Welcome to the Online-Slot.co.uk Awards 2023. Below, you’ll find the top slot games of the year ranked by our expert team. Based on our rating system, we’ve also looked into the top slot providers of 2023 as well as the best Megaways, grid and jackpot slots.
With every year that passes, slot providers are raising the bar each time. 2023 has seen new providers establish themselves as major players as well as the usual suspects creating new concepts, mechanics and themes.
There are new slot games released every day practically so there are thousands of potential candidates in 2023. Whilst there are plenty of superb new slots to play, we’ve decided to look at the top 5 in more detail. These are determined by our team’s opinions, views and ratings. Here are the slots that made the final list:
| Rank | Slot | Provider | Rating | Release Date |
| 1 | Money Train 4 | Relax Gaming | 5/5 | 20/09/2023 |
| 2 | Razor Returns | Push Gaming | 4.9/5 | 04/07/2023 |
| 3 | Nitropolis 4 | ELK Studios | 4.7/5 | 08/02/2023 |
| 4 | Disturbed | Nolimit City | 4.6/5 | 09/05/2023 |
| 5 | Pine of Plinko 2 | Print Studios | 4.6/5 | 07/12/2023 |
1st Place: Money Train 4 (Relax Gaming) – 5/5 Rating
With Money Train 3 claiming the top position at last year’s awards, Relax Gaming released the final instalment of the series in September (2023). Money Train 4 sees you join the bandits’ last ride of the rails. Thematically, it has a steampunk feel with a more futuristic look compared to its predecessors. Playable from just 10p per spin, it takes place on a 6×6 grid with a Scatter Pays mechanic.
Offering random respins with multipliers in the base game, the focus is of course on the Money Cart Bonus feature. Bigger and better than previous versions, there are new special symbols including a new Arms Dealer bandit. Guaranteeing more explosive combinations, the max win is 150,000 x bet (compared to 100,000 x bet in Money Train 3). It’s so good, we gave it a 5/5 rating.
2nd Place: Razor Returns (Push Gaming) – 4.9/5 Rating
Released in July 2023, Razor Returns was hugely anticipated following the success of Razor Shark (August 2019). With 5 reels and 40 paylines, the graphics and animations are superb. It comes with nudging mystery symbols and a Razor Reveal that can award various prizes including instant prizes up to 5,000 x bet.
Torpedo scatters lead to free spins where there are more mystery symbols and multiplier increases. With a high 96.55% RTP rate, Razor Shark has plenty of bite as it comes with 100,000 x bet max wins. If you use the Push Bet for 10% more per spin, the chance of winning the big prize is 14 times more likely.
3rd Place: Nitropolis 4 (ELK Studios) – 4.7/5 Rating
Released in February 2023, the Nitro band are back in their fourth outing with Nitropolis 4. Created by ELK Studios, it’s a 6 reel, 4,096 ways to win slot. With a whopping 13 bonus features, it comes with up to 262,144 ways to win, avalanches, Big Symbols, Nitro Reels, Nitro Multipliers and Nitro Boosters.
In the Free Spins, Nitro Reels are sticky which can lead to big wins. The dystopian-themed Nitropolis 4 offers 50,000 x bet max wins, is turbo-charged and earned a 4.7/5 rating from us.
4th Place: Disturbed (Nolimit City) – 4.6/5 Rating
Released in May 2023, Disturbed from Nolimit City sees you head for an appointment with Dr. Death (Harold Shipman) in his demented clinic. With 5 reels and 256 ways to win initially, it’s distressing, deranged and controversial. Not for the faint-hearted, it comes with 11 bonus features.
Mrs. Nudge symbols nudge to fill the middle reel and increase the multiplier whilst lighting up Enhancer Cells reward you with xWays, xSplit Wilds, Disturber respins and Gravestones. The latter appearing with Dr. Death on reel 3 will see you pocket 54,391 x your total bet. You also have 2 free spins features with lit-up Enhancer Cells.
5th Place: Pine of Plinko 2 (Print Studios) – 4.6/5 Rating
Released in December 2023, Pine of Plinko 2 from Print Studios takes you to a snowy wonderland where gnomes have been hard at work. With 5 reels and 10 paylines, it’s all about the Plinko Bonus feature. Balls are released and new levels are reached if you fill the meter at the top. This then gives you more balls to release.
With up to 256 balls, there are Bumper Buckets and Golden Balls with the latter awarding prizes up to 10,000 x your total bet. A superb sequel, it comes with 20,000 x bet max wins and a decent 96.32% RTP rate.
