Hugo 2

Considering the latest shifts in the British gambling landscape , this release feels poorly timed. The UK Gambling Commission, which licenses casinos in Britain, recently ruled against using cartoon-style characters for promotional purposes.

To address the elephant in the room, many might find it distasteful that this game seems to tap into a nostalgic vein, attempting to make gambling appear innocently entertaining. Using characters from our childhood further complicates this image.

But this isn't a moral commentary, far from it. We appreciate slots and the creativity they showcase from various developers. It's intriguing to see well-known icons, like Hugo, transformed into slots. Whether it's tasteful or not may be up for debate, but whether it pays out is certainly worth discussing.

Hugo 2 is a video slot game that includes five reels with ten predetermined paylines. Key symbols include Hugo as the wild, a beaver symbol for free spins, and an Evil Witch Afskylia symbol for bonus rounds. The wild symbol substitutes for most others, assisting in creating winning lines.

Base Game

While the base gameplay lacks excitement and carries minimal potential for the long term, described as 'very high' in volatility, the expectation of hitting the 5000x maximum win makes it behave more like a medium to low volatility slot in practice.

Available features such as picking bonuses and the free spins add some excitement to an otherwise flat base game. The picking bonus occurs often, likely due to its lower payout capacity, providing frequent but modest wins.

Picking Bonus

Landing three or more Evil Witch Afskylia symbols will unlock the Skull Cavern bonus, where you navigate cave paths to reach the treasure chamber. Correctly choosing a path can earn cash rewards, with the treasure offering a multiplier based on remaining lives: 2x to 5x for 0 to 3 available lives.

Beware of pitfalls that can prematurely end your adventure. Don't worry, though. After failure, additional lives are given when 3, 4, or 5 scatter symbols activate 1, 2, or 3 extra attempts, respectively.

Free Spins Feature

When you see three Beaver scatters on reels 1, 3, and 5, the Troll Race free spins are activated. You start with 10 free spins, and can earn up to 10 more during the feature. After completing 20 spins, access to the Skull Cavern game becomes possible with three lives. The same game settings apply throughout.

In any free spin turn, once the reels stop but before results are displayed, there's a chance to gather 0 to 2 wild items (marked 'W'). Collecting four transforms them into 4 wilds placed on the reels, substituting any four symbols.

During free spins, after the reels finish spinning but before the results are shown, you could snag 0 to 2 multiplier tokens (marked 'x2'). Gather four or more to replace four symbols on the reels with x2 multipliers, reducing the collected tokens.

Conclusion

While Hugo 2 generally offers a solid 96.53% RTP, it may differ outside Malta-licensed domains. Play'n GO permits operators to adjust RTP settings within a set range, a practice shared by some others. While this flexibility might be concerning, Play'n GO's transparency is commendable, as long as you play under Malta's jurisdiction.

Our lack of enthusiasm for this slot stems not from its theme but from the lackluster base gameplay and minimal potential of the picking bonus. The Free Spins element is the sole highlight and the main source of the game's allure.

The visual and operational design of the game is impressive, running smoothly without disturbance. Hugo 2 represents a significant leap forward from its predecessor with its enticing potential for a 5000x payout.

The original Hugo slot enjoyed surprising popularity among casino streamers and audiences, with some quite possibly hesitant to admit their fondness. The reception of this new iteration remains to be seen.