Published: 27.08.2020, 11:59
4 min read
You know that feeling when you create or acquire something cool, and you can’t help but flaunt it for days to make sure that everyone in your circle gets to see it? Well, that seems to be the case with Betsoft, utilizing their newfangled hexagonal grid layout for the second time in The Mystic Hive, a sequel to the June slot release, The Hive.
In The Mystic Hive, fey fireflies replace the animated bee characters on the sidelines of the nineteen-cell center stage to present the same features we saw in the prequel – free spins and win boosting multipliers, to be specific. It is, however, driven by a whole different algorithm, meaning that there can be surprises for anyone who launches Mystic Hive presuming that it’s just another clone.
Play Mystic Hive For Free – Mobile & PC
Betsoft explores the mystical side of The Hive to bring you a sequel. Play The Mystic Hive for real money here or enjoy a free demo below:
Slot Features
- Return to Player: 96.13%
- Variance: Low-Medium
- 30 Paylines
- Win Boosting Multipliers
- Bonus Round
- Expanding Wilds
- Code: HTML5
- All Platforms: Android, iOS, Mac OS, Windows, Linux, etc.
- All Browsers: Chrome, Mozilla, Opera, Edge, Safari, etc.
Basic Rules, Math Model, and Paytable
For an experienced slot player, it won’t be hard to see that the bizarre playing area The Mystic Hive opens up to is just the 3-4-5-4-3 layout we saw in previous Betsoft slots like Tiger’s Claw and Fire & Steel, only that the grid spaces are hexagonal. That alteration fits the theme perfectly, making the playing area resemble a honeycomb that can attract mystic fireflies every so often. Additionally, it does benefit the player gameplay-wise as wins are paid both-ways horizontally and diagonally on thirty paylines.
Players can commence playing with the options available on the UI right after selecting their preferred bets. Important to note here, changing the stake mid-session resets the nectar collection progress (details about the nectar meter later).
When it comes to the math model, The Mystic Hive sheds different stats to the original, starting with an above-average Return to Player percentage rated at 96.13%. That is 0.04% lower than that of The Hive, but not enough to impact the gameplay whatsoever. The volatility rating, on the other hand, is not made explicitly clear by the developer, meaning that it can be anyone’s guess.
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Judging by the responsiveness of the slot during our test runs, the Mystic Hive is a low-medium volatility slot just like The Hive, only that it is made better by a higher hit rate. You should, therefore, expect wins to come in more often here. Also, the stern observer will notice that the fireflies are drawn to the hive than the bees were, translating to higher chances of triggering the extras.
Like before, nine symbols make up the paytable, with the only carry overs being the low-paying blackjack icon fillers that pay 0.5X at best. The rest (a mushroom and differently-colored gems) are all high-payers that rack up rewards of up to 15X.
Watch the Fireflies
Fireflies can spawn on the sidelines of the grid on any spin. Once spawned, they will start moving clockwise around the playing area, one position on every round, and disappear after anywhere from three to eighteen spins. This will be recognizable to anyone who has played The Hive, with a Green, Yellow, and Red Firefly taking up the duties of the Queen Bee, Drone Bee, and Worker Bee.
Summon a Swarm with the Green Firefly
The green firefly summons a swarm of fireflies, including its kind. A new firefly can be awarded for up to seven consecutive spins.
This only comes to a halt when all the awarded fireflies find their way to the grid or when all the spots around the grid are occupied by other fireflies. If the latter is the case, then the greenfly will hold off from summoning a new firefly until there is a free position.
Feed the Win Boosting Multiplier Counter with the Yellow Fireflies
Each yellow firefly comes bearing a multiplier boost, which is subjected to that rounds win. The value of the multiplier is arrived at by adding one to the number of yellow fireflies in sight.
Collect Nectar with the Red Firefly to trigger Free Spins
The red fireflies are the third and final bug-type you should anticipate. These fill up the violet nectar collector at the side of the grid, triggering the five free spins bonus round when full.
As expected, there will be an increase in activity on the hive here, helped by spreading wilds that increase the chances of triggering wins. The bonus round cannot be triggered, unfortunately.
The Mystic Hive – Our Verdict
On top of being a slots provider, Betsoft has built a reputation as a great visual raconteur and a very successful innovationist with technologies such as Vault™ as well as less well-known products such as mini-games and a Virtual Racebook. The developers can, without a doubt, brag of not only taking the veins of not just their line of work, but a part of the iGaming industry as a whole.
It is for this reason that the Mystic Hive or any of their other releases doesn’t need the verified blue checkmark from us. The max potential could have been better, but rewards of up to 243X will nonetheless be sufficient for the casual slot players this low-risk slot is aimed at.
