London Hunter

To say that Habanero is often responsible for single-handedly producing some of the most outrageous video slots in the industry would be an understatement. If it's wacky, out of the box and downright off-beat, it most likely has their signature all over. In this 25 line slot with three rows and five reels, most unexpected of characters meet in the most unlikely of scenarios – and you can even watch multipliers grow with each passing spin, while you enjoy the wonderful make-believe scenery. Let's see what London Hunter really is about.

Theme

Here's one for you: what do Victorian-era London, steampunk machines and Tyrannosaurus have in common? The easy answer: nothing, of course. For a more open-minded repartee, you'll have to ask Habanero's creative team about the sources of their idea for London Hunter being set in a late 1800s English capital, with contraptions and architectural cues of steampunk ilk all over the place. And a loose dinosaur roaming the place. Unorthodox as it may be, this unlikely mish-mash actually works – more than that, it's not just a gritty, industrial eye candy of fantasy gadgets. The backdrop is a sweeping overview of a familiar London cityscape, only with a few steampunk modifications. The reel machine is done beautifully, with pipes and cogs and gauges and wheels and valves with steam coming out, ornamented with game's titles and two blue tanks on each side (more on that in the Features section). The symbols are diverse and fun: the hero, Dinosaur hunter with his laser beam gun and a typically English look with outrageous 'stache and goggles atop his top-hat, a British fashionista bulldog, a steampunk gun, binoculars and a pipe. Those are higher-value symbols, A, K, Q and J complete the list with their low value. The dinosaur symbol is a Wild that can also be expanding and take up multiple rows. Soundtrack is a nice rendition of what you'd expect from a movie of this theme, with a bit of a humorist twist.

Betting Options and Functions

Atop of the reel, you can see the general info regarding the current value of a grand, minor and mini jackpot as well as the current multiplier. At the bottom of it, following options occur from left to right: the “i” button that lets you open an info screen where you can find knowledge base on symbols' value, how extra features work and payout diagram for all 25 lines. The bet is set by adjusting the amount of bet level which can go from 1 to 10 and changing the coin size (0.01 to 20). You can also opt to Bet Max by clicking on the button of the same name or choose the Auto Play option with up to 500 automatic spins. On the very right is the current remaining coin balance you have on your account.

Features

Even though there is one extra feature per se – and that is the extra spins mode – London Hunter holds much more than that. In the base game, take note of the two blue water tanks on each side of the reel. With each spin, the level of water in them rises. When it completely fills them, the left tank will activate the 3x multiplier for all the wins on subsequent spins and the right one will activate the Expanding Wild – it will only turn off/the water level will drop when the larger Wild symbol appears along side Hero symbol and will take up 2x2 on the reels. The Expanded Wild is always active in the extra spins mode. Up to two Wild Expansions can be triggered if two Hero symbols land together with two Wild symbols on reels.

Extra spins are triggered when a Hero symbol lands on reel 1, gun symbol lands on reel 2 and a dinosaur Wild lands on reel 5. So yeah, that's a bit more random than your usual scatters just appearing three times. The extra spin mode can begin with the 3x multiplier activated if the left tank is filled when the extra spins mode begins. And during the extra spins, the right tank gets a new superpower: when it fills to the top, it will award two additional spins.

Our Take

The zany concoction of themes does not hurt this video slot one bit. London Hunter is refreshing, intriguing and fun through and through. The inclusion of innovative tank meters that indicate when multipliers/expanding Wilds/additional spins will appear is a smart and frugal move because it gives the players that psychological advantage of knowing that there is something special to look forward to. Highly recommended!