In Sherlock Bones, created by Electric Elephant, the legendary investigator undergoes a therianthropic transformation, turning him instead into a dog with a bone obsession and a magnifying lens. The doggie detective’s faithful sidekick Watson joins him in this Relax Gaming-powered adventure as they stalk the feline Moriarty around London. The primary Rolling Respins feature includes expanding reels, ways, and possible winnings when activated by walking Sherlock Bones wild symbols.
Players are greeted by gloomy sky in Sherlock Bones. Above the tiled roofs and chimneys of late Victorian/early Edwardian London floats a 5-reel, 3-row grid. It’s a gloomy atmosphere, and you can easily see criminals of many stripes prowling the dimly illuminated streets. Some may jest that Sherlock Bones has captured the English weather perfectly because turning on the Rolling Respins function causes a rain. The music in Bones is a welcome distraction, a mystery Holmes-inspired jingle that goes perfectly with the dog and cat antics on the reels.
You may play Sherlock Bones on any of your devices for as little as 20 pence or as much as £/€100 each spin. Technically speaking, the London-based studio has given it a 3 out of 5 for volatility, placing it in the middle of the pack, while the RTP is rather respectable at 96.21%. The gameplay of Sherlock Bones may be broken down into two parts: the first game and subsequent re-plays. Even with stacked symbols and 243 chances to win, the standard game might be slow, but when you trigger a respin, everything goes into hyperdrive. However, because every respin always provides a payout, they rarely occur.
Three or more identical symbols from left to right on the first reel trigger a payout. Kings, Aces, pipes, magnifying glasses, paw prints, Watson as a dog in a bowler hat, and Moriarty as a cat with a monocle are the seven standard pay symbols available to land wins. The last two are the premiums, and they’re worth 6-10 times your bet if you get a flush or straight flush. During the feature, additional rows may be added, increasing the potential for full-screen wins that accrue in value.
Features of Sherlock Bones Slot Machine
Rolling Respins, a signature element of Sherlock Bones, is the game’s main attraction. When the Sherlock Bones wild symbol appears, a bonus reel is activated underneath the standard reel set. This horizontally spinning bonus reel solely shows blank spots or skeletal structures. A sticky wild that grows downwards when hit by a bone activates Rolling Respins. Wilds occur exclusively on reels 2, 3, 4, and 5, and they may substitute for any other symbol.
In this bonus round, participants are given additional chances to win. Following a successful spin, sticky wilds move to the left by one reel and an additional row is added to the top of the grid. Additional rows can be added for a total of 16,807. When a wild animal walks, it gains a whole foot in height. When a bonus bone symbol lands directly under a newly formed wild, the reel’s bonus feature is activated and the wild becomes sticky. If a wild symbol walks off the reels during a Rolling Respin, the feature ends.
Predicting Slots with Sherlock Bones
If you have a dog or cat and want to play a slot machine that will make you laugh, then give Sherlock Bones a try. While the rolling aspect of Respins may be a lot of fun, other parts of the game feel lacking. The biggest issue is that there is seldom too much going on except the main attraction. The creatures are cute, but the game’s long stretches of monotony stem from the game’s gloomy setting, the reels’ lackluster visuals, and the gameplay’s lack of innovation.
The fact that Rolling Respins are slow to activate also contributes. This makes sense, as they function similarly to win spins, but with more potential for profit with to features like expanding reels, ways, and stacked symbols. Players should expect to encounter Rolling Respins again in the future, as Electric Elephant has gone to the trouble of trademarking them. That wouldn’t be a terrible idea as that aspect of Sherlock Bones feels a little underdeveloped. Something is lacking, but it’s hard to put your finger on it. Maybe adding another feature or a smaller modifier would have helped make up for the monotony of Sherlock Bones. As it is, you have to suffer through a large number of mundane spins in the hope that Rolling Respins may appear and help you recover some of your losses.
The subject is sometimes handled in a muddled fashion. Although it’s refreshing to see Electric Elephant cast non-humans for a change, the animals still seem completely out of place. The three upbeat creatures are at contrast with the Steampunk atmosphere well evoked by the film’s evocative background, soundtrack, and clanking gears. Another issue is that unlike in games like Piggy Riches or The Dog House, the characters in Sherlock Bones don’t have enough individuality to make the game truly absurd. Lastly, the picture in the background symbolizes flying creatures like pigeons, whereas dogs and cats remain grounded. Okay, it’s picking at it, but the dissonance that results from the contrast is something that a dog’s-eye perspective of London’s seedy streets might have prevented.
Overall, the animal personifications help make Sherlock Bones a humorous game, which may appeal to a wider audience. Maybe we’ve been spoiled recently by the abundance of Holmes-related slot machines, what with the eerily atmospheric Moriarty Megaways and the enormous payouts available in Sherlock & Moriarty Wowpot. Sherlock Bones just doesn’t have the firepower to take on two formidable opponents like that. Nonetheless, it’s endearing, and Electric Elephant’s Rolling Respins function might be useful in the future.
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