you’re transported back to the bodacious 1980s. To a world jam-packed with MTV, Push Pops, VCRs, Walkmans, Swatch Watches and ahem…shell suits. The graphics are cracking, they really stand out for their bright-coloured arcade style.

The sound effects add to the immersive experience with lots of computer beeps and booms with scatterings of explosions. The dramatic noises support the classic storyline of the goodies (the Monkey) v.s. The baddies (the Aliens). The electronic music is fast-paced and sounds very synth-like.

I’ve now shared with you the summary, intro, graphics, music, and sound effects so up next are the key game features. This will help you decide if you want to give Space Donkey a spin or not. 

At OLBG we create slot games reviews that inlude details about important info such as the theme, paylines, reels, bet range, and bonuses. I’ll finish off the review by sharing my first impressions and expert verdict so don’t go anywhere.

Theme – Space

Within the base game’s background image, you’ll see a huge spaceship gliding over a water and jungle scene. Entering the Hide N’ Seek round you’re transported to a world filled with bubbling molten lava in an immense volcano. The designer has included a cool console-style font and plenty of luminous colours. The main man himself AKA the Monkey, jumps around the grid tooled up with a huge machine gun firing at his enemies.  The Seek N’ Destroy Spins round whisks you away to some industrial grey tunnels, probably hidden away in the depths of the extraterrestrial spaceship.  At the end of this round, you’ll view your wins while the music ups the tempo to thumping techno music.

The themed symbols on the reels are - starting from the highest value first -  the Monkey, an aeroplane, the Alien, a gun and some bullets. The standard symbols are - A, K, Q, J, 10  and 9 which are all designed in a military wings style to match the theme of the game.

Reels

Space Donkey has the classic setup of 6 reels by 6 rows, it has cascading reels which fall from the top.

Paylines

When you play Space Donkey you’ll discover 46,656 non-adjustable paylines where you can trigger wins

RTP

I’m including an explanation of RTP for those of you who may not be familiar with this term. Feel free to ignore this paragraph if you are. RTP means ‘return to player’ and is a way of predicting what percentage of a player's stakes will be returned to them. This percentage figure is forecast over the long term and the higher the number the better. Nowadays, expect to see a figure around 96% but it can be anywhere from 94% to 96%. The RTP rate for Space Donkey is 96.07% which is just over the average amount.

Like most slot creators, Nolimit City has a couple of RTP rates that they offer to operators. In addition to the 96.07% rate, there’s also a 94.13% RTP. If you look around at different sites you’ll find assorted rates. To save you time, we’ve already taken a look and included some of the RTPs at some of the top UK online casinos which you’ll find in the table below.

When you're thinking about which site to play at there are a few different factors to consider in addition to the RTP rate. You should also take a look at the payment options, game titles, customer service and welcome bonuses and deals. You can read our casino reviews to find out about these factors plus many more.

If, like most slot players nowadays, you want to try more than one game you should check out this page we’ve put together with the slot sites we recommend. These sites feature hundreds of games that you can play immediately if you’re in the UK.

Stake Range

There is a broad bet range for the Space Donkey game which starts at £0.20 and goes right up to £200.

Max Win

The max win feature of Space Donkey is called Safe Word, here you can win x14,649 your stake.

Wild Symbol

When playing Space Donkey you’ll find an ‘Abduction Wild’ which triggers in the base game on reels 2-6. Once it lands it remains and enhances, ready for the next drop. The Wild will then move down and abduct all normal playing symbols and increase its multiplier by one for each removed symbol.

Free Spins

The free spins games are a highlight of the game and there are 2 options available. Firstly Hide N’ Seek which is triggered when 3 Scatter Symbols land. Scatters convert to Traps in the 6×6 grid where edges of the area are connected to the opposing edges. Each turn displays two values: ‘Direction’ and ‘Steps’, making the Monkey move around collecting the chest values. The Monkey starts with 3 lives.  The Monkey and the Alien will lose a life when they encounter each other or walk into a trap. When Monkey walks over a position, it will trigger/collect whatever ability the symbol holds. Symbols include multipliers, give an extra life, an upgrade to the next free spins level (Seek N' Destroy), remove a life and award the total sum of all visual Golden Chests.

