Twisted Lab RotoGrid

It can certainly be said that when it comes to creating slot games, science plays a huge role…the mechanics, the mathematics and, in many cases, the absolute crazy concoctions of lunacy as providers experiment with weird and wonderful features in order to create the next big hit!  One of those aforementioned providers, of course, would be Hacksaw Gaming and they have most definitely pushed the element of science to the literal edge with their release of Twisted Lab RotoGrid.

Let’s face it, the folk over at Hacksaw love a bit of madness in their offerings, ranging from the volatility of Junkyard Kings to the features of Slayers Inc, so why not carry the trend on and add some truly mad mechanics in there for good measure.  Oh, and let’s throw in a mad scientist just to add extra emphasis on the madness.  Twisted Lab RotoGrid is 5 reel 5 row game set, you guessed it, in a laboratory fit for Dexter himself.  Swirls and whirls of neon smoke and slime float encased within glass cylinders, surrounded by pipes and radioactive casks, leaving very little to the imagination.  Then there is the scientist, himself…very much a combination of Professor Wheato, Gandalf and the great Pere Noel; his over-sized brain encapsulated within a glass helmet as he stands across from his bionic rat sidekick, aptly named Pat.

The term “RotoGrid” would suggest that the game grid moves in some kind of rotating fashion…and it does!  A very clever and well thought out mechanic that plays an important role as the gameplay progresses (We will get to that shortly).

Fans of Hacksaw Gaming love seeing new features play out in front of their eyes, they also love the classics from games of yesterday.  Enter Twisted Lab RotoGrid, a literal wild experiment combining the new and the old, but how will this game be welcomed to Casinos upon its release on 27th June 2024?  With a maximum win potential of 15,000x bet and a generous RTP of 96.30%, I’d say it’s off to a good start, but what about gameplay, features and (spoiler alert) white-knuckle bonus round?  Let’s take a peak inside the lab and find out…

Twisted Lab RotoGrid Base Game play

Base Game and Features

Win spins are achieved by matching 3 or more symbols from left to right over the 19 paylines on offer.  Twisted Lab contains 8 regular paying symbols consisting of low paying mushroom, egg, leaf and feather symbols (I honestly have no idea of the relevance here!) and high paying brain, teeth, eyeball and tentacle symbols.

Low paying symbols are worth between 0.10x to 1x for 3 to 5 matching symbols.

High paying symbols are worth between 0.50x to 5x for 3 to 5 matching symbols.

Wild symbols in the form of 3 different potion beakers are present and substitute for any regular paying symbol.  They do possess other features we shall talk about soon and are worth 10x bet for 5 matching wilds.

RotoGrid

A RotoGrid symbol can land on any spin and, if so, will rotate the entire grid in a clockwise direction.  The symbol can be charged with 1 to 4 rotations and each charge will cause a 90 degree grid rotation.  The grid rotation can create extra wins in different positions.  Wins from the initial drop will be calculated prior to the rotation occurring.

Oozing Beakers

I mentioned the potion beakers previously and, as well as performing as wild symbols, all 3 versions have individual features.  Rotating the grid will cause the beakers currently on the grid to tip and break, spilling their contents down the entire reel from where they sit.  All positions covered by the spilled ooze become wild.

Purple beakers create standard wild positions, Blue beakers can add multipliers ranging from 2x to 100x and Pink beakers can multiply multiplier values by 2x to 10x.

Any Ooze spilling over previous Ooze will add the multipliers together over that reel.

If Blue Ooze combines with Pink Ooze, their multipliers will be added together and the resulting Green Ooze will become multiplying.

If Blue or Pink Ooze combines with Purple Ooze, the multiplier from the Blue or Pink Ooze will be applied to the combined covered area on that reel.

Land RotoGrid symbols to rotate the game grid, creating more win potential

Unleash The Ooze! Bonus Spins

Landing 3 Scatter Symbols inside the base game will trigger the Unleash The Ooze! bonus round.  10 Free Spins shall be awarded and this round plays out similar to the base game with the addition of more RotoGrid symbols and Oozing Beakers.

The Twist Of The Twisted Bonus Feature

LET THE MADNESS REALLY BEGIN!

Landing 4 Scatter Symbols inside the base game will trigger The Twist Of The Twisted bonus feature.  Beginning with 3 lives, this feature plays out in true Hold and Respin fashion with a notable difference.

All regular paying symbols disappear from the game, leaving Blue Twisters, Pink Twisters, Collect Symbols, RotoGrid Symbols and non-paying symbols.

Each Twister contains 4 multiplier values; 1 on each side with the multiplier at the top of the symbol being the “current” multiplier value.  With each grid rotation, the new value reaching the top of the symbol will be classed as the current multiplier.

Possible values for Blue Twister Multipliers – 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, 10x, 15x, 20x, 25x, 50x, 100x, 1000x

Possible values for Pink Twister Multipliers – 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, 10x, 15x, 20x, 25x, 50x, 100x, 1000x and the addition of x2, x3, x4, x5, x10

Landing a RotoGrid symbol will cause the Blue and Pink Twisters to rotate, Pink Twisters will also rotate on every new free spin.

Landing a Collector Symbol will activate a multiplier collection at the end of the current spin and all current multiplier values shall be collected and stored on the grid.  The Collector Symbol will remove all Twisters from the grid that it collects from.

The current “Total Round Multiplier” is displayed at the top of the game grid and will update as each spin plays out.

Lives will be reset back to 3 each spin a Twister or Collector symbol lands and the round will end after 3 consecutive spins of not landing any.

At the end of the feature, the current values on the active Twister symbols and collector symbols will be added or multiplied together dependent upon what is displayed.  Values will be added or multiplied from top to bottom, left to right, one reel at a time.

Tip over Beakers to Ooze down wilds and multipliers

Bonus Buy and FeatureSpins

For those applicable, it is possible to buy a range of FeatureSpins and Bonuses:

BonusHunt FeatureSpins – at the cost of 3x bet, each spin is 5 times more likely to land at least 3 scatters – RTP 96.28%

RotoGrid FeatureSpins – at the cost of 50x bet, each spin guarantees to land at least 1 Blue Beaker and 1 RotoGrid symbol.  Purple Beakers do not appear in this mode. – RTP 96.32%

Oozing RotoGrid FeatureSpins – at the cost of 75x bet each spin guarantees to land at least 2 Blue Beakers and 1 RotoGrid symbol.  Purple Beakers do not appear in this mode. – RTP 96.27%

Unleash The Ooze! – at the cost of 100x bet – RTP 96.29%

The Twist Of The Twisted! – at the cost of 200x bet – RTP 96.33%

Trigger The Twist Of The Twisted Bonus and see an exciting new level to Hold and Respin features

Pros and Cons of Twisted lab RotoGrid

• Exciting mechanics and gameplay
• 15,000x max win
• New take on Hold and Respin feature
• Difficult to land 4 scatters
• Top bonus can be difficult to follow

Similar Games to Twisted Lab RotoGrid

• Chaos Crew 2
• Beast Below
• Cursed Seas
• Outlaws Inc

First Impression

You never can be quite sure what kind of game you will be getting with a new release from Hacksaw Gaming; a zone builder such as Le Bandit, a stacker as seen with Stack ‘Em, a crazy multiplier dropper like Slayers Inc or a volatile hold and spin with gems like Chaos Crew.  One thing for sure is that you rarely feel let down.  The portfolio of gaming mechanics must be at bursting point over at Hacksaw HQ and Twisted Lab may have just pushed that over and beyond.

The RotoGrid is something of genius, cooked up only by the maddest of scientists and whilst, at times, you can ever so slightly lose your bearings, the potential that comes as a result is worth that ten-fold.  Where you really do lose your bearings is during the Twist Of The twisted bonus feature.  I don’t necessarily mean that in an overly negative way because, actually, it is that same mind-blowing confusion that forces you to nudge closer to the edge of your seat with every rotation.  One minute your pleading for another RotoGrid symbol to land, the next, after seeing those huge multipliers on top, you’re begging for none.  Those are the emotions we all love to feel and those are the emotions Hacksaw love to give us.

Visually the game is good, the graphics pop and are largely uncomplicated.  The neon colours are something we are used to seeing in Chaos Crew and Slayers and they are a popular choice.  The music and sound effects also work well when all paired together, they certainly won’t blow your mind but so much is already potentially going on that it really isn’t all that necessary.

A handsome max win potential of 15,000x bet and RTP of 96.30% only add to what Hacksaw Gaming have cooked up with Twisted Lab and, honestly, if this game is a true benchmark of where slots of tomorrow are heading, well, things really are about to get turned on their head!

*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.