Stockholm showdown
Two rival Swedish iGaming powerhouses are going head-to-head with the launch of a pair of new feature-loaded titles.
Just like the studios that created them, Hacksaw Gaming’s Red Rascal and Thunderkick’s Hammerblaze slots come with wildly different identities.
Steadfastly independent studio Thunderkick uses a hammer to make its cluster-paying hitting mechanic a real standout. Its crosstown rival Hacksaw, meanwhile, introduces a devilishly twisted split personality-like mechanic that fits its horned rascal theme to a T.
Hacksaw took to LinkedIn last week to ask if Red Rascal is “a portal to hell or just the devil’s playground?” to give players a taste of the chaos to come:
While the impish demon wreaks hellish havoc on the 5×5 funhouse, the studio said in his defense that “the moon is full and he was left unsupervised.”
Mad funhouse caper
With a solid RTP of 96.34%, and 15,000x max win potential in all game modes, and 19 paylines, Red Rascal is a bold, off-the-hinges slot that features an innovative split personality mechanic. This suspense-building feature can lead to wilds or Coins, depending which way the unpredictable Pendulum atop the reels decides to point.
The Pendulum randomly starts on either Coins or wilds, then swings either left or right on each Respin. When Respins end, either of the two modes can be triggered.
If Coin Mode lands, all Rascal and Colossal Rascal symbols turn into Coins worth 0.2x to 500x the bet, with Colossal Coins additionally getting a multiplier of x2 to x100 that applies to the Coin’s value.
If Wild Mode kicks in, however, all Rascal and Colossal Rascal symbols become wild, with Colossal Wilds additionally getting a multiplier of x2 to x100.
Land three scatters and the Ready to Riot Bonus game activates giving players eight free spins. Land four scatters to trigger ten After Dark free spins, five to trigger the Hidden Epic bonus, which also gives ten respins. In the Hidden Epic stage, players can win more rounds, while on each respin at least four Rascal Symbols are guaranteed to land.
Colossal symbols are the major game changers
In wild or coin mode, Colossal symbols are the major game changers, with all sizes down to the 2x2s in the base game possessing the ability to generate multipliers of up to 100x, making them capable of completely rewriting any grid result and spinning out the potential 15,000x max win.
The highly volatile slot bet range is $0.10 to $50, with buy-in options including After Dark for 200x the stake.
Hammer time
Thunderkick’s ultra-stylish and drama-rich Hammerblaze, as seen in its promo video on YouTube, takes the Greek god of fire myth route to introduce its unique Wild hammer cluster-paying hitting mechanic.
This feature creates individual cell multipliers on the 7×7 gaming grid, with every hit setting off a chain reaction of wins in pursuit of a potential 10,000x max win, with Avalanches and multipliers increasing in value throughout free spins.
Our VegasSlotsOnline News reviewer cut straight to the chase and opted to buy the ten free spins feature for 100x the stake, winning over 192x the bet.
While our reviewer found Hammerblaze a joy to play for its in-game mechanics, soundtrack, consistent win frequency, and prize value balance, note was made of the low 94.13% RTP.
