Ultimate Hold N Win Slot Review

The reels of the Ultimate Hold N Win slot machine are set against the backdrop of Las Vegas at night; the Mecca for casino fans. However, even if you skipped geography class, the flashing lights which surround the reel set should help you zone in on a location and even if you hit the post and guess Blackpool, this will not affect your overall gameplay experience.

When first loading the game players will see a 5x3 game grid, with a locked row found above and below the unlocked reels. The colours of the game are vibrant, and though the graphics are simple they are rendered nicely in 3D. The backdrop is subtly animated with rippling water which reflects the lights of the city, as well as various spotlights which pan lazily across the sky. The lights of the buildings also twinkle, as do the lights that surround the reel set.  

The soundtrack features some smooth big-band jazz which suits the Vegas theme. However, one thing worth noting is that the music plays automatically; and at quite the volume too, regardless of whether you switched it off in a previous session. There was no button to immediately turn off the sound, and it took a while of exploring the menus with the music blaring to find where this option was located. You can toggle the sound on and off by clicking on the relevant buttons which expand when the ‘+’ button is clicked on (as the plus button is next to the spin button the reasonable assumption was made that this would pertain to spins such as for modifiers and autoplay). Therefore, make sure your device’s volume is down before you load the game!

While there are plenty of modern elements, the Ultimate Hold N Win game is certainly a love letter to the classic slot machines that put Las Vegas on the map as the reels are full of iconic symbols such as fruit, BAR symbols, and 7’s. There is also a golden wild symbol which can substitute for all other symbols to form a winning combination.

Ultimate Hold N Win is one of the few new release slots out there which does not have a free spins bonus round. Not to worry though as there are features such as bursting wilds, expanding grids, an unlimited multiplier, and a Hold N Win respin bonus to look out for.

Bursting Wilds With Expanding Grid

Bursting Wilds can appear on the main game's 5x3 grid. These explode vertically, making every symbol on that reel turn wild.

During the bonus, the bottom and top rows are unlocked, resulting in a 5 by 5 grid which causes the number of paylines to increase to 30.

Hold N Win Bonus

This is the feature that gives Ultimate Hold N Win its name and is activated by a bonus symbol. Three Bonus symbols will need to land on any reel within a single spin to activate the feature. The feature round begins with three respins, and plays out similarly to Hold N Win features seen in other slot games.

Collect and cash symbols appear during the bonus and are sticky, remaining in place for the length of the round. The collect symbols gather the cash values of all symbols in view and remove them from the reels to make space for any new ones to appear in the following respin.

Unlimited Win Multiplier

The Hold N Win bonus provides a limitless win multiplier. Cash symbols start with win multipliers ranging from 0.4x to 100x your stake attached to them, and this value increases by 1x with each spin that hits at least one of the cash icons. This multiplier does not reset between respins.

Ultimate Hold N Win is a slot created by Booming Games to appeal to a specific type of player. While the game might not be for me; I prefer the storytelling and creativity expressed in modern video slots, I can recognise that this game feels like a true love letter to and modern take on the humble fruit machine - a game format which will have a lot of memories for some players.

Like traditional fruit machines, the features are stripped back, but in the case of Ultimate Hold N Win, they have been given a nice modern touch thanks to the expanding reels and the Hold N Win feature. The game still feels in keeping with the traditional slots it has been inspired by; enough to appeal to those players looking for a nostalgia hit, but also has enough going for it that it might tempt a few more modern slots fans in to trying the game out.  

The RTP is a little below the market average at 95.5% but it feels in keeping with the traditional fruit machines the game is inspired by and the 5,000x top prize is comparable to similar slots. The overall presentation of the slot has a good amount of polish, even if the theme is a little lacklustre for a storytelling-lover like myself, but one thing which definitely irked me was the audio. The quality of the soundtrack created was good, but the fact that it automatically played at maximum volume each time the title loaded and the mute button was not directly accessible from the main screen was highly frustrating and could lead to some awkward stares if you play the game in public with your volume on!

Overall, even though the game is not to my tastes, there is plenty that a good section of the online slots community will love about the Ultimate Hold N Win slot and for these reasons I score the game 7/10.

Rating: 7.0