Heist Guys Demo
Heist Guys Slot Review
Behind the wheel of a slick convertible, 3 brute thugs prepare for the ultimate heist. The plan is risky and involves bypassing alarms, dodging guards, and avoiding the lockdown.
Heist Guys from ELK Studios is an action-packed, 6×6, Cluster Pays slot that introduces Jumping Wilds, Multipliers, Symbol Upgrades, and much more. Strap in for an explosive performance, where up to 10,000x your bet can be won.
Planning heists is not something we do in the real world, but anything seems to go in the iGaming industry. Midnight Marauder & High Street Heist are two instalments that require nerves of steel, while Hot Dog Heist is softer, light-hearted, and not to be taken too seriously.
With a fixed RTP of 94% and a Medium (6/10) volatility rating under its belt, can we cash in on the 10,000x max win cap? Let’s play on and find out!
Base Game & Features
Heist Guys is a 6-reel, 6-row Video Slot which switches traditional pay lines/ways to win in favour of the Cluster Pays mechanic.
Wins occur when 5-25 matching symbols land horizontally or vertically adjacent on the grid. The 7 high and low-paying symbols are represented by gold bars, 3 characters, dynamite, buttons, and zappers.
Depending on the winning symbol, fixed payouts between 0.1x and 250x your bet are applied. Furthermore, Super Wilds substitute for all paytable symbols and are repositioned in a new location before each avalanche event.
Another feature associated with Super Wilds is Multiplier values. For each win the super wild is a part of, the current Multiplier value will increase by +x1.
When a Super Wild is part of a low-paying cluster win, it will remove all non-winning instances of that particular symbol from the grid after wins are paid.
After each win evaluation, all winning symbols are removed and replaced with new symbols via an Avalanche Feature. This creates more opportunities for additional wins to occur in the same spin.
Kicker Symbol
During gameplay, whenever a high-paying (character) symbol combines with a Super Wild, it will upgrade and transform into the most valuable Kicker symbol. This remains in effect until the end of the game round.
If the third Heist character is upgraded, it will trigger a Super Drop where all non-winning symbols, except Super Wilds, Scatters, and Kicker symbols, are removed from the grid. Please note that Kicker symbols do not result from an Avalanche event.
Big Symbols
Another interesting element of gameplay is the appearance of Big symbols. During gameplay, each paytable symbol can appear in sizes 1×1, 2×2, or 3×3.
Each big symbol counts as a separate instance of each type. For example, a 2×2 symbol will cover 4 standard 1×1 symbols. All empty positions directly below a big symbol will fill with 1×1 symbols of the same type.
X-iter
Players outside the UK jurisdiction can participate in a number of X-iter Features, as follows:
- Bonus Hunt: Awards one drop with more than 4 times the chance of triggering the Bonus game for 3x your bet per spin.
- Bangin: Guarantees 2 big symbols and a super wild with an active Multiplier of x5 for 10x your bet.
- Ridin: Awards one drop with all Heist characters upgraded to Kicker symbols, as well as a super wild with an active Multiplier of x10 for 25x your bet.
- Bonus: Guaranteed access to the Bonus game for 100x your bet.
- Super Bonus: Guaranteed access to the Super Bonus game, where a zapper, keycard, and dynamite are already collected into inventory for 500x your bet.
Each of the 5 X-iter modes is fixed with an RTP module of 94%. Heist Guys includes a max win capacity of 10,000x your bet. If a game round exceeds this amount, the round will end, and players return to the base game.
Heist Guys Slot – Bonus Game
Landing 3+ Bonus Scatters in the base game instantly triggers the Bonus Game. This round is played on a special Map with paths, guards, rooms, and vaults.
All 3 Heist Characters are positioned at the bottom of the map and move in sync towards the room with the vault (top of the map). Each round begins with a random draw to reveal the number of steps the Heist characters will move, if not imprisoned.
With each movement, the 3 Heist characters will always move as a group, with one acting as the temporary leader. They each move the number of steps revealed in the draw before a new leader takes position and draws again.
Each heist character will follow special Arrows that match their colour or any White arrows, if available. If no arrow is present, they will move upward, if possible. These characters can move up, down, or sideways, but never backwards, and can never revisit the same space twice.
Special Guard Characters move along certain paths in different areas of the map. Guards can capture and imprison Heist characters within a number of spaces in front of them. Once imprisoned, the Heist character is unable to leave until another Heist character frees him.
Certain rooms on the map are marked with Safe Icons of varying values. If a Heist character passes the room, the contents of the safe are automatically awarded. The contents of each safe can include coins, keycards, dynamite, zappers, or the max win of 10,000x.
Each Heist character can obtain up to 3 Zappers, which are used to defeat Guards. Zappers also prevent Heist characters from being imprisoned. Alternatively, Keycards are used to access the vault at the top of the map.
If no keycard is located in the inventory, but a Heist character reaches the vault, he can attempt to hack into it. An unsuccessful attempt will end the current bonus game; however, a successful attempt will unlock the vault and award its contents.
Dynamite icons are used to unlock the Super Secure Safe inside the vault, whilst the 3 individual-coloured vaults can only be unlocked by their corresponding Heist character. The super safe is the most valuable, containing only high-value coins and (potentially) the max win cap of 10,000x your bet.
The round ends when all Heist characters are imprisoned or cannot proceed any further on the map. Alternatively, the round will end when the max win cap has been reached.
Our Honest Verdict
Heist Guys has the brains of the increasingly popular Pirots series, while churning out new functions and mechanics that make it one-of-a-kind.
Upon first look, Heist Guys look to be your average 6×6, cluster-paying Video Slot. However, your opinion shifts once you witness super wild multipliers, big symbols, and kicker symbols consistently occurring on the grid.
The idea of Kicker symbols has been seen multiple times in ELK Studios’ slots, offering a standard function that transforms character symbols into the highest-paying symbol from the paytable.
However, this feature, combined with big symbols and super wild multipliers, creates many opportunities to cash in on the 10,000x max win cap. With no shortage of entertainment in the base game, our anticipation builds when the Bonus Game triggers.
In a surprising turn of events, the 6×6 reel format and cluster pays mechanic has been traded for a video game aesthetic, whereby the 3 Heist characters must make it from one end of the map to the other, without being imprisoned by Guards, all while collecting the contents of vaults.
When the round isn’t going to plan and heist characters are walking right into the guard’s lap, it’s hard to keep the momentum going. In addition, there are certain requirements and tools needed to crack safes and vaults (which are locked up tighter than Fort Knox), which further add to your frustration.
All in all, Heist Guys offers a unique experience and engaging features, but the intimidating bonus game may just deter players from giving it a go.
*The images found in this slot review are currently from Demo Play. On average, our reviews are written prior to the release date and before real play is available.