Honourable Mentions
With thousands of slots to consider, the top 20 list consisted mainly of games from Print Studios, Relax Gaming, Hacksaw Gaming, Nolimit City and ELK Studios. Here are the slot games that come in positions 6 through 10:
| Rank | Slot | Provider | Rating | Release Date |
| 6 | Gluttony | Nolimit City | 4.6/5 | 06/06/2023 |
| 7 | Royal Potato 2 | Print Studios | 4.6/5 | 28/09/2023 |
| 8 | Giga Jar | Push Gaming | 4.5/5 | 28/03/2023 |
| 9 | Sloth Tumble | Relax Gaming | 4.5/5 | 25/07/2023 |
| 10 | Chaos Crew 2 | Hacksaw Gaming | 4.4/5 | 28/09/2023 |
With more than 50 slot provider slots covered here at Online-Slot.co.uk, there have been many worth candidates for the slot provider of the year award. With so many new slot games in 2023, 3 slot providers stood above the rest.
We’ve taken the average rating of each of their slots released in 2023 and worked out an average rating for the provider. The results are as follows:
Print Studios
Our slot provider of 2023 is Print Studios. Founded as recently as 2020, they produce graphically-superb games which offer unconventional themes, concepts and mechanics. With 7 slot games released this year, the lowest rating was 4.2/5 and their highest 4.6/5.
Focusing on quality over quantity, our interview with CEO Carl Wiggman goes into detail about their objectives and what inspires them to create unique offerings. Here’s a summary of their releases for 2023:
| Slot | Rating | Release Date |
| Pine of Plinko Dream Drop | 4.2/5 | 31/01/2023 |
| Holy Hand Grenade | 4.2/5 | 14/04/2023 |
| Cash Defense | 4.3/5 | 25/05/2023 |
| Shinobi Spirit | 4.5/5 | 13/07/2023 |
| Royal Potato 2 | 4.6/5 | 28/09/2023 |
| Darkness | 4.4/5 | 19/10/2023 |
| Pine of Plinko 2 | 4.6/5 | 07/12/2023 |
With lots of grid slots released in 2023, we’ve seen more and more slot providers enter the fray. Play ‘n GO, Thunderkick, NetEnt and Pragmatic Play have been the main protagonists.
Dam Beavers (ELK Studios)
This year’s victor is Dam Beavers by ELK Studios. Released in December (5th), you get to explore a multi-level dam and make friends with 4 beavers. Played on a 5×5 grid initially, it uses ELK’s unique CollectR mechanic.
In the base game, you can enjoy a feature meter and the Beaver Night Fever mini game, whilst the Free Spins feature comes with persistent features to make it even more rewarding. This includes floor levels, feature meter progress, paying symbols payouts and the collection of extra bonus symbols. Chaotic yet fun, Dam Beavers comes with 10,000 x bet max wins and a unique experience.
Other grid/cluster pays slots which were highly-rated in 2023 include Lure of Fortune (Relax Gaming) and Viking Runecraft: Apocalypse (Play ‘n GO).
Whilst there were less Megaways slots in 2023 than in previous years, it was harder to choose this year’s winner. The shape-shifting mechanic still proves to be extremely popular with most slot sites/casinos offering dedicated Megaways sections. Many new Megaways games offer more of what we’ve seen before but thankfully one slot has stood out.
Bonanza Falls (Big Time Gaming)
On the 7th of December 2023, Big Time Gaming released Bonanza Falls. Following on from the slot that kickstarted the Megaways revolution (Bonanza Megaways), this release also comes with 6 reels and up to 117,649 ways to win. Playable from 20p a spin, it comes with reactions or cascades for successive wins.
The focus is on the new Megadozer Free Spins feature where gold Bonus Coins falls onto the reels to award multiplier wilds up to 5x, individual symbol multipliers (up to 10x), additional free spins and a win multiplier increase. Also offering as Win Exchange feature, Bonanza Falls comes with a high 96.51% RTP rate and huge 93,540 x bet max wins. For context, the original Bonanza offers a 96% RTP rate and 26,000 x bet top payouts.
Other top Megaways slots released in 2023 include Max Megaways 2 (Big Time Gaming) and Judgement Day Megaways (Red Tiger Gaming).
Finally, progressive jackpot slots are still very much played and loved as the chance to win a 7 or even 8-figure jackpot is the dream of many. With a flurry of Dream Drop jackpot games, it was odds-on that one of the games offering the Dream Drop jackpots would be rated as our top jackpot game of the year.
5k Gold Mine Dream Drop (4ThePlayer)
Released in April 2023, 5k Gold Mine Dream Drop is by 4ThePlayer is our best jackpot slot of 2023. With 5 reels and 1,024 ways to win, you join prospector Gus in a quest for gold and jackpots. Gold Rush Scatters reward you with cash prizes and move you around the unique trail to activate various bonus features.
There are trail square prizes up to 5,000 x bet as well as free spins. The trail offers a unique way of entering the Dream Drop Jackpot feature where 5 progressive jackpots can be won. With a 4.4/5 rating, the current Mega Jackpot is worth .
Other top-rated jackpot games released in 2023 include Dead Man’s Trail Dream Drop and Cluster Tumble Dream Drop (both by Relax Gaming).
