Office Party sounds like fun, or a disaster, depending on what company you are part of and what your position is there. Baxter & Carlson Stationaries is the one that provides today’s playground powered by Shady Lady, a “game studio shaped by paradoxes”, according to the definition given by the company itself. Office Party is also the name of the studio’s 4th slot release, but be aware, profanities and audacious humour ahead!
Shady Lady is a brand-new slot provider shrouded in mystery, founded in 2024, but making its debut in February 2025. Devil’s Finger was the name, and it quickly attracted the attention, approval, and disapproval of the iGaming community, ranking the provider among those daring to step outside the generally accepted framework. Shady Lady is a Question Mark, but in the good sense, or the bad, we’ll see!
Office Party is under the microscope today, and there is much to be examined. The quirky-looking grid consists of 5 reels and 4 rows, offering a Multiway mechanic with 1,024 ways to win. Winning symbols disappear to make way for new ones to continue the winning sequences. Various features and modifiers, like random wilds, bonus boosters and Bonus Buys, are also part of the mix.
The slot machine is packed with the usual technical tools for players to make their play more practical. Autoplay and Quickspin will surprise noone, but the GIMP Mode switch on top of the reels is an interesting addition. More in the “Office Party Features”. And while all eyes are on the Pinata, looking worryingly alive, the goodies hidden inside should be the focus!
Office Party pays for 3 or more symbols of the same kind landing on a winning way according to the paytable. Wild symbols substitute for all of the regulars and pay the same as the highest-valued of them. That would be the Manager – Sam Coke MD, who seems to be hated by the staff but is generous to the players. He will pay 0.70x, 1.50x, and 2x the bet.
Three characters follow who are probably the working staff, waiting a whole year to get drunk on the company expense and go wild. Each of the two “gentlemen” and the “lady” pays 0.50x, 1x, and 1.50x. A puddinged stapler, a fun-labeled dice, a smiley meme patched on a rock, and a “Kick Me!” note are the low-valued symbols, paying 0.10x, 0.30x, and 0.50x the bet.
High levels of volatility are reflected in the size of regular payouts, and luckily, cascades are here to level the scales. The Office Party RTP ranges and reaches 96.51%, according to the information shared by the provider. The other rates are 94.01% and 91.97%. The Hit Frequency coefficient is rather low and is between 16.95% and 17.78%.
Office Party is packed with a standard betting range starting from €0.10 and reaching either €50 or €100 per spin. The max wager depends on the online casino’s marketing strategy, so it might be worth checking that before starting a new session. The max win is juicy – 20,000x the bet, and not like some of the dubious snacks the management has supplied to the team building.
Office Party Features
Office Party looks complex and even confusing once you spin the reels, but the variety of features is balanced. There is a single bonus round and grid modifiers that activate in a rather fun way if you have a certain sense of humor. The Store is where you can purchase various boosters and bonus variants, while GIMP is only for the biggest risk-takers!
Wild Features
The slot is packed with 3 types of wild symbols that appear randomly and can increase the value of spins. Here are all of them and what they do:
- Splashin’ Wilds – appear on reels 2 and 4 and may land in long stacks. If the stack creates wins, more wild symbols are to be expected.
- Smashin’ Wilds – 1 to 4 beer bottles will be thrown at the grid. They will spill and cover the respective positions and all the others beneath them in the respective columns with wilds.
- Flashin’ Wilds – 1 to 4 “streakers” will zoom by, and each one will spread from 1 to 4 wild symbols on random grid positions.
Weapon Lockers & The Pinata
You have probably noticed the Pinata donkey hanging on the grid’s left side. Weapon Lockers may fall on the board randomly during initial spins and cascades. They will reveal different weapons that will be used on the Pinata. Each hit has a chance to remove the head of the donkey and trigger the bonus minigame. Multiple Weapon Lockers may land in a single spin.
Severance Bonus
Knock down Pinata’s head to activate the Severance Bonus, where the Manager will take the place of the donkey. The Bonus Game consists of 4 levels and at Level 1, there are 4 weapons locked in Weapon Lockers – Laptop, Trash Can, Office Chair, and Printer. Each one has an assigned multiplier, which is x1 by default.
During the bonus game, Weapon Lockers and Coin Jars will fall on frameless reels. In case a Weapon Locker drops on one or a stack of Coin Jars, it will smash them, collect all coin values, and multiply them by the respective weapon’s multiplier. A Weapon Locker hitting the bottom of the grid will upgrade the multipliers of all higher-class weapons and will deliver one hit to the Manager.
