When a new studio enters such an oversaturated market, it can be hard for them to make their mark, but this is something that has proven simple for the team at Print Studios. Alright, so they aren't exactly ‘new', but at less than 3 years old they are comparatively new against the other studios in the sector. This team now have 7 releases under their belt, including some of our favourites like Out of the Ice (which we've had a maximum win on), Huntress Wild Vengeance, Reapers, and Pine of Plinko, the latest release from this team. Now we're heading back in time for release number 8 – way back, to medieval times – in Holy Hand Grenade. With a fixed RTP of 96.45% (96.82% feature buy), this highly (4.5/5) volatile release can produce wins up to 20,000x bet.
We're outside in Holy Hand Grenade, with an old fashioned building made of cobblestones encasing the reels. It's a pretty simple image, with overcast skies, deep green grass, a wooden fence separating us from a dense forest, and a small fire letting off dark smoke. Symbols on the reels take on the same medieval effects, with religious items in view. Music and sound effects tie it all together – quite nostalgic for fans of Crash Bandicoot: Warped, particularly with the goats in view. All in all, it's pretty striking, but in a unique way.
Holy Hand Grenade Base Features
Taking place across 5 reels, wins are formed on Holy Hand Grenade by matching at least 3 symbols on adjacent reels, beginning with the leftmost reel, across 1 of 26 fixed win lines. Symbols available begin with non premiums, with diamonds, spades, hearts, and clubs, awarding wins between 0.20 and 0.40x bet for 3 of a kind matches, increasing to values between 2 and 4x bet for 5 of a kind wins. In the mid range we have bags and candles, both of which award wins of 0.70x bet for 3 of a kind matches, increasing to values between 8 and 10x bet for 5 of a kind wins. At the premium end, women, men, and bishops make up the symbol selection. Land 3 of a kind of any of these symbols to see wins between 1 and 2 x bet, increasing to values between 15 and 50x bet for 5 of a kind.
There are a few things to cover in the base game of Holy Hand Grenade, beginning with Scatter Boost. By betting an additional 50%, there will be more Scatters on the reels. RTP increases slightly, from 96.45% to 96.64%, when using Scatter Boost.
SuperSpinners are next – something you'll recognise from Huntress Wild Vengeance. There are 14 SuperSpinner positions on the reels – three between reels 1-2 and 3-4, and four between reels 2-3 and 5-6. On each spin, one or more SuperSpinners will activate, and take on a random value of 2 or more. Any winning combination wherein the win line directly passes through a SuperSpinner will then have this value applied to the winning combination as a multiplier. If a winning combination crosses through more than one SuperSpinner, multipliers are applied consecutively. SuperSpinners with no value are considered to be x1.
Next is the Holy Hand Grenade Feature. Holy Hand Grenade symbols can land anywhere on the reels, and when they do they will explode after winning combinations. During their explosion, they will transform a certain number of their surrounding symbols into the same symbol – this can be any of the regular paying symbols.
Any of the positions which have been transformed will be re-evaluated for winning combinations after the explosion has happened.
Holy Hand Grenade Bonus
Land 3, 4, or 5 Scatters to trigger 7, 9, or 11 Free Spins respectively. During Free Spins, there is an additional row and reel added to the screen, making the new game play area 6×5 in size. Additionally, there are now 52 fixed win lines available.
Things pretty much continue the same way as normal during Free Spins, with Holy Hand Grenade symbols capable of landing. If you skipped the base game section, here's how Holy Hand Grenade symbols work – they will explode after winning combinations. During this explosion, they transform a certain number of their surrounding symbols into the same, regular paying symbol. Transformed positions will be re-evaluated for winning combinations after the explosion.
Where things change slightly during Free Spins is that when Holy Hand Grenade symbols land, they will firstly award an additional +2 spins. They will also leave behind a frame in their symbol position after they disappear from the reels. This frame will stick in position for the duration of Free Spins.
When a Holy Hand Grenade Feature transforms a symbol in a position with one of these frames, a second Holy Hand Grenade Feature is triggered from the framed position. This can happen multiple times within one feature. Only after all Holy Hand Grenade Features have been triggered will symbols be transformed.
If a Holy Hand Grenade symbol lands within a frame, it will trigger ‘Mega Holy' – which is a larger explosion.
Players in appropriate regions can skip straight to the bonus round thanks to the Bonus Buy, wherein for a cost of 95x bet, Free Spins are guaranteed. When using Bonus Buy it is possible to land 3, 4, or 5 Scatters for 7, 9, or 11 Free Spins respectively. RTP increases slightly from 96.45% to 96.82% when using Bonus Buy.
The maximum win available in Holy Hand Grenade is 20,000x bet. If the sum of a single game round exceeds this, the game round will end and 20,000x bet will be awarded.
First Impression
There's nothing complex about Holy Hand Grenade – the entire release relies on the Holy Hand Grenade Feature. That's not to say there's anything wrong with this – if you have a feature that's good enough, sometimes it's all you need. Certainly in the base game a combination of this feature, SuperSpinners, and Scatter Boost provide enough entertainment to make things worthwhile.
When Free Spins begin things kick up a notch, with Holy Hand Grenade symbols leaving behind a frame after being used. Build enough of these frames up, and one Holy Hand Grenade Feature can go on to trigger multiple other features – although we didn't see it, it seems to build in the general direction that full screen transformations are possible. Combine this with SuperSpinner multipliers, and the fact that multiple multipliers will multiply consecutively, and you see how wins up to 20,000x bet are possible.
Finally, RTP is fixed at 96.45% (96.82% feature buy) and maths is rated highly (4.5/5) volatile, although in our testing experience things were pretty cutthroat. If you're a fan of this unique studio, Holy Hand Grenade only builds on the reputation they've created for themselves, and offers explosive wins in the process.
*The screenshots taken of games reviewed on this site are taken from Demo Play, as reviews are often written before games are released for real play.
