They say love is a fundamental thing. That it will set you free; and that all you need is - contrary to popular opinion on the importance of air and nutrients - love. But that's pop culture wisdom. Subjective experience is a whole other story (that may occasionally match the above notions).
Most likely depending on your current state of affairs, you will either be head over heels or utterly repelled by Valentine's Day (there's also the fanatically indifferent camp, but we'll disregard that lot for now). But either way...
...it's near impossible to remain ignorant of this festival of love's presence, with its dedicated scented cards, flower bouquets by the bulk and animated heart stickers (thanks, social media). It WILL soften the sternest (and most cynical) of hearts.
So, by all means, cultivate these amorous feelings and, if you would do anything for love (but won't do this or that), here are a few of our very own picks to spin your world around - as opposed to spinning that special someone's head around.
An obvious choice, right? Indeed, in its name and its essence, Red Tiger's title has all the bases covered: there are heart-shaped chocolate boxes, ice cream sundaes for two, chilled champagne, his/her phones (for some reason) and teddy bears...
...all of that set on a 3x5 reel set, plus 20-paylines. It’s a fun, fair-themed slot with bright colors, Love Multipliers (that will go up twenty-fold!), Love Bomb random wilds raining down on reels and a 3x3 Mega Wild for those Mega wins – if you want to take things to the next level, quite literally.
And how about a trip to Paris – the world's love capital? A Tower Bonus special feature is activated by landing 3 Eiffel Tower symbols while three “Pick Me” heart symbols commence the extra spins round.
One might say – the ultimate combo! In some instances, one won't go without the other. But this classic Rival offering – released way back in 2006, meaning it's getting on a bit right now – hearkens back to old fairy tales and follows the old “damsel in distress” theme.
Standard in configuration (3x5) and with 15 paylines on a vibrant and colorful woodland setting (albeit not the most contemporary of graphics), it has a payout percentage of 93.59%...
...as well as a mighty Cupid symbol that will grant not only bonus spins – but also multipliers that can go as high as 100x, if you should be so lucky and land all five Cupids!
Valentine's Day can get a little bit carnal as it is soulful. The cheeky Doctor Love from NextGen may not have stood the test of time (his romancing antics might be raising red flags today), but it is still deemed a slot classic – it even yielded a sequel, in which he takes his lusty ways on vacation.
This 5-reel game has a $10,000 max cash jackpot on its twenty paylines, a tongue-in-cheek cartoony theme, up to 20 bonus spins and not much else in terms of features...
...but it's fun to revisit on special occasions such as this (if you can take all the innuendos).
The lovers of Verona from the legendary piece of literature, written by William Shakespeare, are the world's most well-known symbols and martyrs of tragic love...
...Not that your Valentine's Day needs a dose of tragedy, but the 5-reel, 25-payline slot from Pragmatic Play (with a $5,000 max cash jackpot) is worth revisiting this February 14th. Understated, toned-down visual impression makes way for a fine storyline with numerous items appearing in the drama as symbols.
Its superpower is having TWO Wild symbols – icons of Romeo and his beloved Juliet. Individually, they trigger re-spins...
...but together, should they land on the same cell, they expand and cover the reel, granting players with 25 bonus spins. Potent and ground-shattering, just like their short-lived romance.
For quite a while, the whole vampires-in-love subject matter just didn't want to go away – crucifixes, silver bullets, garlic cloves... nothing helped! The Twilight saga culminated a trend that seems to have finally been exhausted in AD 2019.
Promptly capitalizing on this particular craze was Microgaming with Immortal Romance – a dark video slot take on tangled and intriguing affairs between mortals and supernatural beings.
5 reels are home to an enviable 243 ways to win. The maximum cashout on this game is $1,200...
...with the most notable feature being the Chamber of Spins bonus round, with four sub-features and different stages whose theme and gameplay depend on the character of your choosing (there are four of them in game)!
One of Valentine's most common practices (if your self-confidence is running on fumes) is the “secret admirer” stunt, where you send your tokens of admiration to the object of your desire anonymously.
Another one by Microgaming, this particular release may not hold the most astounding display of visuals and graphics ever seen by man, but it does have a whopping big $50,000 max jackpot cashout (on a mere nine paylines)...
...as well as generous scatter symbols that will hand out several re-spins. Wilds and scatters WILL appear frequently enough, so be prepared!
Bally is definitely not a developer we hear from on a regular basis...
...but they did create one particular game, based on the mythical tale of Cupid and Psyche, that holds its own and is held in a surprisingly high regard by LCB-ers.
What makes this often overlooked game so valuable is that its 40 paylines come packed with stacked wilds represented in a Psyche symbol that can (and will if you wait long enough) fill the entire reel...
...as well as not one but two bullseye symbols, blue and red – the former triggering the bonus spins round, and the latter forming entire reels made of wilds (on the principle that the more of these icons you land, the more reels will become wild).
The tale of the history of love is incomplete and MOST lacking without mentioning Venice, or Venezia in original Italian...
...The dreamy city of, arguably, humanity's most famous lover, Casanova, is the centerpiece of this NextGen slot as it is the crowning achievement of human ingenuity and aesthetics.
Beauty without comparison finds its way to this lovingly designed slot with gondolas, Carnevale masks, golden binoculars, lavishly clad ladies and more symbols on its 25 lines.
Bonus spins, triggered by mask icons, will grant up to ten bonus spins and each comes with a 3x multiplier – just enough to sustain your winning cravings and give you the taste of dolce vita, as you imagine yourself on one of those balconies, eating Tiramisu with the love of your life.
So, which one would you pick? Tell us your favorite and do let us know what other love-themed games not listed here would make your selection...
…and have a love-filled Valentine's Day!