Gronk’s Gems Slot Review
Meet a beefy but tame troll named Gronk, who’s here to help you on your quest to win glorious gems in Hacksaw Gaming’s fantasy-themed online slot release, Gronk’s Gems!
As 2022 draws to a close we reflect upon Hacksaw Gaming and a great year of slots. Gronk’s Gems is the penultimate slot of 2022 for a provider that never really fails to impress, with only Rotten to follow it in December 2022.
There seems to be a stark contrast between Hacksaw’s lighter side and their creative dark side. Sometimes its all rainbows and sunshine, and sometimes its all gloom and doom. Where does Gronk’s Gems sit? Is Gronk a misunderstood gentle giant or will he take great pleasure in smashing you into oblivion if you dare touch his gems?
Gronk’s Gems Base Game and Features
Gronk’s Gems is a 6×6 Video Slot with a Cluster Pays mechanic. Winning combinations are formed when 5 or more of the same symbols land adjacent to each other, either Vertically or Horizontally.
The minimum bet available here is £/€0.10 per spin and the maximum bet available is £/€100 per spin, with plenty of other options inbetween the two. Gronk’s Gems has a theoretical RTP of 96.24% and a max win cap of 7,500x.
In terms of symbols, the highest paying regular symbol here is the Orange Diamond, followed by the Yellow Star and Purple and Blue Gems. Low-paying symbols fall to Yellow, Pink, Blue and Green Rocks.
There is also an X-Gem symbol present which acts as a Wild, substituting for all High and Low-paying symbols in the paytable. The X-Gem symbol is only present in the Gem Hoarder bonus round.
Gronk’s Gems features Cascading Reels. Each time a winning combination forms, all winning symbols will be removed from the grid and new symbols will drop down from above, filling all empty positions.
Charged Symbols and Epic Gems
Each time a winning combination is formed, the remaining symbols on the grid that match the winning symbols will enter a Charged State and start to glow.
All charged symbol types will be visible in the Charge Bar above the grid. Charged symbols will remain like this until the end of the current spin.
Randomly, the Epic Gem symbol drop in during a Cascade once winning symbols are removed from the grid, activating once the grid has settled and no more wins or cascades occur.
Once active, all visible charged symbols will transform into the Highest-paying charged symbol. All charged symbols will then be absorbed by the Epic Gem and act as if they are one winning combination.
The Epic Gem will count as 4 symbols itself, creating a minimum win of 5 symbols as long as there is at least 1 charged symbol on the grid. Once all charged symbols are absorbed, the Epic Gem will explode and trigger a new Cascade. During the Gem Hoarder bonus, symbols do not have a charged state.
Gronk’s Gems Free Spins
During the base game, you will have the opportunity to land 1 of 2 exciting Bonus rounds. Up for grabs is Gronk’s Treasure and the Gem Hoarder Bonus rounds. More on these below!
Gronk’s Treasure
Landing 3 Gronk’s Head Scatters across the grid in any position triggers the Gronk’s Treasure Bonus round, awarding 10 Free Spins.
During the Free Spins round, there is a higher chance of landing Epic Gems compared to the base game.
Gem Hoarder
Landing 3 Gem Bag Scatters across the grid triggers the Gem Hoarder Bonus round, awarding 5 Free Spins. Landing 3 Gem Bag scatters during this round will refill all 5 Free Spins.
During this round, a Progressive Multiplier comes into play. Each time a winning combination forms, the Progressive Multiplier will increase by an amount equal to the total number of removed winning symbols.
Also present during this round is the X-Gem symbol, previously mentioned in the base game and features section of the review. All winning symbols connected to the X-Gem symbol will be multiplied by the current Multiplier value.
If more than 1 X-Gem symbol connects to the same winning combination, the current Multiplier value will be applied once for each connecting X-Gem symbol. Please note that the Epic Gem does not appear in this round.
Gronk’s Gems Bonus Buy
Those outside the UK will benefit from a Bonus Buy option.
Hacksaw Gaming has granted players access to 3 Bonus Buy options, as follows.
- BonusHunt Featurespins – Each spin is 5 times more likely to trigger one of the Bonus games. This option costs a total of 3x your current bet per spin. (RTP 96.38%).
- Gronk’s Treasure – Awards the Gronk’s Treasure Free Spins round for a total cost of 110x your current bet. (RTP 96.3%).
- Gem Hoarder – Awards the Gem Hoarder bonus round for a total cost of 200x your current bet. (RTP 96.34%).
Gronk’s Gems: Our Verdict
Gronk’s Gems was an interesting experience with plenty to see and much to admire. Artistically speaking its another smash hit from Hacksaw. The once humble scratch card creator has flourished into a creative team with solid art work formed from imaginative ideas, and as it stands they’re now one of the best in the industry when it comes to making something with visual appeal.
They’re not too far down the list on being one of the best for gameplay either. They’ve proved their place among the best time and time again, but is Gronk’s Gems a testament to their good work?
The Base Game and Free Spins are quite similar with the exception of an improved chance of the Epic Gem in the bonus game, so you’re not experiencing something entirely new once you get into the Gonk’s Treasure Round, but the Gem Hoarder Bonus was quite interesting.
However, higher-tier bonuses are somewhat of an enigma to players who can’t bonus buy, so the Gem Hoarder Feature might require some dedication if you’re to witness it.
The Bonus Hunt Feature Spins probably won’t be active for UK players if the past is any indication either, which is a shame, because ante bet’s do not break any rules.
When it comes to potential, Gonk’s Gems is very capable with wins as high as 7,500x as a maximum. This isn’t quite as high as some of their other games, but its very respectable. It’s also an ideal slot to try with a welcome bonus for casinos you can trust, especially if you’re exploring Hacksaw’s catalogue for the first time.
Overall, Gronk’s Gems is another interesting, charming and fun game. It’s not quite as noteworthy as other Hacksaw titles, but it’s certainly worth a spin.
