Who is Aristocrat?
Aristocrat was established way back in 1953 as a slots developer and this makes it one of the longest-standing industry giants. Originally, back in the 1950s, they were responsible for spearheading the development of slot machines and came up with some innovative designs that were widely used in casino floors around the US.
During the 60s, 70s, and 80s, the company expanded globally and launched bases in Australia and the UK, continuing to innovate and create new slot machines and game designs. Fast-forward to the current day, and Aristocrat slots are played around the world, both in bricks and mortar casinos, and digitally at online casinos and they remain a popular and beloved brand.
What are Aristocrat slots known for?
It should be noted that unlike NoLimitCity slots and other developers, Aristocrat slots are mainly found in physical casinos so it might be difficult to play these games online. However, you will always know when you are playing an Aristocrat game as they have a very particular style and gameplay elements.
Retro graphics and sound effects
Aristocrat slots are not known for their modern graphics or smooth sound effects. You have to remember that most of their popular online slots like Queen of the Nile and Wild Panda were created years or even decades ago when technologies were different.
To that end, these games are typically known for their incredibly retro feel. We love the slightly rough graphics, the tinny sound effects, and the classic feel of these games – they hail back to a simpler time when it wasn’t all about flash graphics and intense animations. Most of the Aristocrat slots will also feature the iconic payline display at the side of the reels, which is something modern games just don’t do anymore.
Wilds, scatter symbols, and free spins
In terms of gameplay, these titles are often quite simple and although this developer is known for creating some innovative bonus features and game mechanics, the most popular Aristocrat slots often only have a few features.
Most of them will have wild symbols that substitute for all other symbols except the scatter symbol and free spins symbols, and can potentially increase your chances of getting winning combos. Similarly, there are usually scatter symbols too that can appear on any reel and don’t have to be adjacent to payout.
Lastly, the main feature of most games like Miss Kitty, 5 Dragons Gold, and Wild Wild Samurai is a free spin bonus round. You’ll usually need either three scatter symbols or free spins symbols to trigger a number of free spin rounds. During these bonus rounds, there might be extra features like more wilds, sticky wilds, or multipliers, for example.
Pros and cons of Aristocrat slots
We love Aristocrat for their history and significance in the iGaming industry, but their games aren’t perfect either and to give you an unbiased overview, we need to discuss their pros and cons.
The main pro of their slots is the nostalgia feeling and the awesome retro style and design they have. The gameplay is usually incredibly easy to understand, and we love the slightly pixelated graphics, and the almost 8-bit sound effects and soundtracks. If you enjoy retro gaming then you will love these slots. However, on the flip side, compared to most of the modern slots from developers like Hacksaw Gaming, they do look rather dated. Also, most of the games have relatively basic gameplay without too many special features which some people could find boring.
- Retro graphics and sounds
- Easy-to-understand gameplay
- Decent RTP
- Solid min/max spin values
- Not many special features
- Some might not like the retro feel
Which are the most popular Aristocrat slots?
Aristocrat has a large library of video slots but we found it quite easy to pick out our favorites. There are some titles that have stood the test of time and continue to provide awesome entertainment. You can see our top 10 selection in the table below:
| Aristocrat Slot | RTP | Volatility | Theme |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miss Kitty | 94.76% | Medium | Cats, City Life |
| Sun & Moon | 94.98% | Low-Medium | Aztec Mythology |
| Wild Wild Samurai | 94.05% | Low-Medium | Japan, Samurai, Oriental |
| Lucky 88 | 97.00% | Medium-High | Oriental |
| Buffalo | 94.85% | Medium-High | Wild West, Wild Animals |
| Queen of the Nile | 94.88% | Medium | Ancient Egypt |
| Wild Panda | 94.36% | Medium | Giant Pandas, Oriental |
| More Chilli | 95.69% | Medium | Mexico, Food, Parties |
| Where’s The Gold | 95.00% | Medium | Mining, Wild West |
| Wolf Moon | 94.80% | Medium | Wild animals, mythology |
This developer has created some fantastic oriental-themed slots including Wild Panda, Lucky 88, and Wild Wild Samurai. With these three games, you get some fantastic retro oriental music that really sets the mood. We also like that they stick to a particular theme such as Samurais, wild animals, or lucky numbers. Out of these three games, Lucky88 is perhaps the best as it features an above-average RTP of up to 97%. Just be aware though that this game has RTP ranges which means different online casinos might have the RTP set differently.
The Wild West and Wild Animals themes are also some of their most popular games with titles like Where’s The Gold, Buffalo, and Wolf Moon. Buffalo is obviously the most popular Aristocrat slot of all time and this is one of the games that really pushed the developer’s popularity. After that, we actually love the Wolf Moon game as we have played this online and at some Vegas casinos. Where’s The Gold is another all-time great and this uses more of a Wild West and mining theme.
Some of their mythological or ancient history games are also big hits with Queen of the Nile and Sun & Moon being two fantastic retro games. Queen of the Nile pays homage to ancient Egypt and you get awesome river-boat-style music plus symbols of the Pyramids, etc. Similarly, Sun & Moon takes us to the ancient Aztec civilization with symbols of step pyramids and gold idols. Both of these themes remain incredibly popular today and developers still produce games that take us to these ancient worlds.
Miss Kitty is definitely worth a try too – this is like the cats musical or the Aristocats Disney film with street cats roaming a big city like New York. It has the same charm and retro style as the other Aristocrat slots, but a unique and fun theme that enhances the gameplay experience.
Give our list of Aristocrat slot machines a try today
There’s something about the Aristocrat slots that keep us coming back. Yes, there is no denying that some of the games like Buffalo and Where’s the Gold do look outdated compared to the modern slots created by developers like Hacksaw Games. But, we love the charm, nostalgia, and simple gameplay they offer, and how they pay homage to the beginnings of video slots. If you want to give games like Queen of the Nile and More Chilli a try, you can check out the casinos we have listed via the banners and links on this page and get signed up.
