Hula Balua Slot Review 2024

Hula Balua from ELK Studios brings us to a tropical paradise in their latest slot to take inspiration from the tropicool series.

Hula Balua shares strong similarities to that of ELK Studios’ Tropicool series, right down to Elmo the Sloth, a familiar face that popped his head in Tropicool 2 before this. Clearly, Elmo got a little fed up with the icy conditions and fancied a much warmer atmosphere.

Not only does Hula Balua have strong similarities to Tropicool 2, but it also brings back fond childhood memories of playing Crash Bandicoot.

Hula Balua is a colourful slot with many exciting features to contend with. Here you can play with Big Multiplier symbols, Sticky Redrops, Elmo Wild Drops, and 2 juicy Free Spins rounds.

Will Hula Balua become our new favourite destination? Let’s play on and find out!

Hula Balua Base Game and Features

Hula Balua is a  6×6 Video Slot with a Scatter Pays mechanic. Winning combinations are formed when 8 or more of the same symbols land anywhere across the grid, regardless of their position.

The minimum bet available here is £.€0.20 per spin and the maximum bet available is £.€100 per spin, with plenty of other options in between the two. Hula Balua has a theoretical RTP of 94.00% and a max win cap of 25,000x.

In terms of symbols, the highest-paying regular symbol here is the Carambola Fruit, followed by the Passionfruit, Pineapple, and Kiwi. Low-paying symbols fall to Pink, Yellow, and Green Peppers. Wilds substitute for all High and Low-paying symbols.

Each time a win forms, all winning symbols will be removed from the grid, and new symbols will drop down from above via a Cascade, filling all empty grid positions.

Big Multiplier Symbols

Identical symbols that form either a Square or Rectangle on the grid will merge together to create one big version of that particular symbol. Once this happens, a Multiplier will be applied to this symbol that is equal to the number of small symbols the new big symbol covers.

If a big symbol contributes towards a winning combination, its Multiplier value will be added to a Global Win Multiplier which is then applied to all wins for that particular spin.

Furthermore, big symbols can also merge into even bigger symbols if the same smaller symbols land adjacent to form a bigger Square or Rectangle. This new bigger symbol will award an additional Multiplier to the Global Win Multiplier.

Sticky Redrops Feature

During the base game, the Sticky Redrops feature can randomly trigger. Once active, 1 High or Low-paying symbol is selected to become Sticky. All instances of the selected symbol in view will automatically become sticky.

Landing 1 or more instances of the selected symbol or Wilds during a Redrop will award +1 additional Redrop. Landing a new sticky redrop symbol will automatically Upgrade the currently selected symbol to the next Highest-paying symbol.

This will continue for every new sticky redrop symbol until the Highest-paying symbol is selected during the Sticky Redrops feature. Sticky Redrop symbols can appear in 1×1, 2×2, and 3×3 in size.

Elmo Wild Drops Feature

Elmo can trigger the Elmo Wild Drops feature. Once active, Elmo will walk 1 column to the left and places a random number of Wild symbols on the grid with each Redrop.

Wild symbols will remain until Elmo has left the leftmost column, or if they contribute towards a win. Elmo will remain active for the final Redrop.

Hula Balua Free Spins

Landing 3, 4, 5, or 6 Scatter symbols across the grid during the base game triggers the Free Spins (or Free Drops) round, awarding 6, 8, 10, and 12 Free Spins respectively.

2 Scatter symbols that are Vertically connected on top of each other will upgrade all other Scatters into Super Bonus Scatters. The Super Free Spins round awards Big symbols with each Free Spin.

The Free Spins round will begin with a new set of symbols on the grid. During Free Spins, the Global Win Multiplier will remain throughout the entire Free Spins round.

Landing 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 Scatters will award an additional +4, +6, +8, +10, and +12 Free Spins respectively.

Hula Balua X-iter

Those outside the UK will benefit from a Bonus Buy option. ELK Studios has granted players access to their X-iter feature which lets you play with the following.

• Bonus Hunt – Purchase a game round with an increased chance of triggering a Free Spins round for a total cost of 3x your bet.
• Big Symbol – Purchase a game round with a guaranteed big symbol for a total cost of 10x your bet.
• Sticky Redrops – Purchase a game round with Sticky Redrops active for a total cost of 25x your bet.
• Free Spins – Enter the Free Spins round for a total cost of 100x your bet.
• Super Free Spins – Enter the Super Free Spins round for a total cost of 500x your bet.

Hula Balua: Our Verdict

Hula Balua offers an entertaining and immersive experience with its vibrant Hawaiian theme and engaging gameplay. The Hawaiian theme isn’t exactly new, so it’s easy to feel as if you’re playing something that you’ve seen before, but innovative ELK features make it feel rather new and exciting.

Hula Balua proudly offers a range of features, and each of them makes the game feel rather capable. Sticky Redrops, Elmo Wild and Big Multiplier Symbols work well together to make it a well-rounded and exciting experience, and statistics back it up as a game you may not want to miss. 25,000x stands as the maximum win cap, which makes it a game that far exceeds a lot of the competition.

Overall, Hula Balua doesn’t feel imaginative at first, but when you get to know it better the appeal is significant.