ABOUT
HammerFall is a branded slot from Play N’ Go, taking its name, theme, and music from the famous Swedish power metal band. Fans of the group will have a field day since many famous hits play in the background, but the gameplay and design of HammerFall is so polished that even non-fans can enjoy it.
Betting Options and Bonus Features
HammerFall is a cluster-pay slot, and as such it has a very spacious layout of a 7x7 square. Symbols include various gems, hammers and knights, among others, which pay for clusters of 5 or more. The slot has the modern approach of abolishing the bonus game for a stacking up of features in the base game. Still, the max win is set at an impressive 30,000x.
The default RTP here is 96.2%, and the volatility level is estimated at 8/10. There are 3 types of features in this slot: special tiles, random features and song features. Special tiles have blue outlines and once taken part in a winning cluster, turn into a lightning wild. These wilds can replace any other symbol and also carry a multiplier of up to 3x.
There are 4 features that appear at random during playing:
- Never Forgive, Never Forget: One symbol type is selected and all symbols of that type move to the center of the grid.
- Bring It: All high-paying symbols on the grid are highlighted. Some get destroyed while others turn into matching high-paying symbols.
- One Against The World: One symbol type is highlighted, then all adjacent symbols to them either disappear or transform into that symbol type.
- Chain of Command: A chain of symbols is selected, with some being destroyed and some turning to the same symbol.
The final category of features is called Song Features, triggered by players charging the hammer with 25 winning symbols from one single spin. Every time you get a Song Feature, the background changes as well as the background song, signaling that you’ve moved to the next feature. Charging the hammer two times in one spin gives you the Hammer High feature, which is basically all 3 song features happening consecutively.
The 3 song features are:
- Twilight Princess: A 2x2 mega wild symbol appears on the grid.
- Second To None: All high-paying symbols are transformed into the same high-paying symbol.
- And Yet I Smile: All low-paying symbols are destroyed.
Roshtein’s Take
Straight off the bat, I have to say that it’s rarely a good idea to get rid of the bonus game entirely: 2 slots can pay out roughly the same but without a bonus, players will feel like a payday is lacking. But HammerFall has so many features and quirks that can still make it a cult favorite among a certain audience.
The idea of changing the look and especially the background track when a song feature is triggered creates a refreshing, immersive experience. And all the songs being dramatic metal music is pretty cool (not my cup of tea but some people would surely devour it). Plus, the lightning wilds happen quite often and charging the hammer is also not that hard, so all in all, the gameplay is solid.
