The gambling industry may seem like the last place you would look for examples of great online artwork, but in fact this booming industry thrives on visually engaging products. And none more so that the vast video slot games sector, whose products are available at all casinos. The titles produced by big software studios like NetEnt and Microgaming draw on a wide range of themes and boast some incredible artwork. The vast amounts of money generated by the industry means that it can attract the very best graphic designers and illustrators, and the wide range of themes from which these developers draw inspiration for their games has made for some extraordinary visuals, enhanced by design software animation packages that really bring the screen to life.

Here are five examples of video slots with great artwork.

1. Afterlife Inferno by Leander Games

Dante’s Inferno was the inspiration for great paintings by Botticelli, and it was also the inspiration for an Xbox game. What you probably don’t know is that it is also the story behind a little-known video slot by Leander Games. Throughout the gameplay gamblers are treated to a backdrop of hellfire before the game freezes over to reveal special features including Inferno, Purgatory and Paradise Free Spins rounds where the backdrop changes in each instance to reveal a stunning illustration and a different set of symbols on the reels. This slot garnered something of a cult following on release thanks to its exceptional design and classical backdrop.

2. Cash Noire by NetEnt

Moving things forward to the twentieth century, this release by NetEnt takes its inspiration from the noire literary and movie scenes of LA in the 1930s. The backdrop to the game is a dimly-lit Private Investigator’s office with a Femme Fatale smoking a cigarette in a holder. The game follows the narrative of a crime story that unfolds across a map of the famous city. Clearly the game developer was reading stories by Raymond Chandler when they came up with the idea, and the artists behind it may well have been watching Brian De Palma’s Black Dhalia as they drew up plans for the look and feel of the onscreen setting. The whole affect is visually stunning and very atmospheric.

3. Divine Dreams by Quickspin

If you are after representations of Eastern philosophy in art then you probably wouldn’t start with a gambling product. But in fact,in Divine Dreams, Scandanavian developer Quickspin have drawn inspiration from the Goddess of Wealth and Prosperity and set their game in a dark Indonesian Rainforest, in doing so captured some of the tranquillity that followers of the religions of this region seek. This studio is renowned for producing beautiful-looking games and they have done just that again here. The reels are adorned with amazing illustrations of lotus flowers and the peaceful soundtrack gilds the atmosphere. There are even Ying and Yang bonus rounds to enjoy if you are not too hypnotised by those reels.

4. Madame Ink by Play n Go

Body art produced by ink tattooists can be stunning but it has never before been used as the theme for a video slot, to our knowledge. In this game, Swedish producers Play n Go have created an artist studio in Asia as the backdrop to the reels, adorned with hanging lanterns and featuring a mysterious female protagonist. The atmosphere is exotic thanks to the dark colors and lightning used in the animations across the reels on each spin, and tattoo ink is woven into the features and gameplay as the illustrators and game designers have made the most of a unique and alternative theme. This slot has only arrived on the scene in 2020 but its originality make it a possible award winner later in the year.

5. Valetta by Blueprint

Epic battles from Ancient Greece to World War One have inspired artists throughout the ages. Now this game from Blueprint depicts a bloody battle that played out on the island of Malta in 1565 during the Great Siege when the Ottomans invaded. The island had strategic importance and the fighting was brutal by all accounts. The artists behind the game have created a stunning scene of dark skies, blood-red fires and smoke drifting across the reel set. Whilst the gameplay is very similar to that you’ll find in most other video slots on the market right now, the artwork makes this one stand-out from the crowd, and once again the choice of a unique theme has garnered Valetta something of a cult following amongst gamblers.