On any hit, there is a chance for the Manager to be knocked out, and there is the moment of Level Up. On each bonus upgrade, Coin Jars will collapse and all coin values will be collected in single Coin Jars on the bottom of the reels. The lowest-class Weapon will be removed and will no longer be part of the game. If a reel is completely filled with Coin Jars, no more symbols can land there. The Severance Bonus will end when the whole grid is filled out that way.
GIMP Mode
GIMP Mode is always available and can be enabled before any base game spin. It will half the chance of Severance Bonus activation, but all Weapon Multipliers will be x2 at its potential start. For example, the average bonus win in normal mode is 80.65x, while in GIMP Mode, it’s 158.69x. The bonus triggering frequency, however, is 1 in 217 spins against 1 in 435 spins on average. GIMP Mode increases the cost of bonus boosters and buys!
Bonus Boosters & Bonus Buy
The Bonus Buy menu of Office Party is one of the most generous I’ve ever seen, and Shady Lady is already making a mini revolution. Players can boost their chances of triggering the bonus or instantly activate it. The available options are divided into 3 categories, highlighted below.
BONUS: standard options usually available in online slots:
- Bonus Boost – 1.50x the bet (96.40%)
- Big Bonus Boost – 5x the bet (96.40%)
- Bonus Buy – 81x the bet (96.90%)
HIGHLIGHT REELS: slot’s engine will automatically play a batch of spins and will provide the 3 with the highest payouts:
- Top 3 of 100 Spins – 71x the bet (96.30%)
- Top 3 of 300 Spins – 163x the bet (96.40%)
- Top 3 of 500 Spins – 241x the bet (96.10%)
LOOT BOX: awards 1 of 9 Enhanced Bonus Modes, from Bronze to Silver to Gold. Enhanced Bonuses are more profitable than Regular Bonuses:
- Rare Loot Box – 186x the bet (96.40%)
- Epic Loot Box – 344x the bet (96.20%)
- Legendary Loot Box – 571x the bet (96.10%)
Theme & Graphics
Office Party is actually a chaotic riot organized in the “greyest company on Earth”. The plot is that the Manager has laid off all the workers invited to what had to be a team-building event. The twisted Party theme includes flying bottles, overflowing toilets, stripping coworkers, and a printer on fire, without even mentioning the colored Pinata.
This “awkward Friday night” will end very badly for the Manager as he is going to take the place of the poor donkey. The office appliances will become weapons, and all will be used on him. The Beavis and Butthead vibe is all over the slot and despite the irreverent humour and all the profanities, the title easily falls into the creative category.
Office Party boasts first-class graphics and tons of animations, most of which are not suitable for every stomach. The soundtrack is rhythmic in the 80s style with solid bass and familiar beats. Overall, the game is up to the highest standards and is anything but boring. The HTML5 optimization also makes it perfect for play on the go.
Pros And Cons Of Office Party Slot
Pros
- Creative designs and animations, and good audio picks
- 1,024 ways to win with cascading reels
- 3 types of random wild features
- Bonus Game with 4 levels and increasing multipliers
- GIMP Mode for a higher bonus score
- Rich Bonus Booster and Bonus Buy storage
- Win up to 20,000x the total bet
Cons
- High levels of volatility can be dangerous
- Beware of adjustable RTP rates
- The type of humour won’t suit sensitive players
Our Verdict
Office Party looks exactly like an attempt by a newborn slot studio to impress the audience. But that’s not a debut and a 4th release since February, while the provider succeeded with the ”making an impression” thing from the first try. Devil’s Finger was all about dark magic and parallel dimensions, where the battle is with the Devil himself. The game smashed all the expectations with creative features, 4,096 to 10,000 ways to win, and a massive 20,000x max win.
And here is the first similarity between all slots released so far by Shady Lady. Oh, yes, before Office Party, the provider launched Brainwashed – a Cult mashup, and Oops – a mad science novel. These for all have win caps of 20,000x and come with a variety of odd designs, animations, and special features.
Not long ago, I was 100% convinced that the iGaming community would never see a developing style comparable to Nolimit City. And here we are with a brand-new studio with amazing potential and bold ideas that have started to come out one at a time, and by time, I mean month. Nolimit City even has a similarly-themed title – Nine To Five, although it’s closer to being sinister than profane and chaotic as Office Party. But no matter your preferences, this new Shady Lady craft is a must to all who claim to be slot aficionados!
