Eye of the Panda Slot Review
Grab a bite to eat from Panda’s kitchen…if you dare in Hacksaw Gaming’s latest release, Eye of the Panda!
If Hacksaw has taught us anything, it’s that their cast and crew of miscellaneous creatures stand out as the most fierce, yet slightly twisted, crew around. The panda in this release looks like the burliest bouncer you’ve ever seen…and he sounds it too.
He won’t hesitate to throw you out for even the smallest blunder, and he’ll give you ‘the eye’ if you even look at him the wrong way. Panda’s restaurant is the most premium, 5-star establishment in town, and you’ll agree lest you end up on the streets, covered in a mix of blood and bubble tea.
What’s funny about this situation is that pandas are usually peaceful and docile animals, and sometimes, even stupid. Take Push Gaming’s Big Bamboo as an example of how mellow these guys can really be.
Eye of the Panda has a fixed RTP of 96.26% and a mid-high volatility score, in addition to a sizable max win potential of 10,000x your bet. We’re eager to sample the offerings of Hacksaw Gaming’s Eye of the Panda, but will it ‘bear’ all? Let’s find out…
Base Game & Features
Eye of the Panda is a 5-reel Video Slot with 27 fixed pay lines. Winning combinations occur when 3 or more matching symbols land from left to right, starting from the leftmost reel.
The highest-paying symbol falls to the Burger, followed by the fries, doughnut, milkshake, ice cream, and A, K, Q, J, & 10 card suits. Each winning sequence will produce a fixed payout between 0.1x and 10x your bet, where applicable.
Additionally, Wild Panda symbols appear on all grid positions, substituting for all symbols when completing a winning combination. Each time a winning combination occurs, the winning symbols and matching instances are removed from the reels. This is done through an Avalanche Feature.
Wild Panda Multipliers
During gameplay, Wild Panda symbols with a random Multiplier of x2, x3, x4, x5, or x10 can drop down on the reels. Wild Pandas substitute for all High and Low-paying symbols from the paytable, applying their Multiplier value to all wins that they are part of.
If more than 1 Wild Panda is part of the same winning combination, both their Multiplier values will be added together and applied to the win. Once a Wild Panda is used as part of a win, it will be removed with all winning symbols on the next Avalanche event.
Eye of the Panda Free Spins
The Never Say No to Panda Free Spins mode is available to trigger by landing 3 FS Scatters in the base game, awarding 10 Free Spins.
During this round, when a Wild Panda is not part of a winning combination, it will be stored in 1 of 5 Panda Collector Spaces outside the reel set. If there are no empty spaces, when a Wild Panda lands on a non-winning spin, it will not be stored.
When a win is formed with at least one winning pay line, Wild Pandas in the Panda Collector will jump onto the reels in a randomly chosen position in a winning combination, applying their Multiplier values to any wins they are part of.
As Panda symbols are Wild, they can create new wins once they have jumped from the Panda Collector. These wins will also be multiplied by the Wild Panda Multiplier.
On the last Free Spin, all stored Wild Pandas that were not part of a win will jump onto the reels in randomly chosen losing positions. If they form winning combinations, those wins will be multiplied by the Wild Panda Multipliers, triggering an Avalanche event.
Jumping Panda
Landing 4 FS Scatters in the base game triggers the Jumping Panda Free Spins mode, awarding 10 Free Spins.
This round plays in the same manner as the base game, only the first 5 Wild Panda Multipliers that land will become Sticky, remaining on the reels until the end of the Free Spins round.
Sticky Panda Wilds will jump to a new random position with each Free Spin and Avalanche event, receiving a new Multiplier each time they jump to a new position. Wild Panda Multipliers will only activate when they are part of a winning combination.
Featurespins & Bonus Buy
Players may purchase one of the following Featurespins & Bonus Buy options:
- Bonushunt Featurespins: Each spin is 5 times more likely to trigger a Free Spins mode for 3x your bet. (RTP 96.34%)
- Panda-licious Featurespins: Each spin is guaranteed to land at least 5 Wild Panda symbols for 50x your bet. (RTP 96.28%)
- Never Say No to a Panda: Direct access to this Free Spins mode for 100x your bet. (RTP 96.27%)
- Jumping Panda: Guaranteed access to this Free Spins mode for 200x your bet. (RTP 96.33%)
Each of the above Feature Buys includes a volatility score of ‘high‘, except Jumping Pandas, which reveals a ‘very high‘ volatility rating.
The maximum win for this game is 10,000x your bet. If a single mode reaches this, the current session ends, and the player returns to the base game with the qualifying amount.
Our Honest Verdict
After trying our luck in Eye of the Panda, we’ve established one thing…we definitely don’t want to get on this Panda’s bad side. Hacksaw Gaming has allowed its imagination to run wild, resulting in a grumpy Panda chef and a menu of innovative features and mechanics.
Each base game spin will have you on the edge of your seat as you eagerly await the appearance of Wild Panda Multipliers. From our perspective, the individual Multipliers are not quite as grand as Beast Below or Le Bandit, but they’re also not shy about presenting themselves on the reels.
Another interesting development, and a Hacksaw Gaming special, is the introduction of multiple Free Spins modes. The ‘Never Say No to a Panda’ and ‘Jumping Panda’ modes focus on the distribution of Wild Panda Multipliers, only in a unique setting. With Jumping Panda Free Spins mode being the more expensive of the two, it’s a clear indication of which has the higher potential.
As intimidating as Chef Panda may be, he is still willing to cook up a sizable max win potential of 10,000x your bet. This particular figure seems to be a ‘go-to’ for Hacksaw Gaming, but it’s one we won’t turn our noses up at if we’re lucky enough to get anywhere near it.
All in all, Eye of the Panda is a solid and stand-out offering from Hacksaw Gaming that will have you eagerly anticipating the next Wild Panda Multiplier drop.
*The images found in this slot review are currently from Demo Play. On average, our reviews are written prior to the initial release date and before real play is available.
