ALL ABOUT HOLY DIVER SLOT
Where to start? Hmmm. Well first up, let’s clear up the name. Holy Diver it turns out is a metal song from the 80s recorded by ex-Black Sabbath member, Ronnie James Dio’s band, called simply Dio. Not a worldwide hit – it reached number 40 in the charts – it nevertheless appears to have been popular amongst fans of the band, and it pops up here on copyright in the free spins round!
Whatever the song was about, and it’s a little unclear, the Holy Diver game from BTG has a medieval theme, featuring swords, gemstones, fireballs and knights.
There is no doubt that the invention and evolution of Megaways™ has been the most intriguing slots story of recent years. And it seems that there is a lot more to come, with licensing deals a plenty giving studios like Red Tiger, Blueprint and Storm the opportunity to build games on this engine.
It’s almost like we are experiencing a Megaways™ overload. So it’s good to see that a new feature has been added to this one to take it to the next level. It’s called Reel Adventure™ and it gives you the player the chance to upgrade your free spins round with better multipliers.
Let’s find out more.
Gameplay, Symbols and Pay Tables
First up, this is a Megaways™ game, so we get the six reel set up with rows that can expand to as many as 7 high. There is NO cascading win feature in this game however. But what you do get is an animated knight who moves along the bottom of the screen beneath the reels, kicking chests and revealing reel modifiers during the base game. More on that in a moment.
The low value symbols in the game are the cards, 9 through to Ace. The premium symbols are the different colored gems. The highest paying one is the purple, which pays out 15x for six in a line.
Holy Diver Features
Base Game Reel Modifiers
So, your friend in this game is the Knight who occupies a space at the bottom of the screen and makes his way across from left to right with each spin. When he comes across a chest, he kicks it to open it and reveal one of four modifiers:
Standard Symbol Bonus – Every instance of 1 low value symbol is converted into wilds to create more wins.
Sword Bonus – Up to 3 wild reels with additional multipliers of up to 7x. These multipliers combine – so 3 wild reels with 3 7x multipliers is 343x!
Fireball Bonus – Up to 4 Flaming Wilds appear on the reels. They explode to turn adjacent symbols into wilds too.
Gem Symbol Bonus– Gemstones transform into wilds on the reels creating more wins.
Shield of Fortune and Free Spins Feature
The bonus round in Holy Diver is triggered by acquiring 4 gemstones – 1 of each color – from the chests opened by the Knight.
Once you have 4, you have the option of going into the free spins round or UPGRADING to a 2x multiplier in the base game. When you collect 4 gemstones again at the 2x level you are presented once more with the choice – head to free spins or revert to the base game at 3x multiplier.
Once into the free spins bonus you will receive 10 plays. Any gems that land on reels 2, 3, 4 or 5 will then transform into wild multipliers, with the multiplier reflecting the level you triggered the bonus round at.
But that’s not all …
The Knight is joining you in this fee spins adventure. But here his role is not to reveal reel modifiers or gemstones, but instead to battle mysterious figures on the hill top. He wins some, loses some! When he loses, the spins continue, but when he wins, he acquires diamonds. Each is worth 1 extra free spin, but the FIFTH is worth an extra EIGHT spins.
And …
Every diamond and extra spin triggers more win ways on the reels.
And finally …
That song … it’s the Holy Diver theme from Dio and it plays out in the bonus round to great affect. BTG have done an amazing job of combining gameplay, visuals and sound to build the atmosphere and tension at the sharp end of this dynamic and high variance slot!
The Slot Buzz Verdict
So, following the slightly disappointing release of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire – heavy on branding, light on new ideas – BTG have turned things around with Holy Diver which could yet be their best game to date. The Reel Adventure™ feature adds intrigue to the game, but where this slot will really thrill is in the bonus round where multipliers, free spins, re-triggers and reel expansion all combine to build massive win potential. And all to the sound of a manic metal tune from the 80s! Mad, but fun … just how we like it.
