Hugo 2

Play'n GO, masters at work, are good at coming up with titles that will prove so successful that they simply demand a sequel. In this 3x5 reel game with ten fixed paylines, we get to relive our childhood with one of the most lovable trolls ever conceived who will shower us in mini games, featurettes and adorable cutaways in which he reassures us that big win is close at hand. To put it simply, Hugo 2 is brimming with cool extras and, as such, it truly recreates the experience of playing the game whilst spinning the reels.

Theme

Hugo, who needs no special introduction, is one of the beloved children's cartoon characters that span a wide range of multimedia outputs: comics, computer games and – video slots! His trademark knock on the screen while he talks to you is one of the cooler animated features here as well, as you tackle a new gold-mine themed adventure and try to infiltrate rich caves guarded by evil Afskylia. The graphics are delightfully fun and refreshingly relaxed – if you're familiar with the comic book style of Hugo, you'll know what we mean. The backdrops are railroad tracks set in a woody environment and Hugo will, on certain occasions like extra spins mode, ride his way as he collects coins and bags on them. The great news is that there are no boring low-end symbols such as A, J, K etc. Instead, you get a key, Hugo's engine driver hat, carts filled with rocks, steam train hooter, track switch lever as symbols of lower value and pile of golden bullion, a bag full of gold and a diamond as high value symbols. All of the symbols are different to the original game's, which is a big plus in our book as it proves Play'n GO's team wasn't lazy and are, of course, wonderfully animated.

Betting Options and Functions

At the player's panel, you will see that you are allowed to make adjustments to your best by placing coins sized from 0.10 to 100. Game's RTP is 96.53% and there is up to 500,000 coins to be collected on every spin. Your total balance is clearly displayed to the left, where there's also the info button. Clicking on it will open a comprehensive screen that will give you the details on values of each symbol, cashout diagram, special features and everything in between. Auto spins can be set from 20 to 500 and can be stopped if you set them to stop when certain criteria are met.

Features

Hugo himself is the Wild symbol, replacing all others save the scatter and making your wins that much more worthy by multiplying them with 50x your stake (Diamond symbol is worth 35x the wager).

Scatter symbol is the beaver nibbling on a branch, holding a railway ramp/barrier. Should you land at least three of those, you will trigger the extra spin mode. Ten extra spins are granted and during those, you may be blessed with the randomly triggered Beaver Cleaver feature that will give additional five spins – and if you manage to trigger Beaver Cleaver three times during extra spins, you will enter Afskylia’s hideout in Skull Cavern mode. During the extra spins, Hugo will be collecting coins and bags on the railway while avoiding obstacles – collecting four bags will award you with four added Wild symbols whereas four coins yield multipliers that can go as high as 8x.

Another way to trigger the Skull Cavern mode is by landing at least three Afskylia symbols on the reels during the main game. This will prompt a mini game where Hugo needs to choose wisely which stone he will hop to in order to reach to the ledge where Afskylia keeps her treasure. Wrong choice ends the game as Hugo drops to abyss (don’t worry, he’s still fine). Depending on the amount of symbols you triggered the mini game with, you will have either one, two or three lives. Should you reach the treasure chamber, you will need to make one final choice by selecting the right key.

Our Take

Hugo 2 certainly is a fun and pleasant game. We feel as if slot developers sometimes try too hard at being edgy and serious and bleak with their output that they forget that child-like simplicity is something that will always be wanted by adults too and will always be a necessary break from the harsh realities of the world. With many exciting bonus features and a significant departure from the original game (as in, this is far from a rehash) we can only hope we will see more of Hugo in the future!