Software developer Hacksaw Gaming is transporting us to the beach with an online slot called Keep ‘Em Cool, which is a bright cluster paying grid slot with a chilling twist on the usual cascading winnings dynamic. The cocktail glass can re-freeze symbols, the blender can absorb symbols, there is a Sunset Picnic Bonus Game, and there are two purchase bonus options, but the frozen symbols are what really change things up.
Would you uproot your life and head for a tropical beach if that’s all it took to be considered hip? Anyway, we’re at a beach, and it’s a really good one. Slightly unremarkable, however perhaps that’s the point of taking a vacation. There’s clear blue sea, warm beach, a clear blue sky, swaying palm trees, and a pig here; all you need to relax. Yes, that’s a pig wearing a dive mask and flotation equipment. I can’t explain why, but it makes a gorgeous but otherwise bland scene a little more interesting. Though the visuals and sound of Keep ‘Em Cool may remind you of Slotmill’s Super Fruit Smash and ELK Studios’ Tropicool slots, the gameplay is entirely unique.
Those curious about the RTP model they’re playing may look it up in Keep ‘Em Cool’s paytable. Depending on the state of the market, the maximum value might be as high as 96.19 percent. Keep ‘Em Cool’s hit frequency has remained consistent at 31.12% across all formats, with a volatility rating of medium (3/5). Cluster paying slots award prizes when 5 or more identical symbols appear in close proximity to one another, either vertically or horizontally.
Players may wager anywhere from 10 pence to £/€100 every spin on a 5×5 grid. Fruits of many kinds, including apples, bananas, oranges, cherries, plums, dragon fruit, and strawberries, serve as the game’s pay symbols. At lower stakes, a victory with five of a type pays out just 0.1% to 1% of the wager, whereas at higher stakes, a win with a cluster of 21 or more cards pays out 400 to 5,000 times the wager. In Keep ‘Em Cool, wilds aren’t used.
Keep Calm and Play Slots
Symbols from the movie Frozen may be found in Keep ‘Em Cool. This means that there are only three possible states for a pay symbol: unfrozen, partially frozen, or fully frozen. When a winning combination is made, the associated unfrozen symbols are taken off the board. In addition, when prizes have been given out, any unfrozen symbols still in view are eliminated. Any non-winning frozen or partially frozen symbols will fall to the bottom of the grid. Frozen symbols become semi-frozen, and semi-frozen symbols become unfrozen. Then, to fill in the blanks, new symbols cascade down from above. When there are no more possible combinations, the process starts over.
Sign for a Cocktail Glass
When a winning combination is made while the Cocktail Glass scatter is visible, all symbols of the winning kind become completely frozen. Multiple kinds of symbols may be affected simultaneously. The Cocktail Glass can be used up to a maximum of five times before it must be re-frozen. After the final thaw, the Cocktail Glass will be the next sign to go.
Symbol for Blender
The Blender scatter symbol absorbs just one specific kind of symbol upon activation. New instances of the selected symbol fall from above, consuming all previous ones until there are none left. After a successful spin, the Blender will pay out according to the paytable depending on how many symbols were absorbed. The Blender counts up by one for every absorbed symbol, beginning with two.
Game Bonus: Picnic at Dusk
In the original Picnic Basket game, any dropped scatters are gathered in a meter next to the grid. The Sunset Picnic bonus is activated when three Picnic Baskets are found on a single base game spin. The total number of free games is equal to the sum of the numbers found in each Picnic Basket. The odds of getting a Cocktail Glass or a Blender during the Sunset Picnic bonus are increased. If you manage to land a Picnic Basket symbol during the bonus round, you’ll receive an additional 2–5 free spins.
Spend Money on a Bonus
You may choose between two different game modes in Keep ‘Em Cool’s in-game bonus shop. Highly volatile Bonushunt FeatureSpins may be activated for 3x the stake, increasing the chance of triggering a bonus game on each spin by a factor of 5. A maximum return of 96.25 percent is possible. The second option is to wager 100 times the value of the Sunset Picnic bonus. With a potential return to investor of 96.22%, this is also extremely risky.
Keep Calm and Hand Down the Slots
Think that summer is too hot, winter is too chilly, fall is too windy, and spring has a touch too much coolness in the air? Perhaps it’s human nature to never feel entirely content with our current situation, constantly yearning for a change of scenery or a new experience. Perhaps this is why our ancestors, some 100 thousand years ago or more, left Africa and traveled across the world, finally settling on far-flung islands that required incredible fortitude to reach.
Keep ‘Em Cool got my imagination going in those directions, and that’s not necessarily a good indication when critiquing an online slot. Keep Calm, I’m Not Sure. It lacked the intensity of other Hacksaw Gaming slots. It’s pretty to look at, albeit a tad unremarkable. The piggy character is cute, but he or she doesn’t really have any significant or rational function in the game other than to provide some personality. Bringing back frozen symbols is not a horrible concept and may be fun. They might have been used as a trial run in Keep ‘Em Cool, and if successful, Hacksaw Gaming could put them to use in a future project with greater oomph. Although the idea of the Blender is fascinating, in our experience with Keep ‘Em Cool, the Blenders were as hard to track down as fudge.
The lack of a multiplication mechanic, a staple of most Hacksaw Gaming games, perhaps contributed to Keep ‘Em Cool’s sterility. Since there was no ‘x-ing’ in Keep ‘Em Cool, there wasn’t the same level of tension as in other Hacksaw Gaming slots, where the pace of the action may go from zero to one hundred in a heartbeat. What Keep ‘Em Cool accomplishes is cool, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with it, but there are other games out there that offer more action.