Joker Bombs Slot Review
It’s time for a day out at the fair with Joker Bombs from Hacksaw Gaming!
Hacksaw Gaming has really impressed us and just about everyone else this year with their tirade of brilliant slots. Not too long ago, Hacksaw Gaming were simply a humble scratch card provider with a few slots, but now they’ve got a full and impressive library.
Joker Bombs is the latest to join the fray, and by the looks of it they’bve taken some inspiration from the likes of Sweet Bonanza in this one. In all honesty, we’re just glad that they’ve brought out something that isn’t a cluster pays slot this time. The likes of Hop’nPop, Rocket Reels, Xpander and more are all great, but it was feeling a little bit stale.
Will Joker Bombs be as impressive as aforementioned titles? Let’s find out.
Joker Bombs Theme
Joker Bombs would be adored by children if they were allowed to play it, but they’re not, and we’re not entirely sure if the adults who can play it will love it. Some will tap into their inner child to bask in the light-hearted nature of a funfair theme.
Graphics themselves are pretty good, but the music is pretty dull…until Free Spins that is. Everything in Free Spins becomes a little bit more interesting. The music is more upbeat, the day changes to night and as such, the lights of the funfair shine prominently for a more alluring visual experience.
Joker Bombs probably won’t wow you in the design aspect to be honest, but this is secondary for most gamblers.
Joker Bombs: Betting and Symbols
Betting options in Joker Bombs encompass Hacksaw’s usual broad variety of options. The lowest option here is £/€0.20 per spin, and the highest option is £/€100 per spin. There are plenty of different options in between the two, so there’s definitely something for everyone in this regard.
Symbols aren’t too easy to distinguish in Joker Bombs. Usually slots give a pretty clear indication on what a high paying symbol is vs a low one, but in Joker Bombs you’re never too sure. The highest paying symbols here are the shapes, and the low paying symbols are the balloons. You’ll probably want to take a good long look at the paytable to memorise these – there’s nothing worse than getting excited for a huge cluster of smybols only to find out its the lowest symbol after all.
Joker Bombs: The Base Game and Features
Joker Bombs is a 6×5 grid slot with a pay anywhere mechanic.
To form a win, you’ll need at least 8 of any symbol on screen at the same time, Winning symbols will disappear, which leaves room for new symbols to fall into their place via a cascade. This gives Joker Bombs the potential to award multiple wins per spin, but the potential is relatively low without a little something extra to improve it…which is where the multiplier bombs come in.
Multiplier Bombs
On any winning spin, wins are collected and displayed above the reel as a ‘pending win amount’.
This amount will update with any new win, and the total sum will be awarded when no further cascades contributes to the total. Multiplier bombs may land on any spin too, and these serve to multiply the total.
If you land more than one bomb, then the total of all bombs are added for a total multiplier. This multiplier is then applied to the win.
There are three types of Multiplier Bomb in Joker Bombs.
- Normal Bomb – Normal Bombs land with the total multiplier value visible straight away. The possible values here are 2x, 3x, and 4x.
- Reavealing Bomb – Reavling Bombs land with a ‘?’ displayed until they explode. The possible values here are 5x, 10x, 25x and 50x
- Epic Bomb – Epic Bombs land with an ‘x’ character displayed until they explode. The possible values here are 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x and 10x.
Sounding familiar so far? Joker Bombs is very Sweet Bonanza so far, but will it follow in Gates of Olympus’ footsteps more with a Multiplier that persists throughout Free Spins?
Joker Bombs Free Spins
Free Spins in Joker Bombs are awarded when three or more Free Spins symbols land anywhere on the grid, and 10 Free Spins are awarded.
During Free Spins there are more multiplier bombs, and there’s also a higher chance of landing the high value bombs compared to the Base Game.
Free Spins may be triggered by landing three more scatter symbols, and 5 additional spins are awarded.
Joker Bombs Bonus Buy
Those outside of the UK may make use of a Bonus Buy Feature to jump straight into the action at the cost of 100x your stake.
This guarantees at least 3 Scatters. The RTP changes when buying the bonus to 96.48%.
Joker Bombs: Our Verdict
We’ll be honest, we’re a little bit disappointed with Joker Bombs.
It quite obviously rides on the coat tails of Sweet Bonanza, but it doesn’t bother to adopt the more updated mechanics with persistent multipliers during Free Spins. Multiplier values are relatively low even with the epic bombs and overall it just feels a little bit half-assed.
Perhaps Hacksaw Gaming are winding down for Christmas and Joker Bombs was a quick addition to the library?
In terms of stats, Joker Bombs is good with 5,000x win potential, but it’s significantly lower than other Hacksaw Gaming slots.
Overall, if you’re a fan of Sweet Bonanza then you may well enjoy what Joker Bombs has to offer. If you’re on the other side of the fence as someone who prefers how Gates of Olympus and Starlight Princess did it, then you’ll probably find Joker Bombs a little bit boring.
