There’s only a couple of months left in 2016, and very soon, around January, we’re going to start looking at all the slots released during the year and decide upon the three best slots of 2016. In order to reward the best of the best, we play through dozens of the most popular slots that came out, judging each and every single one of them on multiple parameters, including, but not limited to, graphics, RTP, bonus games, winnings, smoothness of animation, theme/license, music and sound. Yes, you heard right – music and sound. While many gamblers like to play slots with the sound turned off, and maybe while listening to their own music, we here take great effort to examine every single aspect of a slot when comparing it to all the others. And honestly? Believe it or not, the music can make or break a slot when it comes to whether or not it receives an award.

Now, before you take out your torches and pitchforks, allow me to make a few things clear. First of all, yes, music is very important. Slots are, after all, entertainment – just like movies, TV shows, videogames, plays… They do have a narrative. They aim to create an atmosphere. Sure, that doesn’t apply to all of them, of course, there are some (like “Reel King”) which are very simple in nature and seek to emulate the traditional fruit machines, which don’t have a particular theme, characters or story. But most slots today aren’t like that. “The Avengers” tells the story of a team of superheroes that, despite being drastically different, come together to defeat a common threat. “Aliens” tells a story of isolation, where death (in the form of an alien threat) may come from any corner. “Cashapillar” tells the tale of a cute little caterpillar on his own adventure in animal world. Each of these has a very distinct tone it’s trying to achieve through its characters, tone, graphics, and yes – music. And for those of you who don’t believe that music can be important in setting a tone, try watching the same movie scene with different music and tell me if it doesn’t feel entirely different each time.

Now, with that said, it’s important to note that a slot is not a movie or a TV show. Setting a tone is NOT what it sets out to do. As a result, things like the bonus games, payouts and overall playability of a slot will always be more important than its music. However, we do look at a slot as both a complete experience and as the sum of its parts, and no matter how you look at it, music plays a role in that, even if some would say a small one. So at the end of the day, if you have two slots which are absolutely excellent, stellar, perfectly made, but one has put a whole ton of effort into its music while the other just has some kind of generic melody, well… The former is going to take the award home. that’s just how it works. Not everyone can have first place, and we don’t give out participation awards. Some might call that cheating or unfair, but we’re not looking at slots as a hobby. We’re looking at them as a piece of media, with all of the elements that comprise them. And important or not, music is just one such element. To deny that fact is ridiculous.