Knockoin

Knockoin Slot

Knockoin is one of those rare slots where the inspiration becomes obvious within seconds, yet the result still feels surprisingly fresh. Croco Gaming has borrowed heavily from old-school platform games, building the action around moving mystery boxes, pipes, mushrooms and a character called Rio who interacts with objects positioned above the reels. Instead of merely dressing a conventional slot in retro gaming graphics, many of those platform elements actually influence the mechanics, giving Knockoin a personality that most themed releases never manage to achieve.

The core game runs on 5 reels with 20 paylines, offering medium volatility, an RTP of 96.27% and a substantial 15,000x max potential. Bets range between €0.20 and €100, but the numbers aren't really what makes the game interesting. Most of the attention goes towards the row of Boxes travelling above the reels and what happens when Rio Wilds interact with them.

Simple Boxes can contain Gold Coins worth up to 10x, access to the Wheel of Fortune or occasionally nothing at all. Mystery Boxes offer stronger possibilities, including larger Coin prizes, Power-Up Mushrooms and Golden Pipes. The Wheel of Fortune introduces another layer, moving through twelve possible prizes ranging from small multipliers to a sizeable 1,000x reward before stopping when it reaches a disabled section. There's also Spray Maw, which can unexpectedly throw between two and five Egg Wilds onto the reels. These smaller features mean Knockoin rarely feels dependent on one particular symbol or bonus trigger, which helps the base game avoid the waiting-room feeling common in many modern slots.

Three or more Pipe Scatters launch the 8-Bit Castle Bonus with between 10 and 15 free spins. Boxes stop moving during this feature and remain positioned above their respective reels, allowing them to be activated repeatedly. Mystery Boxes are permanently located above reels 2 and 4, while the remaining Boxes always reveal something useful. Power-Up Mushrooms also become Golden Mushrooms, triggering respins that continue until a winning combination finally appears.

Finding a Golden Pipe opens the Secret Level, which abandons conventional free spins for a three-spin Hold & Win-style feature. Every Box now contains a Gold Coin worth between 2x and 200x, and Boxes can be activated several times during the same round. Any successful activation keeps the feature alive, while three consecutive unsuccessful spins bring it to an end.

Croco Gaming even adds a crash mechanic after the Secret Level. Players can choose whether to risk their collected payout in an optional mini-game where the multiplier continues climbing towards a theoretical x960 ceiling until either the player cashes out or the game crashes. It's a fairly small addition, but combining platform-game ideas, slot mechanics, Hold & Win and crash gameplay in the same package isn't something you encounter every day.

FeatureSpins provide quicker routes into the action, ranging from guaranteed Rio Wild spins to direct entry into 8-Bit Castle or the Secret Level. Whether those options are available will depend on the market, and the game itself also appears to have more limited casino distribution than many larger releases.

Like Super Waldo, Knockoin certainly makes an impression, although not necessarily for all the right reasons. The platform-game inspiration is so blatant that some might reasonably call it a shameless ripoff, while the slot interface itself also feels confusingly similar to Hacksaw Gaming. Setting all that aside, though, there is a genuinely entertaining game underneath.

Croco Gaming has worked the Boxes, Pipes and Power-Ups into the actual gameplay rather than simply using them as decoration, and the excellent production quality helps bring everything together. The Secret Level ultimately boils down to another Hold & Win feature, but there is enough going on around it to keep things interesting, while the 15,000x max win adds some decent potential. Knockoin may borrow a little too heavily from elsewhere, but judged purely as a slot, it's still one of Croco Gaming's more enjoyable releases.