A mesmerising hippopotamus lies at the centre of the action in Hypno-Hippo, a wild animal-themed video slot from Novomatic. Played using a 5 reel, 25 payline game engine, it offers payouts that can top 10,000 coins per payline as well as a free spins feature where symbols can magically morph into scatters. Play on your desktop, tablet or mobile device from between 50p and £50 per spin.
Cartoon design is the order of the day in Hypno-Hippo – joining the lower value A to 10 playing cards are reeds from a river, a laughing hyena and a mischievous looking monkey. Top of the standard symbols is the elephant – you’re guaranteed a payout every time 1 of these lands anywhere on the reels, albeit of just 2 coins.
Land 2, 3, 4 or 5 in combination and the payouts increase to a far more impressive 10, 150, 600 or 10,000 coins (200 times your stake). The chicken is the game’s scatter, awarding 2, 10 or 50 times your total stake if you land 3, 4 or 5 anywhere on the reels on the same spin.
Rounding out the symbols is the swirling HYPNO sign – this replaces all of the higher value symbols (but not the playing cards). Land 3 of these HYPNP signs on the same spin and you’ll activate the Free Games feature. Here you’ll be awarded 8 free spins. The hippo works a little magic on each free spin, casting a spell on the middle 3 reels. When the hyena, monkey or elephant land on the middle 3 reels they will turn into a scatter. More free spins are on offer here too giving you up to 16.
The base game action in this safari-themed video slot isn’t especially exciting. Things pick up nicely in the bonus round though where regular re-triggers and transforming symbols can lead to come potentially exotic combinations. As far as design goes, this is typical Novomatic. We’ve seen worse but it didn’t exactly get the pulse racing.
We could say the same about the gameplay too. The big beasts in the base game remained largely dormant. If the hippo casts his spell though some decent action is on offer in the bonus round.
Novomatic video slots are something of an acquired taste. People who like them, really like them. If you’re a fan, Hypno-Hippo ticks all the usual boxes. If you’re an agnostic about this developer, the Hypno-Hippo probably won’t leave you feeling entranced – I recommend other games like African Simba by Novomatic which is also more volatile.
