Gearlab Genius

Gearlab Genius: Slot Overview

Time for some tinkering, players, we're heading tools in hand to virtually invent things in Bullshark Games' online slot Gearlab Genius. More specifically, to invent things of the cog, brass, copper, gear and gauge variety in what is a steampunk style release. On its grid, Gearlab Genius sets about inventing things of its own, where reels are able to 'sync, multiply, and transform' via various methods. Like an intricately designed pocket watch that a gentleman might check the time on, the various gaming elements work best when interlinking with one another, capable of producing sizeable puffs of steam when combined in the right sequence.

During the base game, Gearlab Genius is held in the sort of room a genius might hang out in and relax in after a hard day of inventing things, maybe let the brain rest a moment while poring over string theory textbooks or browsing Heidegger's Being and Time. It's a rich genius's room by the looks, closer to Tony Stark's personal library than a mad scientist labouring away in a cold, drafty castle basement. The red-haired heroine of the game must be doing pretty well off of her inventions. The accompanying music fits the theme like a charm, and the overall impression is of an ambitious, steampunk world where making dreams a reality is an actual possibility for those with the talent, drive and work ethic.

Gearlab Genius is a ways to win game played on a 5x4 matrix. There are 1,024 ways to win, with combinations starting from the leftmost reel and linking across adjacent reels from there. The clockwork device running the game is set to medium volatile, and has two RTP configs, with 96.28% the preferred value. When players choose a stake, the options range from $/€0.10 to $/€100 per spin.

The pay table symbols are 10-A royals, spanners, mechanical hands, time pieces, top hats, and goggles, classic icons of the genre. Hitting a 5 OAK winning combination awards 0.5x to 0.7x for the royals, or 1x to 3x for the premium symbols. Wild symbols substitute all symbols on the paytable. A winning combination of 5 wilds pays 5x the stake.

Gearlab Genius: Slot Features

Gearlab Genius is able to link several features together well, or run them on their own, such as Reel Multipliers, Synced Reels and Super Reels. These features are available in the base game and the two bonus rounds, Spark of Genius and Perfect Sync. Feature buys are also available.

Features

• Reel Multiplier - Each reel has a multiplier field above it. On each spin, the fields can have no multiplier or a possible value of x2 to x100. If a win passes through a reel with a multiplier, the win is multiplied by the value. Multipliers are added together before being applied if more than one reel with a multiplier is passed through. Multipliers reset on each new spin.
• Synced Reels - Before the reels stop spinning, a draw determines if reels will be synced. If they are, it is possible to sync 2 to 5 reels, so they all display the same symbols in the same order. Scatters do not appear on synced reels.
• Super Reel - Any reel can become a Super reel. A Super reel is a full reel of wild symbols. If a synced reel is chosen to be a Super reel, only that reel turns into wild symbols, but up to 5 Super reels can land on a single spin.

Free Spins

• Spark of Genius - Triggered when landing 3 or 4 scatters, this bonus round awards 8 or 10 free spins, respectively. Spark of Genius keeps the base game mechanics, plus at least 2 reels will be synced on every spin. For every landed scatter during the bonus, +1 free spin is granted.
• Perfect Sync - Hitting 5 scatters awards 12 free spins in the Perfect Sync bonus. It uses the same mechanics as Spark of Genius, plus at least 2 Reel Multipliers are guaranteed on every spin.

Feature Buys

Four feature buys are available in Gearlab Genius. BonusHunt FeatureSpins make each spin 5 times more likely to trigger a bonus game for 3x, or Quick Fix FeatureSpins at 50x guarantee at least 3 synced reels and 2 Reel Multipliers. Spark of Genius costs 100x to buy, or Perfect Sync may be bought for 250x the stake.

Gearlab Genius: Slot Verdict

It seems like a while since some reel syncing mechanics came along, and while the feature may have a slightly old-fashioned feel to it, hitting it big in a slot such as NetEnt's Twin Spin, then later in Twin Spin XXXtreme, Bullshark Games has put the idea to good use in Gearlab Genius. By layering synced reels with Reel Multipliers and wild-filled Super reels, Gearlab Genius manages to modernise the mechanic to an extent, producing surprisingly sharp moments of potential without overcomplicating the main gameplay.

Multipliers are a staple of the Hacksaw Gaming family of studios, and in Gearlab Genius, Reel Multipliers are one of its most exciting layers, capable of utterly transforming how winning symbols on the grid payout. Randomising them keeps players second-guessing, since there is no telling which reel they may or may not appear on, and they may be instrumental in producing a positive final outcome. The bonus rounds logically build on the base game, not bringing in anything new but enhancing the already available features, potentially improving the consistency by guaranteeing some syncing action, and ensuring multipliers are in play in the higher bonus.

When the gears are a-cranking, Gearlab Genius can chug out wins up to a 10,000x the bet win cap, and on the whole, it was quite a tightly produced show. It has a nice look; the studio has brought the essence of steampunk to life nicely, where both audio and visual elements produce a pleasing effect on the senses. And while synced reels might have initially felt like a throwback to an earlier era, Bullshark Games has ratcheted up the tension through multiplying, wild transformations, and the sheer number of ways to win tightly enough to keep players on their toes for that anything might (or might not) happen spin.