KISS Shout It Out Loud Review: Not Quite Rockin’ And Rollin’

Review Setup

Ready to ROCK? KISS Shout It Out Loud has you covered. The slot game from Light & Wonder brings the iconic rock band into the spotlight, with some of KISS’s best songs and performances at the forefront. The addition of Light & Wonder’s Colossal Reels makes for a larger-than-life experience, as if you’re on stage with KISS as you play. I spent a few hours playing the game to get the full lowdown on KISS Shout It Out Loud.

First Impressions with KISS Shout It Out Loud

When I first loaded KISS Shout It Out Loud, I expected to be bombarded with a wall of sound—shredding guitars, loud vocals, and a sick drum fill. Instead, the game loaded and summoned the reels in complete silence. I was worried, but my fears were quelled as soon as I pressed the “spin” button. Each spin was accompanied by a clip from one of three KISS songs: Detroit Rock City, Rock and Roll All Nite, and Shout It Out Loud.

Light & Wonder’s Colossal Reels (a second 5×12 reel set next to the standard 5×4 set) added to the bombastic nature of the game and fed right into the theme. KISS is always hyperbolic and over-the-top, and the Shout It Out Loud slot reflects that.

My initial impression was strong. Shout It Out Loud seemed prepared to inject the rock-and-roll KISS spirit right into the slot game. As I played longer, that initial excitement quelled a little bit. However, overall, the game held up well.

Here’s how my time with the game went.

Visuals and Presentation: 4 out of 5

A few things stood out to me right away when I started playing KISS Shout It Out Loud.

• The dual reel sets make for an imposing and exciting gameplay area.
• The symbols pay great homage to the band’s vibe.
• The “Win” box is designed to look like an amp—a nice touch!
• The bet, payline, and spin button area feels plain compared to the rest of the game’s design.

Despite the game’s age (it was released in 2013), most of the visuals hold up. The symbols—especially the high-value ones like Gene Simmons’ famously long tongue—stand out when they land on the reels, drawing the eye to potential winning combinations.

The animations work in the game’s favor, too. The reels lock into place by sliding about half a symbol beyond the reels, then spring back up into their final position. It’s a solid touch that adds some anticipatory dynamism to the gameplay.

That said, minor elements of the game graphics show the slot’s age. The background is dark, making it hard to see specific aspects of the game, particularly on a mobile device. Playing on a full screen on a desktop was by far the most visually cohesive and striking way to enjoy KISS Shout it Out Loud.

Finally, I wish the buttons for changing the number of paylines or my wager were bigger and better defined. They’re blue and orange, and neither color feels very KISS. It would’ve been cooler if they were shaped like guitar picks or had interesting imagery reminiscent of KISS.

The Role of Sound: 3.5 out of 5

Any slot game based on a band has a high bar for sound design. KISS Shout It Out Loud exceeds expectations in some areas and falters in others.

First, I listened for background music, hoping for an iconic KISS track. And I kept listening…and kept listening…only to be met with complete silence. To me, it feels blasphemous to offer a KISS game and play nothing in the background, even if it’s just a few repeating riffs from their hits.

Sound does kick in as soon as you spin the reels. A small section of one of the three featured KISS songs plays during each spin. Unfortunately, it then abruptly stops with the reels. I understand the impulse—the music should reflect the gameplay, and stopping the music when the reels stop seems like a nice fit. Here, though, it makes the game feel stunted and piecemeal. An ongoing background track would go a long way toward making the game feel like a true KISS experience.

The natural flipside of this complaint is that the sounds didn’t grate on me. Often, when I play a slot game for multiple hours, I get sick of the sound to the point where I mute the game. I had no such problems with KISS Shout It Out Loud. If your preference is for limited and intentional use of sound, this game might be a good fit for you.

One other sound element I enjoyed is that when wilds take over a whole reel, the game unleashes an explosion graphic with an accompanying sound. Similar touches appear throughout the game and add to the immersive sound design whenever sounds do play.

Gameplay Journey: 5 Out of 5

KISS Shout It Loud Loud is easy to navigate. The game leans on tried-and-true iconography and images to make things smooth and simple.

I particularly liked how the game uses graphics to highlight in-game events. For example, on any win, the paylines would be spotlighted with a colored line showing exactly which line was a winner. This is especially helpful for a game with Colossal Reels, which has many possible paylines. Additionally, the expanding wild explodes in a burst of flame from a band member’s mouth to unleash a full wild reel. The game was great at showing me when something important was happening.

Other noteworthy features and functions include the following:

• Transferring wilds: wild reels on one reel set will duplicate on the other set in the same position, allowing for bigger potential wins.
• High-value symbols: it’s easy to tell which symbols pay the highest wins. They’re the biggest symbols, and they depict members of KISS. The WILD symbols also pay highly.
• Autoplay: I used autoplay for a handful of my spins; it was a nice way to enjoy many games in sequence without pressing spin individually each time.

KISS Shout It Out Loud is simple in its gameplay journey. In other words, it doesn’t muddle the experience with unnecessary bells and whistles. During my 2+ hours with the game, I didn’t encounter any major snags or issues, which made it all the more enjoyable.

Bonus Features Through My Eyes: 3 Out of 5

This section will be fairly short for two reasons. First, there’s only one major bonus in KISS Shout It Out Loud. Second, I only triggered it one time during my play sessions.

The Feature symbol is the KISS logo in front of flames. It appears only on reels 1, 3, and 5 on both reel sets. Landing three or more scattered Feature symbols will start the free spins bonus. More scattered symbols will yield more free spins:

• 3 Feature symbols: 8 free spins and 2x bet
• 4 Feature symbols: 12 free spins and 5x bet
• 5 Feature symbols: 20 free spins and 20x bet

The free spins feature uses an alternate reel set. When I triggered the bonus, an explosion took over the screen, revealing the new reel set with a revamped KISS logo. It was all soundtracked by Rock and Roll All Nite, finally bringing the high-octane sound design I wanted from the base game.

Even though the bonus round filled some gaps left by the base game, it was still a tad underwhelming. The feature didn’t amount to much beyond having slightly different graphics and playing music the entire time. For a theme with such deep lore and such a massive discography, I hoped KISS Shout It Out Loud would bring more to the table in the form of more fan service or additional bonuses.

Balancing Risk and Reward: 3.5 Out of 5

KISS Shout It Out Loud has an RTP of 95.94%. My experience mostly aligned with that, at least anecdotally. I saw reasonably frequent wins that would’ve made me keep playing if I was using real money.

The volatility, however, feels mislabeled as “Medium.” I played more than 200 spins on the game, and I only hit the bonus feature once. Volatility is far from a guarantee, of course, but it still felt like a bonus hunt in a high-volatility game.

The Good and Bad of KISS Shout It Out Loud

Final Thoughts on KISS Shout It Out Loud

The KISS Shout It Out Loud slot is solid but not spectacularly. While it has a few positives—Colossal Reels and some cool imagery—it doesn’t live up to the band’s over-the-top reputation. I’ve played other slot games themed around bands that go the extra mile to include custom features that feel true to the band’s ethos, and this game simply doesn’t do that.

If you enjoy Colossal Reels slots and free spins bonuses, then KISS Shout It Out Loud might strike your fancy. However, there are plenty of other Light & Wonder slots that offer both things with a more thoughtful implementation of features and functions.

Me, personally? I wouldn’t play KISS Shout It Out Loud if I saw it at an online casino or even in person, considering there are hundreds of other slots that accomplish a lot more.

Final Score: 3.8