Hounds of Hell: Design and Theme
🖼️ Graphics
Hounds of Hell greets the player at the entrance to an infernal citadel with blazing flames and two hounds guarding the passage inside. On the grid, you’ll find symbols like skeletal hands, skulls and pentagrams, all rendered in dark red-purple tones. The atmosphere is not just gloomy but ritualistically threatening, as if one more step would open the gates to the underworld.
🎶 Sound
In the base game, the soundtrack feels as if you’ve wandered into the “Inferno” castle from Heroes V — everything is bleak and hopeless. But in the bonus game, the music abruptly shifts in tone and becomes a battle theme reminiscent of the same “Heroes” combat tracks. The contrast works powerfully: from oppressive heaviness to dynamic tension.
Hounds of Hell Mechanics
|
🥁 Grid size |
5x5 |
|
📊 Way to win |
Scatter pays |
|
➕ Bonus game |
✅ |
|
🤑 Jackpot |
❌ |
|
💸 Extra bet / Ante Bet |
✅ |
|
🪂 Fixed multipliers |
✅ |
|
♻️ Respins |
✅ |
|
❎ Gamble |
✅ |
Winning Combinations
|
Symbol |
6 |
7 |
8–9 |
10+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Eye in Star |
x2 |
x5 |
x10 |
x50 |
|
Purple Symbol |
x1 |
x2.5 |
x5 |
x25 |
|
Skull |
x0.5 |
x1.5 |
x3 |
x15 |
|
Pentagram |
x0.4 |
x1 |
x2.5 |
x10 |
|
Bone Hands |
x0.3 |
x0.7 |
x2 |
x7.5 |
|
A / K / Q / J / 10 |
x0.1 |
x0.3 |
x1 |
x5 |
Special Symbols
- Hellhound: appears both in the base game and in bonus games. When the hound lands, it “moves up” the reel and reveals a multiplier. There are two types: Additive that adds a value (+1x, +2x … up to +50x); and Multiplicative that multiplies the accumulated number (x2, x3 … up to x10).
The final multiplier is fixed above the reel and is used in the win calculation. Only one hound can land on a reel per spin. If two or more hounds land next to each other horizontally, they form a pack and unlock larger multipliers — up to +100x or up to x20. Even if cascades split them apart, they still count as part of the same pack. A Hellhound does not substitute symbols and does not form combinations — it is a separate multiplier system that works in parallel with regular symbol wins. - Scatter: triggers the bonus games. Three symbols award “What The Hell!” (10 spins), four symbols — “Who Let The Hounds Out?!?” (10 spins with enhancements). Inside the bonus, landing scatters again adds spins: +2 for two and +4 for three. A scatter cannot land above a Hellhound on the same reel.
Bonus Game
All bonuses in Hounds of Hell are triggered by scatters. Before the bonus begins, you always have a choice: go straight in or take a risk. This is called the Bonus Gamble. Five Hellfire Orbs appear on the screen, and you may open only three. Inside, you can find either extra spins (+2 to +10) or an upgrade from the basic bonus to the advanced one. You can gamble only once before the series begins (and once again after an upgrade).
What The Hell!
- In this version, all multipliers collected from the hounds remain above the reels until the end of the series. They accumulate and apply in one large payout at the very end.
- If three spins in a row pass without wins and without new hounds, the Hounds Are Loose feature activates automatically, removing low symbols and giving a better chance of hounds.
- Additional spins: +2 for two scatters, +4 for three.
Who Let The Hounds Out?!?
- This mode activates the special Hell Reels mechanic: if a hound lands on a reel for the first time, a new Hellhound is guaranteed to land on that reel in every subsequent spin until the end of the bonus.
- Multipliers are counted separately in each spin: the collected total pays out in “multipliers of the stake”, and the counters then reset.
- The Hounds Are Loose feature activates after every “dead spin”.
- Retriggers are the same: +2 for two scatters and +4 for three.
RTP, Volatility, Max Win
Hounds of Hell has a base RTP of 96.27%. The slot’s volatility is high: regular spins can “eat” your stake for a long time, but rare big hits can make up for dozens of empty spins. The maximum win is capped at x20,000 of the stake.
Our Verdict
In the Hounds of Hell demo, it quickly becomes clear: this slot is not for players who expect frequent wins. Base game payouts are almost always tiny — everything depends on when the hounds “wake up”. They can sleep for dozens of spins and then suddenly drop a pile of multipliers that compensate for everything that came before. The contrast between the two bonuses is especially noticeable: in the first one (What The Hell!), you wait to see how the final multiplier bank will settle at the end, while in the second (Who Let The Hounds Out?!?), any single spin can become a “blast”.
This game suits players who enjoy high risk, rare but powerful hits, and the very idea of “building up multipliers”. If you prefer predictability and frequent payouts, this is probably not your slot.
Looking for something similar but with a different setting? We recommend trying Pray for Three (also a sinful theme, but instead of hell, you get ghosts and a “wheel of sins”). And if you like the dog theme but without the darkness and gore, check out The Dog House — it also features dogs, but in a cute cartoon style.
Other popular slots by Hacksaw Gaming
Le Viking | Fist of Destruction | Xmas Drop | Wanted Dead or a Wild | Duel at Dawn | RIP City | Le bandit | Marlin Masters | Drop'em | Pray for Three | Ze Zeus | Chaos Crew 2 | Hounds of Hell | Donut Division | Cloud Princess
Post by:
