Casino Bonuses
| Provider | Netent |
| Reels | 5 |
| Rows | 4 |
| Paylines | 1,024 |
| Bonus Rounds | 2 |
| Bet Range | 0.20 - 100 |
| Volatility | Low |
| Max Win | 1,051x |
| Bonus Buy | Yes |
| RTP | 96.04% |
| Our Rating | 7.9 |
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Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
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Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Demo & Review
Game Overview
Cornelius is a funny name, don’t you think? I remember my buddies and me thinking it was somehow hilarious back when I was in high school, but I can’t think where it was that we heard the name in the first place. We were probably an odd bunch of teenagers anyway – we thought all kinds of not very funny things were extraordinarily amusing and would regularly be kept back after class until we stopped laughing for five full minutes … which is difficult when your mate keeps singing the monster mash at four minutes and fifty seconds. I think we are getting a little off topic here, though, so I digress! NetEnt’s Cornelius online slot is a 1,024 pay way game with a 96.04% RTP and a supposed maximum win of 1,051x your bet.
As for the feature set, we have a base game feature that NetEnt has called the “Cash Drop”, triggered by hitting three Cash Drop symbols anywhere on the reels, and a separate three-spin bonus round that needs three or more different scatter symbols to initiate. That three-spin bonus has several unique features, which we’ll discuss later on, and you can also opt to buy your way directly to the bonus round at the cost of 100x the current bet if permitted in your jurisdiction.
It feels like a long time since I have been genuinely impressed by a new NetEnt slot, so I was hoping for something special from Cornelius. I don’t want to spoil the surprise too early, but I will say now – this is absolutely a slot worth trying! Why not go ahead and give our free demo slot of Cornelius a few spins? It’s available below:
Cornelius Slot Theme, Stakes, Pays & Symbols
The title of this game, Cornelius, is also the name of its protagonist – a huge, fat, orange-looking cat that strongly resembles Garfield to my eyes. You can see him chilling out to the left of the reel set during the base game, and he appears to be standing around in his kitchen the entire time waiting for more food… just like most cats then! Garfield did get a slot of his own several years ago titled “Garfield & Friends” and was supposedly developed by Bwin exclusively for their casino. I’m surprised there isn’t a bigger licensed slot than that based on the character, to be honest, as Garfield holds numerous records as far as comic books are concerned. That surprised me too, if I’m honest – Garfield sold more comics than Batman? Surely there must be some mistake!
Our eponymous friend Cornelius tops the paytable with a return of 40x your bet for a full pay way of five-of-a-kind – he looks rather happy with himself on his symbol, and I guess you can’t blame him… 40x isn’t a bad return for a game that has over 1,000 pay ways! A tin of food takes the second-placed spot, but there is a huge drop down to 20x for all five of those symbols – I guess Cornelius took up a whole bunch of this game’s RTP! A jar of milk is next with a payout of 15x for five-of-a-kind, followed by a fish at 10x, then five royal symbols. The Ace symbol deserves a special mention as it has a return of 7.5x, whilst the rest of the royals are only worth 1x to 1.5x the bet for all five, which makes the Ace seem like it belongs in the high-paying group to me.
As for choosing your bet, clicking on the stack of coins to the left of the spin controls will open a whole screen of betting options – you can’t fault NetEnt for the level of choice given to players here, as there must be close to 50 intervals between the minimum bet of €0.20 and the maximum bet of €100.00 per spin.
Base Game & Modifiers
Most of your time playing Cornelius will be spent in the base game, which is a 5×4 grid featuring 1,024 payways. Any combination of three or more matching symbols on adjacent reels starting from the left will award a win, but it is the special symbols that you’ll be looking out for.
I would class all of the features triggered by those special symbols as bonus rounds, so we’ll move straight on to the next section; It’s a shame that NetEnt didn’t include a modifier or two, but between the Cash Drop and Free Spin features I can’t see many players getting bored whilst playing this game.
Cornelius Slot Bonus Features
So many online slots contain just a single free spins bonus round, and whilst that can sometimes be a good thing – it means that the developer can make the bonus round particularly generous – it can also make games a little dull and predictable.
For me, NetEnt’s decision to include some special features in their Cornelius online slot is a good one. Yes, you have more than one set of scatter symbols, and yes, that means that special symbols can block some regular line hits, but that didn’t happen too often whilst I was playing.
Cash Drop Feature
First up, let’s talk about the cash drop feature; the cash drop symbol is a red square filled with biscuits with a cash prize shown at the top of it, and three of these landing on a single spin will trigger the accompanying cash drop feature.
The value of each cash drop symbol can be worth anywhere from 0.25 to 3x the current bet during the main game, which is boosted up to between 1x and 5x the current bet when the feature is triggered within the free spins feature.
When the feature is triggered, all cash drop symbols will move down the reel set by one position, and a free re-spin will be awarded. At the end of each re-spin, you will collect the value of all cash drop symbols shown on the reels, and another re-spin will begin. Any additional cash drop symbols which land during the re-spins will reset your current “lives counter” back up to three, and the feature will only end when you run out of lives by suffering three spins in a row without any further cash drop symbols landing on the reels.
Free Spins Feature
Cornelius calls this bonus round a “free spins” feature, but I’ve begun to call this type of bonus round a three-spin feature myself. It works quite similarly to the cash drop feature, except the normal reel set is replaced by a new one that contains only cash drop symbols, multipliers, biscuits, and “UP” symbols.
You’ll already be familiar with the cash drop symbols from the previous feature, whilst the multipliers have an obvious purpose; however, the biscuits and “UP” symbols need a little more explanation.
First, the biscuit – each time one of these appears, it will become sticky for the duration of the bonus round. The biscuit has a value of its own, but it will also add this value to all cash drop symbols on the screen after every spin, thus making them more valuable as the bonus round progresses. Multiplier symbols that land on the reels will increase the value of any biscuit symbols on the screen, increasing the amount by which all cash drop symbols go up in value between spins.
The “UP” symbol is nice and easy to explain – it will move all cash drop symbols up one position on the reel set. Because cash drop symbols automatically move down a spot between spins, the UP symbol counteracts this. It makes the symbols stay on the screen for longer, allowing you to collect their payout an additional time.
Bonus Buy
If your jurisdiction permits using bonus buy features, you can skip straight to the free spins part of Cornelius by using this option at the cost of 100x the regular bet. I’d say that is a bargain, as the bonus round is by far the most profitable part of the game. Sadly, this option is not available to players in my region, but if you have the choice to use this facility, it’s well worth the price.
Cornelius Slot Review Final Thoughts
It may not have the explosive potential of previous games such as Dead or Alive, but Cornelius is an addicting online slot that deserves to be played. I found myself testing this one much longer than I probably should have done, which is always a testament to the quality of the slot. This is a welcome return to form for NetEnt – let’s have more games like this, please!
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