Just when we thought NetEnt was well over the top, and simply resting on their laurels with fairly lighthearted releases once in a while, they come roaring back with a highly explosive and innovative release called Big Bang Boom. The4x4 gridis placed in a neon-lit, graffiti-infused brick wall, and it’s expanded via the Avalanche Wins mechanic (adjacent winning symbols) and 7 different bomb symbols.
You can unlock 3 top and bottom positions this way, and a maxed out grid triggers the bonus round. Getting longer Avalanche sequences is not too difficult, but the low symbol values will limit the base game payouts. The bonus round grid can be further expanded to 8×10 in size, and the bombs also double 1x cash prizes up to 2,048x, at best. It’s a hold and win style feature in other words, and removing blocker tiles can uncover both extra spins and larger cash prizes.
The symbols pay between 0.16 to 1 x your stake for 4 of a kind wins, and you win by landing matching symbols anywhere on 3+ adjacent reels starting from the uttermost left. The number of winning bet ways is calculated by multiplying the number of winning symbols per reel, so 2 winning symbols on 4 reels equals a 16 bet ways win.
TheExpanding Reels Featureexpands the base game grid vertically, and this happens when winning symbols are adjacent to blocker tiles. It also happens when different types of bombs explode next to blocker tiles, and the grid is further expanded horizontally in the bonus round. The base game grid can be expanded to 4×10, while the bonus round grid can expand from 4×10 (default) to 8×10 in size.
TheAvalanche mechanickicks in when winning symbols are removed, or when a bomb explodes, and the gaps are filled by new and/or existing symbols dropping down from above. This process repeats for as long as you keep winning, or as long as there are bomb symbols present. This means that indefinite winning streaks are possible per round.
There are7 types of bomb symbolsin Big Bang Boom Slot, and they work as follows:
You need to explode all possible blocker tiles in the base game to trigger theBig Bang Boom Bonus Round, and this is why the default grid is 4×10 when the feature triggers. You get 6 free spins, and only 1x prize symbols, vertical, horizontal, plus-pattern, diagonal, and persistent bombs or blanks will appear during the feature.
All prize symbols remain in place for the duration of the bonus round, and all prizes affected by bomb explosions are doubled in value each time. Each prize can thus be boosted up to 2,048x your stake at best, and all prizes are summed up as your total win when the feature ends. You can discover prizes with larger values than 1x, as well as bombs and extra free spins, via the Treasure Prize feature.
TheTreasure Prize Featurecan trigger whenever you uncover new positions via bomb explosions in both the base game and in the bonus round. All the bomb types available in the base game can be discovered this way, and below are the Treasure Prizes that are exclusive to the bonus round:
TheBonus Buy Featureis available in some jurisdictions, but not in the UK for sure. If eligible, you can purchase6 free spinsfor75x the stake. Alternatively, you can pay150x your staketo get6 free spins with 1 guaranteed Persistent Bombfrom the get-go. You’re taken directly into the bonus round when purchasing it, so there is no triggering round.
You get to see some grid expanding action in the base game, before we purchase the top-tier bonus round at 0:50 into the 2:41-minute highlights video. The feature plays out for the remainder of the video, and you can see for yourself how we fared by hitting the play button below.
It’s been a while since we have seen proper innovation from NetEnt, but it’s safe to say that the old champion is back with a bang with this release. Big Bang Boom looked like a Hacksaw game at first glance, but this is definitely not a copycat effort. The grid expanding mechanic is both clever and satisfying to behold, and lengthy avalanche sequences came about on a regular basis in our test session. The symbol values are low, however, so larger base game wins is not something you should expect to see all that much of.
The main aim is to max out the grid to trigger the bonus round, and this is where things can get really interesting. The bombs double all cash prize symbols they affect, and each prize is no more than 11 explosions away from the 2,048x top value. Larger cash prizes up to 64x can be uncovered as well, and these are only 5 explosions away from the top prize. The persistent bomb can really do damage if a few prizes are within its reach, but a solid game like this deserves a higher potential than4,300x your stake. It’s decent, don’t get us wrong, but 10,000x would’ve been a far better choice in our view.
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Big Bang Boom
