Hellcatraz 2 Dream Drop

Hellcatraz 2 Dream Drop: Slot Overview

For another one of its Dream Drop instalments, casino game maker Relax Gaming has returned to the pixelated world of Hellcatraz and created the sequel Hellcatraz 2 Dream Drop. If you missed the first game, it was an 8-bit wonderland of blocky graphics, old-school charm, and eye-catching gameplay. The sequel, then, should appeal to at least two types of gamblers – those who go in for heavily retro-looking game design and others keen to chase a progressive jackpot which has plans to eventually hit a ceiling value of €10,000,000.

Hellcatraz 2 Dream Drop sees players return to the sunny blue-skied San Francisco Bay, where the Golden Gate bridge arcs tantalisingly on one side of the screen, and downtown skyscrapers scrape away on the other. Whilst Hellcatraz wasn't the first slot to go all nostalgically old school, the technique wasn't hugely numerous back then, either. Since then, several games have been released using a blocky 1980s-1990s style, so Hellcatraz 2 Dream Drop isn't quite as startling as its predecessor was. It's still a riot of retro-ness, and gamblers who used to fire up video games back in the day should no doubt feel a similar bolt of nostalgia when Hellcatraz 2 Dream Drop appears on their screen.

On the topic of screens, Hellcatraz 2 Dream Drop may be played on any device and comes in a non-Dream Drop version as well. Where the Jackpot one produces a return to player value of 93.99%, on account of the jackpots themselves, the non-Dream Drop variant peps that figure up to 96.1%. It is highly volatile and takes bets of 20 p/c to $/€100 per spin. Keep in mind that on the Dream Drop version, the higher the bet, the greater the chance of getting a Jackpot win.

Hellcatraz 2 Dream Drop is played on a 5x5-sized game grid with 3,125 ways to win. However, the reels can grow through the Mystery Reveal feature, and at the most, it is possible for 59,049 ways to win to be active.

Every winning symbol explodes off the grid by the cascade mechanic. Non-winning symbols then drop down into the gaps until all empty positions are filled. After the symbol drop, if a new win is created, the cascade feature will run again, ending when no more wins appear. Players are able to land winning combinations of at least 3 OAK, and when five symbol wins hit, payouts range from 0.4x the bet for diamonds, clubs, spades, or hearts, up to 1-2.5x the bet for the four higher value character symbols. The 'W' wild symbol is able to substitute for all other symbols when calculating wins.

Hellcatraz 2 Dream Drop: Slot Features

The features with which Hellcatraz 2 Dream Drop has to unleash at the appropriate moments are the cascade mechanic, a Mystery Reveal feature, Hellcatraz 2 Free Spins, and of course, the Dream Drop Jackpot Game.

Mystery Reveal Feature

On each spin, at least one Mystery symbol will be present. Mystery Reveal symbols only land on the top row of the gaming grid, displaying a number of 1 to 5. When the counter reaches 0, the reveal occurs, and all affected Mystery Reveal symbols in view expand upwards 2-5 positions, revealing the same symbol. The Mystery Reveal feature may also reveal instant win coins symbols which have a value of 1-1,000x the bet.

Free Spins

Landing 3 bonus symbols awards 6 free spins, plus 2 free spins for any extra triggering bonus symbol. During the free spins round, the Mystery Reveal feature remains in play but has reduced counter values on average. Land a scatter, and it awards an additional free spin. On the non-Dream Drop version of Hellcatraz 2, players may buy the free spins bonus round for the cost of 70x the bet. The RTP when doing so is 96.49%.

Dream Drop Bonus

Should 5 Dream Drop symbols land on the top row before a spin, the Dream Drop Bonus is activated. Next, 15 icons are displayed on the screen for payers to pick one at a time to reveal a Jackpot. When three of the same Jackpot is revealed this way, the corresponding prize is awarded. There are five Jackpots with starting values of €1, €5, €100, €25,000, and €500,000 for the Rapid, Midi, Maxi, Major, and Mega, respectively.

Hellcatraz 2 Dream Drop: Slot Verdict

The original Hellcatraz game was one of those sit-up-and-take-notice slots, particularly for those who experienced video games which looked like this in the past, not because they were retro, but simply because that's the way video games looked. This was long before the likes of Minecraft were released, making big chunky, square graphics with a lot fewer pixels cool again. As such, Hellcatraz's nostalgia factor ran high, and for the sequel Hellcatraz 2 Dream Drop, Relax Gaming hasn't made major alterations to either the looks or the features. There is a neat progression, though. For example, the Mystery Reveal feature has returned but shaken up, so Mystery symbols only land on the top reel, expanding the game board when they activate. Does it make them trickier to squeeze value out of this way? Perhaps, perhaps not, but it is something fans of the first slot are able to figure out should they so choose.

Obviously, one colossal difference is the Dream Drop Jackpots aspect. And while the original slot came with a massive max win figure of 51,840x, that does sort of pale in comparison to what is scheduled to be possible with slots wired into the Dream Drop network. For the record, the non-Dream Drop Hellcatraz 2 comes with a substantial, though somewhat modest by comparison, amount of 10,000 times the bet. That sort of reduced figure might cause the non-Dream Drop Hellcatraz 2 to lose some of its allure. It doesn't have the same long-term motivation provided by the first game's 2,000 key collection feature or number 2's enormous Mega Jackpot to chase down. Try to chase down, at least.

As for Hellcatraz 2 Dream Drop version, it provides a unique environment to experience what Dream Drop has to offer. It has little in the way of 80s/90s stylishly rendered jackpot slots as competitors, and the action has a typical Relax Gaming compelling playability factor.