Hell’s Hogs 2 Squealin’ Wheels: Slot Overview
A couple of years back (2022), we joined the Swinehouse brothers Smokey, Streaky, and The Stud as they hooned along Highway 240, terrorising the neighbourhood, in Reflex Gaming‘s decidedly average slot Hell’s Hogs. The brothers are back for more hell-raising; well, two of the brothers are at least, not sure what happened to the third bro, for the sequel Hell’s Hogs 2 Squealin’ Wheels. As well as leaving one brother behind, maybe he’s in jail, maybe he ended up on a burger, Yggdrasil partner Reflex Gaming has rolled out a differently-tuned math model and an alternative load of features.
They’ve kept the same graphical style, though the action has moved from the cactus and dust in Hell’s Hogs for a more urban spot for Hell’s Hogs 2 Squealin’ Wheels. As stated, the graphical style is the same, all retro chrome and whatnot. Hell’s Hogs was set in 1948, so this one is most probably set around that date, too, or is this a case of Reflex Gaming’s slots often looking older than they are? Maybe a bit of both.
This time, Hell’s Hogs 2 Squealin’ Wheels is a medium-high volatile slot rather than low, and its default RTP figure is 96%. Bets of 20 c to $/€100 may be selected, as well as a Golden Bet. When activated, the Golden Bet doubles the stake to have more than double the chance of triggering the bonus rounds. Hell’s Hogs 2 Squealin’ Wheels’ gaming area is a 5-reel, 3-row matrix with 20 paylines.
Clubs, spades, diamonds, and hearts card suits are the low-pay symbols, all paying 2x the bet for a 5 OAK hit. Then, a burning wheel, a jukebox, a Root 66 sign, and the game’s logo are the high pays, awarding 8 to 25 times the bet for 5-of-a-kind. Wilds are present on all reels. They are worth 25x the bet for five and substitute for all regular paying symbols.
Hell’s Hogs 2 Squealin’ Wheels: Slot Features
The features squealin’ along in Hell’s Hogs 2 are the Biker Bash hold ‘n win bonus, a free spins round with merged middle reels, and two bonus buys plus the wild ride modifier bonus.
Wild Ride Modifier
In the base game on random losing spins, a Hog rides access the screen on his bike and can turn one or more reels wild. Or, he can introduce free spins symbols or Biker Bash symbols.
Biker Bash Bonus
When at least 6 Biker Bash symbols are in view, the Biker Bash Bonus is awarded. Each triggering symbol locks in place, and players get three lives. Positions that do not contain Biker Bash symbols spin, landing either a blank or a new Biker Bash symbol. Each spin takes one life. If a new Biker Bash symbol lands, it locks in place and resets the lives to three. Biker Bash symbols may have values of 1x to 100x or display Pot prizes.
The round ends when no lives remain, or all positions are filled – in the latter case, the Mega Pot is added to the total values in view. An x2 multiplier may also land. This locks in place, and at the end of the bonus, all wins are counted, then the multiplier is applied to them. The multiplier does not apply to the Mega Pot. If more than one multiplier is in view, each one doubles the prize meter in turn.
Free Spins
Players win 5 free spins when 3 scatters land on reels 1, 3, and 5. During the free spins round, the middle 3 reels combine into a Mega Reel where 3×3 sized symbols spin. The Biker Bash symbol may land on the Mega Reel, triggering the Biker Bash feature instantly. Play returns to free spins when the Biker Bash completes. +5 additional free spins are awarded by landing a free spins symbol on the centre reel. Up to 5 retriggers are possible.
Bonus Buy
By clicking the Bonus Buy button, players are able to buy the free spins feature for 75x the bet or the Biker Bash for 60x the bet.
Hell’s Hogs 2 Squealin’ Wheels: Slot Verdict
Sometimes a sequel comes along which really gets you going, ‘Huh, why this?’ Not in that it shouldn’t have been made or anything, but it just came as a surprise someone would choose to do so. Hell’s Hogs 2 Squealin’ Wheels was one such occasion. The first Hell’s Hog slot didn’t blow much hair back during the review, and the thought of it triggering a follow-up never crossed the mind. But someone out there in gambling land must have liked it, so here we are with a sequel. There are question marks, however. Aside from the pigs on bikes theme, Hell’s Hogs 2 Squealin’ Wheels is quite a different kettle of fish, so to speak. The volatility has been tweaked in the opposite direction, and winning potential has been severely hacked down to size.
Therefore, will Hell’s Hogs 2 Squealin’ Wheels appeal to the same people as the first, a brand new group of gamblers, or someone else entirely? Tough questions to answer. On the numbers side, you know how sequel slots usually jack their winning potential compared to the one which came before? Not so Hell’s Hogs 2 Squealin’ Wheels, which has truncated the max win till it comes in at 2,500x the bet, less than a quarter of what’s on the table in the original release (though we never saw a single big hit on it). Odd that the original was a low volatile 10,000x+ max win game while part two is a med-high volatile 2,500x game.
Then again, it’s questionable whether either Hell’s Hogs games are aimed at gamblers who pull out magnifying glasses to inspect each and every statistic before they pile their coins in to try their luck. Instead, it feels like a better match for players who are down with the piggies on bikes idea and Reflex Gaming’s individually eccentric way of constructing a slot, with all that entails. Those outside this particular group may find Hell’s Hogs 2 Squealin’ Wheels even harder to stomach than the original was.