Secondly, there’s the Seek N' Destroy round which is triggered by landing 4 Scatters Symbols.  On a grid of 5 rows & 6 columns, a random multiplier (1-10) appears on top of columns 2-6. The Aliens move towards the Monkey with each turn. The Monkey then jumps to a random row for each turn and fires a weapon to kill the Aliens and ultimately destroy the Mothership. With each turn, an Alien (having a multiplier) comes in from all horizontal launchers. Once killed, its value is multiplied by the column’s multiplier and then you’re awarded.

Jackpot

Like most modern-day slot games there is not a jackpot element as part of the game. If jackpots are your thing you should take a look at our page with the best jackpot slot games.

Play Experience & First Impressions

The game grabs your attention from the word go like all Nolimit City games do but this one does so in a different way. If you're a fan of arcade games you're going to LOVE the design. So much work has gone into the graphics, and the designer has done a fantastic job. The Hellfire Featre is a lot of fun. This takes place during the base game. It’s triggered when 3 or more Chopper Symbols land and these can appear on reels 2-5. The first Chopper Symbol will fire in 1 direction, the second will fire in 2 directions and so forth. The Chopper’s multiplier will be added to all Wild and normal paying symbols in that direction. This feature plus the free spins rounds are highlights of the game.

Ummm, the name Space Donkey? I really didn't know what to expect. Initially, I was trying to link how a donkey in space could be dark and macabre. This is usually the concept with Nolimit City’s grisly games. And where does the donkey come in? The game is about Monkeys and Aliens however the game info tells us that the Monkey is species-confused so maybe that’s the link. 

When playing for the first time it certainly looked very different from their usual titles. It wasn't as edgy as games such as Disturbed or The Crypt. However, there were dark elements to it as it’s set in the scary expansiveness of space so that was a relief. 

Nolimit City has tried something different here which is important to stay ahead of the game and test new ideas. I totally get that, but personally, l prefer their darker games which push the boundaries of human decency. I appreciated the fact that Space Donkey has a strong storyline and characters which is a trademark of all Nolimit City’s catalogue of games. Wishy-washy characters and rainbow images are prohibited…thank goodness. As a stand-alone game, I thoroughly enjoyed it, the quality level was first-rate. I loved the 80s arcade game theme as it’s very nostalgic and I’m guessing plenty of other players will feel the same way.

The free spins round were difficult to understand. There was so much detail to them and so much to read that it was off-putting. I recently reviewed Nolimit City’s recent game Bounty Hunters and found the free spins hard to understand there too initially. Free spins rounds need to have different layers added to them to make them stand out from an already crowded marketplace but this one was too much. The cat-and-mouse element of Hide N’ Seek was shrewd and the cool volcano imagery was a big winner. Seek N’ Destroy spins were about collecting the Alien’s gold and multipliers but again, the amount of info for each round was a case of information overload.

The max win is a bit lower than most Nolimit City games however most games have an extreme volatility rating whereas this title is high so the balance is correct. Would I recommend Space Donkey to you? In an instant - yes. It’s innovative, creative and importantly, extremely enjoyable. Just one word of advice - read the free spins rules when you’re feeling clear-headed. 

Space Donkey slot review was written by the OLBG Slots Content Team, beginning with Jenny Mason our prime Slot reviewer who has 17+ years in online gambling, top UK brands. Expert in sports betting, slots, and bingo. Then Andrej Trajkovski, who has worked in the online gambling industry since 2013, playing and reviewing online slots and casinos daily for the past four years. 

Contributing to the review was Jake Ashton, a slots fan who is also part of the casino and sports betting team here at OLBG.

The review is Fact Checked by William Westerlund, an online casino expert reviewing casinos and slots for over five years, and published by Steve Madgwick, our Editor-In-Chief with over 18 years of experience creating and managing high-quality sports betting and Casino content for OLBG & multiple other publications and a self-confessed online slots fans who has played at 100's of the best slot sites online and completes the Spin tests.

100 Spin Test Criteria

The 100 Spins test is undertaken on a demo slot, staking 100 spins at £1 per spin

Session RTP - Return to the player after 100 spins - Eg, A return of £45 from 100 spins is 45%, or a return of £107 is 107%

Win Frequency - A winning spins to spins frequency, higher frequency regardless of prize, is often more entertaining.

• 0-10 Very Low
• 11-15 Low
• 16-30 Medium
• 21-35 High
• 36+ Very High

Biggest Base Game Win  - Highest single base game spin winning value

Spins to Bonus - How many spins were completed before the main bonus round was achieved

Bonus Paid - Value of bonus once complete

Time Taken  - How long did the 100 spins take to complete?