Legend of Hydra - Review, Demo Play, Payout, Free Spins & Bonuses

Introduction

Legend of Hydra is a video slot from Playtech and it’s yet another title to be released under their “Power Zones” mechanic, which seems symbols duplicated and transformed. We’ll talk more about the bonuses and features inside Legend of Hydra later on in this review - first, let’s have a look at how the game is made, and what you can expect when playing it for yourself.

Format and Theme

Legend of Hydra is developed around a 6-reel, 5-row format, and there are no paylines in play here. Instead, it uses a “ways-to-win” mechanic, ensuring you only need to line up three or more symbols from left-to-right on adjacent reels; their positioning on the reels does not make a difference. There are a total of 15,625-ways-to-win. Legend of Hydra can be played from as little as 0.10 credits per spin, and high-rollers will be pleased to know that they can wager as much as 200 credits on each spin - there’s plenty of betting options here that’ll suit virtually all types of player!

The theme of Legend of Hydra is set in ancient Greece, and you’ll see this represented mainly in the game’s design. The reels are set upon a stunning backdrop which features a colossal-looking building, presumably one of the many buildings found in ancient Greece. The game also has a solid RTP, coming in at a fixed 96.56%, far higher than some of the recent Playtech releases we’ve reviewed – along with high volatility gameplay.

Legend of Hydra’s Symbols And Payouts

In keeping with the ancient Greek theme, Legend of Hydra offers up an array of different symbols, many of which are designed to be as authentic - theme-wise - as possible. The lowest-value symbols are the only ones to not relate to the theme, and these are a variety of different gemstones, all of which have spades, hearts, moons and suns on them.

Next up are the four character symbols. These are the better-paying symbols in Legend of Hydra, and they include a Wizard, a Knight, a Female Warrior and a Male Warrior. Finally, you’ll find the King and Queen, both of which are the game’s top-paying symbols awarding a payout of 0.7X your stake for a 6-of-a-kind combo.

There’s also a scatter symbol which we should point out as this is the key to triggering the main bonus round. The scatter symbol in Legend of Hydra is a Gold Coin, and it appears on all six reels. More on that - and what it does - in the next section of this review!

Legend of Hydra Bonus Features

There’s a huge number of bonuses and features packed into Legend of Hydra, and in total there’s 7 to be found within the game. Below, we’re going to be taking a look at these features in full, so you know what to expect when playing for yourself!

Power Zones

Legend of Hydra is one of Playtech’s “Power Zone Slots”, and this sees the game following on from their previous releases, Stallion Strike. During any spin in the base-game, any symbol - bar the scatter symbols or wilds - can appear as “charged”. You will know what a charged symbol is as it has a yellow highlight around it. If a charged symbol lands in view, it will then lock a Power Zone around it.

These Power Zones then connect with one another - both horizontally and vertically. If you manage to land another charged symbol next to a current Power Zone the total size of the Power Zone will expand, and any symbols that then land in the Power Zone will transform into one symbol - all other symbols within the Power Zone then transform into that symbol, offering some impressive win-potential!

Hydra Features

During any base-game spin one of the Hydra features can trigger randomly. This is somewhat like a progression-based reel modifier, as the more you play the more of these Hydra features you’ll be able to unlock. You achieve this by landing charged symbols in one of the Power Zone areas.

Each time one of the new Hydra features is unlocked you’ll be awarded with a free re-spin, and the specific Hydra feature you’ve triggered will then play out. Let’s take a look at the different Hydra features on offer in Legend of Hydra:

• Hydra Feature #1: The first Hydra feature adds a random number of wild symbols onto the reels, up to a total of 11. These wilds will be placed on reels 2-6.
• Hydra Feature #2: The second Hydra feature increases the number of Power Zone areas up to a maximum of 9.
• Hydra Feature #3: The third Hydra feature adds up to 4 Multiplier Power Zones onto the re-spin; the multiplier value is worth 2X.
• Hydra Feature #4: The fourth and final Hydra feature awards up to three extra Power Zone spots on any spin, and all symbols within these Power Zones are then transformed into a mystery symbol. There is also the chance of a 2X multiplier being applied, if a multiplier Power Zone forms part of the win here too.

Mighty Hydra Free Games

The biggest attraction in Legend of Hydra is the Mighty Hydra Free Games bonus round which is triggered by landing three or more of the Gold Coin scatter symbols anywhere in view. Landing three scatter symbols awards 12 free-spins while landing 4 or 5 awards 18 and 25 free-spins respectively. If you manage to land six of the scatter symbols you’ll be awarded a whopping 50 free-spins!

During the free games, landing two or more of the scatter symbols will award an additional number of free games, ranging from between 3 and 50. Playtech have not put a limit on the number of free-spins you can win here, the only cap is the 10,000X maximum win cap that the game itself implements.

During the bonus round, the spots where the scatter symbols landed when triggering the bonus round turn into Power Zones - and these are then held in place for the duration of the bonus.

Once you use up all your free-spins, you’ll also be awarded with what’s known as a Mega Spin; on this spin, all symbols that land in one of the Power Zones will transform into the same symbol, ensuring some big win-potential. It’s essentially a feature where you’re trying to build up the setup to be as good as possible before the final spin as that’s where the game’s real money can be found!

Our Verdict Of Legend of Hydra

When we first started putting this review of Legend of Hydra together we were worried that there was so much going on, it would end up being quite a complex and complicated game to review. Thankfully, it’s actually pretty straightforward to play, and we really like the fact that big wins can be formed in both the base-game and the bonus rounds - the Third Hydra feature we feel is especially lucrative, as the added multiplier means you can expect to hit even bigger wins.

That being said, if you’re going in search of those “monster hits’ it’s the Mighty Hydra Free Games feature you’ll be looking to try and trigger. We really like the fact that there’s unlimited free spins to be won here, and the Mega Spin feature at the end ensures there’s plenty of potential; you’ll just need to try and unlock as many of the Power Zones as possible before this Mega Spin feature takes place!

On the whole, Legend of Hydra is, we feel, an excellent effort from Playtech, and it’s likely to appeal to a wide variety of players. A maximum win of 10,000X your stake means there’s plenty of win-potential on offer - and we really can’t fault the game - it looks and plays great!