Maybe I’ve been feeling a little depressed lately, i’m not sure, but I’ve been loving playing a couple of pretty demonic dark themed slots.
It’s not a theme I usually go for but after watching another slots player recommend them I gave them a go myself and I have to say I enjoyed trying something a bit different, even though I was only playing in demo mode.
Yggdrasil and NextGen are the providers behind the two games that I am talking about, ‘Hades Gigablox’ and ‘The Demon Code’; both are yet to be released but to give you plenty of time to prepare for them here is what I thought.
Hades Gigablox: Yggdrasil
“Welcome to the Underworld”
This is what you are greeted with when the game first loads, along with a cinematic score playing underneath (one of the best I’ve ever heard on a slot) and Hades himself chipping in every now and again with witty little comments.
Honestly, the design team couldn’t have done a better job in terms of atmosphere, appearance, and the overall theme.
But what about gameplay I hear you ask?
Well, this is the second game released using the developer’s Gigablox engine, and it is a 6 x 6 grid with 50 pay lines offering a max win of 11,128x. Hitting the bonus features is tricky but the slot is medium volatility with an RTP of 96.0%, so your money will usually last a fairly long time providing you are staking sensible amounts for your bankroll.
You won’t mind waiting for the features to hit either, the base game is so much fun. When they do though, the action really hots up.
Hades Gigablox Features
The Gigablox engine is similar to giant or colossal symbols, and they can land as 2x2s all the way up to one massive 6×6 symbol. You can get Gigablox scatters too.
The first real feature though is the Wild Hunt which triggers at random, and results in the God of the underworld himself getting into ‘fights’ with all high paying symbols. If he wins, those symbols turn wild for that turn, which on its own can create some pretty big wins, but during the freespins round you can really make bank.
Free spins are awarded for landing 5 or more scatters anywhere on the reels, so it’s not easy, but they do come with a progressive multiplier with a cap of 10x so you can understand why.
This is linked to the fights we mentioned earlier. During freespins, Hades will fight all high paying symbols on each spin, and by hitting certain milestones you can be in for some big wins:
| Symbols Beaten | Multiplier | Extra Freespins |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | x2 | 2 |
| 15 | x3 | 2 |
| 20 | x5 | 2 |
| 25 | x10 | 2 |
To be clear, the meter of symbols beaten resets after each multiplier is added, so once you turn 10 symbols wild you then need to turn another 15 wild to hit the next level.
The Demon Code – NextGen
This next game might be similar in theme what with the demons and everything, but it’s actually a much more light hearted take on the genre and feels a bit cheeky more than anything else.
It’s a very different game too, although like Hades it does play out on a 6×6 grid. This one operates using cascading reels and cluster pays, so you can win more than once on the same spin, and each win increases your win multiplier. Yep, that’s a win multiplier in the base game.
Here’s a few key stats:
- Max Win – 12,500x
- Volatility – High
- RTP – 96.2%
There’s an awful lot going on in this game and it took me a good 20 or 30 spins to figure out what was happening and understand all of the features (it took me much longer to hit them all), so read below to be more ready for it than I was.
The Demon Code Features
One nice little base game feature is the Enter the Void addition. This is when no win occurs from cascading reels but a wild is left on the grid. The wild will disappear taking all symbols above, below, and on either side with it, creating a further cascade.
Another base game feature is the Demon Summon feature, which triggers randomly during cascading wins and can see one of four different demons that flank the game grid spring into action:
- Ancient Alchemy – Mystery symbols are randomly added and will all reveal the same symbol underneath.
- Cryptic Chaos – A symbol anywhere on the grid is randomly selected to pay.
- Dark Design – Wilds are added to the reels.
- Fiery Fusion – A 3×3, 4×4, or 5×5 block of matching symbols is added to the reels.
Onto the freespins then, which are triggered by collecting 4 or more freespins during cascading reels, with every extra scatter after this adding 2 more spins.
During freespins, every 4 scatters you land will add 2 more spins again and increase the grid by one row, thus creating more chances for winning clusters. The grid stops when it reaches 12 x 6, at which point a further 10 freespins are added, and the multiplier meter never resets during this bonus round and has no upper limit.
Phew! You can hopefully see that this has the potential to just keep going, but you will definitely need a decent bankroll and sensible stakes to get you there.
Final Thoughts
Both of these games are real winners but for different reasons.
I absolutely loved the execution of Hades Gigablox and actually, the mid level variance makes it a game you can potentially keep spinning and spinning without breaking the bank.
The Demon Code is such an interesting multi-layered slot that is just as much fun during the base game as it is during free spins (minus the big wins obviously), and anyone tired of the same old slot format will find a lot to love here.
Two games with a similar theme but totally opposite in the way that they play, both with massive potential for fun and a realistic chance of winning if you manage your money correctly.
Demon Code comes out on August 31st but you will have to wait a little longer for Hades Gigablox which is due for release on 22nd October. I will definitely be throwing some money into both of them.