Hammer of Vulcan Slot Review

06/04/2021 | Categories: Quickspin Slots | Published by: Joe | Last updated: 05/01/2024

We have never gotten into Quickspin reel-spinners on BTCGOSU. So, it is time to provide some space on our platform for this Swedish developer. Founded in 2012, with offices in Stockholm and Malta, Quickspin quickly made a lot of noise in the industry with its first few releases. So much so that the world’s largest iGaming software provider Playtech took note and looked to bring them into its fold. The move eventually happened in May of 2016, but Quickspin still gets listed on online casinos as a separate entity because it operates like one.

Released in September of 2020, Hammer of Vulcan is currently their most popular product out of their portfolio of more than eighty titles. It has been a rollercoaster ride for this slot, as it has jumped up and down in the rankings. It has fallen as low as the 3,500-spot and has risen as high as a top-60 ranking. In March of 2021, its popularity again surged, giving us enough reason to review it.

Theme & Design

The theme here is metal forging, spiced in with a fantasy mythological vibe. If you did not know, we are here to tell you that Vulcan is the god of fire in Roman mythology. He belongs to the most ancient Roman religion – Varro. He is given many of the same attributes as the Greek god Hephaestus. Thus, he mostly gets associated with metalworking, the same as his Greek counterpart. Though the difference between the two gods lies in that Vulcan also used his power in a destructive capacity. His worshippers’ main concern was not to anger him and give him a reason to start fires.

Hammer of Vulcan takes place in what we assume is a temple in Mount Etna. That is an active stratovolcano in Sicily. The Italians call it Mongibello. According to one hypothesis, that name derives from the Latin Mulciber, a Latin name for the god Vulcan. The visuals here are eye-pleasing. Orange and violet blend nicely, and the scene has a sense of depth. You can see lava dripping from the volcano’s walls, and it shoots up over the screen when you land a win. There is no traditionally framed reel-grid here. Symbol blocks fall onto a massive anvil in the foreground.

Graphics aside, presentation-wise, the real star of the show is the Hammer of Vulcan soundtrack. It is a power-metal one. Think Blind Guardian, without the vocals. It sets the mood and amps you to spin away. It bursts in the Free Spins Round when the music intensifies after a win., A massive hammer pounds the anvil before your prize gets counted. When that happens, you get to enjoy some stunning guitar riffs.

The buttons panel here is somewhat unique. It is a clean, modern-looking one. You have the spin button on the far right, with the auto-spin function next to it. On the left side is your settings option, and in the middle is the bet-adjuster. The ways-to-win number and your balance are between these two.

Specs & Gameplay

Hammer of Vulcan is a six-reel, four-row slot that uses the ways-to-win format (4096). It is a high variance title, with an RTP of 95.81%, where wins get awarded here if you hit three to six identical symbols on adjacent reels, starting from the leftmost one. The bets here range from as low as $0.1 to as high as $100, and the max win potential is a staggering x20,347 your stake. Note that when we say high variance, we mean super-high. So beware.

The low-paying symbols of this slot are 10-A card royals in a thick Trajan-like font. They provide prizes that are worth x2 to x3 your bet for six-of-a-kind. The high-paying ones are tongs, a shield, a helmet, two swords, a chalice, and a golden head statue. For six-of-a-kind, these provide rewards in the range of x4.5 to x12 your wager.

The scorching W is the Wild here, and it is a premium symbol that can get you a win of x12 for landing six of its instances on the grid. A volcano with the word bonus across it is the Scatter. There is an extra Hammer Wild in this game, which is Vulcan himself.

Bonus Features

When a Hammer Wild appears in view, Vulcan’s hammer slams the anvil, turning all pay symbols below the Hammer Wild into regular Wilds. That is what this game calls the Hammer Strike feature. It occurs in both the base game and the Light the Forge Free Spins Round.

To enter the Light the Forge mode, you need to hit three to six Scatters on the grid. In such an instance, you will get ten, twelve, fifteen, or twenty complimentary reel rotations depending on the number of landed Scatters. During this mode, one to four landed Scatters will produce one to six additional free spins. Every Hammer Wild that shows up in this round increases your win-multiplier by x1 and engages the Hammer Strike feature. If the last spin in this mode does not produce a win, the Strike Again feature triggers. It will keep awarding you spins until you hit a winning combo.

Hammer of Vulcan is the first Quickspin game to feature a Bonus Buy option. You can purchase your way into the Light the Forge! Mode for a cost of x80 your base wager.