Jekyll and Hyde Pokie Machine
There are a number of online pokies dedicated to the misdemeanours of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, but this version, from Genesis Gaming, is a popular choice that’s carried by casinos around the world. With 5 reels and an unusual payout format, it comes complete with wild substitutions, scatter wins and a free spins game where winning spins become more likely and big prizes can be claimed.
For those who don’t know, the game is based on the classic tale of Dr Jekyll who invents a potion which turns him into the evil Mr Hyde and the game reflects the transformation during the bonus game to great effect.
At first glance, this seems like a fairly straightforward pokie, albeit one with high quality graphics. But a closer look reveals that there are no payline indicators, as they have been replaced by Genesis Gaming’s 243 Ways to Win system. What this means is that instead of symbols needing to line up across a defined payline, any time 3 or more of the same symbol land on adjacent reels, running from the one on the left side, players will win a prize, no matter where on the reels the symbols fall.
Unsurprisingly, there are 243 possible ways that this can occur when all the symbols and combinations are taken into account, which leads to lots of smaller wins rather than fewer bigger payouts. Any symbols that make up a winning combination become animated, and the game as a whole looks fantastic. The quality of the picture symbols is better than in the vast majority of games, while the creepy atmosphere runs throughout.
Jekyll and Hyde
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The game itself sees the reels set against a suitably gothic background with the title above and control buttons below. Players can set the wager as low as 0.25 per spin, or increase the value of a coin from 0.01 to 0.10 and the number of coins from 1 to 10 for a fairly low maximum wager of 25.00.
Lower value symbols are ghostly images of the high card icons 9, 10, J, Q, K and A, floating around the reels, while the higher paying ones include potions, poisons and a damsel in distress. Dr Jekyll himself is the highest value symbol, worth between 100x and 1500x the amount staked per coin.
The wild symbol is there to boost the frequency of winning spins by acting as all but the scatter to complete winning combinations, although in the case of this game there is no value attached to the wild itself, which is a bit of a shame.
The Jekyll and Hyde logo is a scatter symbol, so it can land anywhere on the reels to firstly award a prize, and then should 3 or more appear it will also kick off 10 free spins. This is where the main bonus feature of the game plays out, as during these spins, any Dr Jekyll symbols that appear will turn into the higher-value Mr Hyde. This will pay from 500 coins when 3 land on adjacent reels, up to 7500 for a full 5 across the reels, while 3 or more scatters appearing during the free games will add another 10 spins to the end of any left to play out.
A Game to Hyde From?
There’s a lot to like about Jekyll and Hyde. It looks great and has impressive animations, while the 243 Ways to Win layout is a proven formula that’s popular across much of the Genesis Gaming range. It does mean however, that the game can’t be tried out for just a tiny bet, with the minimum being 0.25 per spin while the maximum 25.00 wager will put off the high rollers among players.
There aren’t that many theme-related symbols either, with most of the reels being taken up by the high card symbols during play, but whether that’s a good or a bad thing is somewhat subjective, so it’s not necessarily a criticism.
Also, apart from the single bonus game, there isn’t much in the way of extra treats, with no wild multipliers, or even a guarantee that anything will be won during the free spins round, although in practice, players should be able to pick up a prize or two as the bonus plays out.