Hansel & Gretel Candyhouse Slot Review 2024

Just what is it with slot makers’ obsession with children’s fairytales? 

The industry is awash with games whose central storyline would send infant minds wandering to places often involving gruesome characters, an enduring battle of good vs. evil, and maybe a moral or two woven into the narrative. 

We get all that and more served up in Hansel & Gretel – a fairytale from the Brothers Grimm with its roots in Germany that was published way back in 1812 and recounted innumerate times in various forms.

Now, in September 2023, it’s the turn of game developer Red Tiger to revive this beloved tale of siblings abandoned in a forest only to fall into the hands of a wicked witch who, upon harboring cannibalistic intentions, sets about attempting to fatten up poor Hansel and devouring him. Playing the part of the heroic sister, Gretel stepped in to seize the day, however, scuppering the Witch’s plot and duly baking her alive before the pair made off with her prized treasure. Yikes.

A bizarre story, and one arguably suited to a more mature audience – like slot fanatics! So without further ado, let’s take a closer inspection at Red Tiger Gaming’s modern-day slot adaptation of Hansel & Gretel…

Hansel & Gretel Candyhouse Base Game and Features

A whimsical woodland sets the scene perfectly as Hansel & Gretel Candyhouse loads, home to a 5×3 gaming matrix while suspicious-looking toadstools poke out to the right and a house, presumably formed of or full of candy, sits to the left. Candy abounds, meanwhile, and a suitably mysterious audio ties everything together well.

Players are supplied 25 paylines to form wins of at least 3 identical symbols which must begin at reel number 1.

The four playing card suits are used to represent the low pays, joined by a broom, boots, the two lead characters, plus the witch as the premiums. For all her nefarious inclinations, the latter is the most giving of the lot, fetching 12x the bet for combinations of 5.

Wilds are on offer here, awarding 40x your stake when forming wins of 5 of themselves, as well as helping pull wins together by replacing all other regular symbols.

Sibling Reels

Central to the story, the two siblings are also honored with their own features. At random, there’s a chance that 2-5 Sibling Reels will all display the same symbols once the reels have stopped turning.

Hansel & Gretel Candyhouse Free Spins

Sibling Reels are also fundamental to the game’s main event. Should 3, 4, or 5 scatters land on Sibling Reels in the base game, players earn 10, 12, or 15 Free Spins, respectively.

Now, throughout the course of the feature, the reels that held the triggering scatters remain in Sibling form. Retriggers are also a possibility, where 3, 4, or 5, more scatters top you up with 10, 12, or 15 extra spins, respectively.

Hansel & Gretel Candyhouse Bonus Buy

Keen to unleash your inner child and jump straight into the bonus action? Hansel & Gretel Candyhouse comes with a Bonus Buy menu, where applicable.

Pay 4x the bet to turn reels 1, 2, and 3 into Sibling Reels; 15x the stake transforms every reel into a Sibling Reel; Free Spins can be purchased for 90x the bet and to guarantee all five Sibling Reels in Free Spins, the price tag is a meaty 500 times the stake.

Hansel & Gretel Candyhouse: Our Verdict

Nostalgia meets modernity in Hansel & Gretel Candyhouse – a game sporting Red Tiger Gaming’s signature touch with plenty of elements borrowed from the famous storybook to keep the magic of childhood alive – at least for a few spins.

The game’s luster sadly began to wane once we’d sat through a few hundred game rounds as a sense of monotony seeped in. A couple of extra features here and there or some tweaking to its centerpiece feature won’t have done the game any harm.

Synced reels, while capable of good moments, are nothing new. NetEnt was one of the first to find success with this particular mechanic via the cult-classic Twin Spin, where each spin guarantees a pair of mirrored reels – and at no extra cost.

Sure, things hot up in Free Spins where reels remain of the Sibling kind until its conclusion, but still the whole experience felt slightly underpowered. 

The slot’s max win, coming in at just shy of 7,000x the bet – shouldn’t be a deal-breaker given its medium/high volatility, but we couldn’t help but feel its creator left more out than in when getting to work on this release.

On a final note, let’s tip a cap to Hansel & Gretel Candhouse’s artists who have knocked together another tastefully designed entry, enough to evoke a certain measure of enchantment, but for a heavier-hitting slot session with a fairytale at its heart, and larger wins, there are likely to be better alternatives out there.