Hey Sweetie - Review, Demo Play, Payout, Free Spins & Bonuses

Introduction

Man’s best friend is living the high life in Hey Sweetie!, a five-reel offering from Gaming1 first released in 2017. This slot takes the classic 5x3 structure and ups the ante with 99 fixed paylines, complete with glitter, cute dogs and cascading reels. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but this is a tried and tested slot format that keeps things upbeat and entertaining, throwing players a few interesting bones for a payout boost.

Symbols include the Hey Sweetie logo, a white dog, a terrier-style dog, a dog necklace, a purple cushion, a pet carrier and dog hair brushes. In addition there is a wild which replaces all symbols bar the bonus to help generate winning combinations. It appears on the second, third and fourth reels, but it can appear on all reels during the bonus feature. The bone in a pink bow is the bonus/scatter and can trigger the bonus feature.

Cascading reels are in play for this slot, meaning that after any win from a matching combination of symbols, those symbols involved will disappear and be replaced by new symbols. This could set off a chain-reaction with more wins, and cascades will continue until no new wins are formed.

From left to right on the user interface, you’ll find game information, bet, autospin, spin, credits and win amount. If the cheesy soundtrack gets irritating, it can easily be toggled off below the user interface.

A dog is for life, not just a spin of the reels. These puppies need looking after, and if you give them the TLC they deserve, you’ll be nicely rewarded with some generous prizes.

Theme, Graphics & Soundtrack

Hey Sweetie! is an animal-themed slot that’s all about puppy-dog eyes and wagging tails. It could also be considered a luxury-themed slot, as these are some pretty pampered pooches. Rather than realistic canines, this is more cartoonish in style and takes a very pink, very glitzy approach, making this a distinctive slot that's totally dog mad in introducing us to the wonderful world of puppies and their accessories.

The game matrix takes up a large proportion of the screen, meaning the symbols and user controls are large and easy to navigate. The background is basic in shades of purple and blue with some white light sparkles. The reels themselves are outlined in a golden frame with a rich purple backdrop, with the player interface likewise set in a gold surround.

Sparkles line the symbols when winning combinations are spun, but the animations look a little tacky and dated. A cheesy ‘90s soundtrack with dogs barking accompanies gameplay to give this a glamorous, upbeat feel. All in all, there’s nothing too spectacular in terms of aesthetics or sound here, but it conjures that pink, cheesy, cute dog vibe quite well.

Hey Sweetie! RTP & Volatility

The 95.92% RTP is a little underwhelming, being just below that 96% minimum average we prefer to see. The volatility isn’t known, but from our own gameplay we’d probably anticipate a lower variance with lower but potentially more regular wins.

How to Play Hey Sweetie!

1. To play, simply select the bet using the +/- buttons. Paylines are fixed, so no other adjustment is necessary.
2. Hit spin and wait as the symbols drop into place.
3. Autospin is also available for up to 100 automatic spins.

Bet Sizes & Paytable Wins

The minimum bet is 0.50 coins, which is higher than some slots and a tad surprising given the casual feel of the game. The maximum wager is 25.00 coins, which isn’t likely to satisfy the highest of high-rollers but should still see some reasonable prize returns.

Symbols pay out for three and above. The most valuable is the Hey Sweetie! logo, worth 1,500x for five of a kind, down to 15x for three. The sweet white dog is next at 700x for five. The hairbrushes are the least valuable, at 20x for five and 1x for three.

Max-win 37,500x

Volatility High

Top RTP 96.03%

Hey Sweetie! Bonus Features

Free spins is the only bonus feature in addition to cascading reels.

Free Spins - Get yourself three or more bonus symbols on the grid and you’ll be rewarded with the bonus. Pick yourself a bonus bone for your little Sweetie dog and you could win between five and 50 free spins. What’s more, Wilds can appear on all reels during this round to help boost the chances of winning combinations.

Overall Review

The wagers aren’t ideal, being a little high for super-casual players at 0.50 to start and a little too low at the 25.00 coin max for the more daring of players. That said, this game offers super simple gameplay, making it an approachable pick-up-and-play option for any player.

The 95.92% RTP isn’t too bad, but we can’t help but find it just a little disappointing. The volatility isn’t known, but it’s likely to be on the lower side. It’s probably going to be more of a casual game for novelty than a slot with longevity and particularly lucrative outcomes. This slot isn’t paw-fect by any means, but we do like the potentially unlimited cascading wins and the large number of free spins possible, with the wild giving players a little helping hand along the way.

There’s no denying that this is a very cute slot, full of glitz, glitter, glamour and dogs galore. Sadly, the graphics, sound and animation weren’t overly impressive, but they keep the game casual. We think that the theme itself and the slot’s general aesthetics will be pretty divisive, so players will either love it or hate it.

For more adorable animal magic check out the Pets online slot, a super-cute slot from Pariplay. This game has 40 paylines, free spins, wilds, expanding wilds and a 2,500x top payout.

Disclaimer: Hey Sweetie trademark / license is owned by Gaming1. This site is not endorsed by Gaming1.