Hounds of Hell

Hounds of Hell: Slot Overview

Hell has been described in various ways across the centuries, but what most descriptions generally have in common is that it's just not a very nice place to be. However, Hacksaw Gaming is a studio which has never been one to shy away from the darker, grimmer, grimier side of life, and it doesn't get much darker than the eternal abyss. The slot is Hounds of Hell, and it bulges with reliable Hacksaw Gaming mechanics such as spreading symbols and individual reel multiplier prizes, with a diabolical twist or two thrown in.

With a title like Hounds of Hell, there is zero ambiguity as to where the gaming takes place. Players are way, way down in the bowels of existence for this one, where everything is scary and pointy, like a less comedic version of SixSixSix. The hounds of the tale bob menacingly on either side of a gaming area that is bathed red hot for the base game and icy blue cold for the bonus rounds. According to interpretations of Dante's poem 'The Divine Comedy', the lowest ninth circle of hell is where Satan flaps his wings, freezing the lowest level with a cold wind. It's a place devoid of the warming effects of love, hope, and happiness. But there are wolves, and they are a critical part of Hounds of Hell's exciting moments.

As a scatter pays slot, winning combinations are created when 6 or more identical pay symbols land on the 5x5 grid in any position. Winning symbols disappear from the reels, and symbols drop down to replace them, an action that repeats as long as new wins appear after a drop. Down there in the ninth circle resides a medium-high volatile math model, and several RTP configurations have been designed, with 96.27% to 96.3% being the largest return value (depending on free spins gambling). Bonus buys and even a bonus round gamble are present, while the base stake range is 10 c to $/€100.

Ten to Ace card ranks are Hounds of Hell's low pay symbols, while its highs are 5 miscellaneous Eldritch icons. Six-of-a-kind scatter wins pay 0.1 to 2 times the bet, going up to 5 to 50 times the bet for having 10 or more identical pay symbols in view. The game does not make use of wild symbols.

Hounds of Hell: Slot Features

Bounding from the gates of hell are Hellhound symbols, Roaring Packs of Hell, Hounds are Loose, a bonus gamble, the What The Hell! and the Who Let The Hounds Out?!? bonus rounds, as well as bonus buys.

Hellhounds

Hellhound symbols are cash prize multipliers that spread and get collected. At the end of a spin, Hellhound symbols spread to the top of their reel, displaying a multiplier value in each position. Multipliers are collected bottom to top, left to right and are displayed above each reel. The total value above the reels is awarded to the player. Adding multiplier values add 1x to 50x the bet to the reel total; Multiplying multiplier values apply an x2 to x10 multiplier to the current total. Only one Hellhound symbol can land per reel.

Roaring Packs of Hell

If 2 or more Hellhound symbols appear on adjacent reels on the same row, they create a Roaring Pack, and their possible multiplier values are increased. Hellhound symbols that spread from a Hellhound that is part of a Roaring Pack are also counted as part of the Pack. Adding multiplier values from Roaring Packs add 5x to 100x the bet to the reel total; Multiplying multiplier values apply a multiplier of x3 to x20 to the current total. If a Hellhound has been part of a Roaring Pack, it stays part of the Pack even if it is separated on a different row due to cascades.

Hounds Are Loose

Hounds Are Loose may trigger when no new wins form after the grid has settled. It removes all low-pay royal symbols, so new symbols drop in to take their positions. This can occur more than once per spin, and there is an increased chance of landing Hellhound symbols when new symbols drop.

Bonus Gamble

When entering a bonus game, players have the choice to gamble or continue with the awarded number of free spins. Gambling involves choosing 3 Hellfire Orbs, which contain 2 to 10 free spins each or Bonus Upgrade if What the Hell! was initially triggered.

What The Hell!

Players win 10 free What The Hell! spins when landing 3 FS scatters in the main game. This bonus has the same mechanics as the main game, but all multipliers from Hellhounds are kept above the reels until the end of the round and can be increased. At the end of the round the collected total above the reels is awarded. Hounds are Loose is guaranteed to trigger after 3 consecutive non-winning spins. Hitting 2 or 3 FS symbols in the feature grants +2  or +4 extra free spins.

Who Let The Hounds Out?!?

Getting 4 FS scatters in the base game triggers this feature with 10 free spins. The base game mechanics remain, as does the improved Hounds are Loose feature from the What The Hell! bonus. In addition, when a Hellhound lands on a reel for the first time, that reel becomes an activated Hell Reel. A Hellhound symbol is guaranteed to land on each activated Hell Reel on each free spin till the end of the round. In this bonus, Hellhound multipliers are paid out at the end of each spin, and the multiplier totals above each reel are reset to 0 between free spins. Landing 2 or 3 FS symbols in the feature grants +2  or +4 extra free spins.

Bonus Buy

At the bonus buy, bonus modes may be activated. By paying 3x the bet, each spin becomes 5 times more likely to trigger a bonus game. 60x the bet buys a spin, guaranteeing at least 3 Hellhound symbols land. At 100x the bet, What The Hell! may be bought, or 250x buys Who Let The Hounds Out?!?

Hounds of Hell: Slot Verdict

Few studios have such a pronounced light and dark split personality as Hacksaw Gaming does, bouncing effortlessly from slapstick one minute, Donut Division, for instance, to cutting out all the humour to batter gamblers the next, i.e.. Rise of Ymir. No second guesses for figuring out where Hounds of Hell is on this spectrum. It sits firmly on the serious side, dropping players into about as despairing a situation as it gets before leaving them there to battle their way out. Fortunately, Hounds of Hell comes with a number of potentially powerful tools to do so, such as spreading bet multiplier symbols and a pair of bonus rounds.

Spreading is something Hacksaw Gaming has a definite soft spot for, though spreading wilds, or wild multipliers, is the more usual approach. Creating bet multipliers and storing them above the reels from spreading symbols is less common, but this sort of feature also has precedence in games like Evil Eyes or Chaos Crew 2. On the whole, the gameplay should feel familiar to Hacksaw Gaming's fanbase while uncovering a sprinkling of tweaks and minor evolutions as well. The Roaring Pack is one of these, and it's a nice way of boosting possible multiplier values while adding suspense. Seeing a pre-bonus gamble feature in a Hacksaw Gaming slot was a surprise as well. What's good about this gamble feature is it's not all or nothing. Maybe you get more free spins or a bonus round upgrade, maybe you get less free spins, but you get something either way. The luckiest players can get a whole lot from Hounds of Hell, actually, as its 20,000x win cap sits at the higher end of the max win scale for a Hacksaw Gaming slot.

It's hard to see fans of the studio's work not enjoying Hounds of Hell, really. The game overflows with classic HG gameplay, packs a big max win number, and has enough twists and turns to feel relevant. All of this makes Hounds of Hell a dark and dangerous scatter paying slot with dark and dangerous, potentially very rewarding, gameplay.