Eye of the Panda

Review Eye of the Panda

Eye of the Panda is one of the latest casino pokies by Hacksaw Gaming and not only is the theme of a bad-tempered panda bear well chosen, the title gets us in the mood as well. We bet that a lot of other Kiwis thought about that song when they first read the title and this is all that is needed to feel like you’re in the winning mood. We do want to point out that players need to be realistic at all times when it comes to online gambling in New Zealand, which is why we’ve come up with this full review. This Eye of the Panda pokie review will give you all the information you need to get started with your first spin. Ideally, you would try out this game with the free demo mode and move on to the real money  version once you feel comfortable about your skills.

How to Play

The casino games by Hacksaw Gaming are widely available at many of New Zealand’s best real money online casinos, which is why we don’t expect you to have any problems finding this pokie. If you stick to our recommended online casinos you’ll make sure you’re going to sign up to a website that is available for players in New Zealand.

• Stay and play only at the best Hacksaw Gaming online casinos.
• Find the Eye of the Panda pokie in the lobby.
• Practise in the free demo mode to develop a good strategy.
• Get the most out of welcome packages and other casino promos.
• Start making your real money spin.
• Stick to a predefined budget and be patient.

Symbol Wins

Presented with a panda game theme, Eye of the Panda is completely different from other games that share the same animal. Eye of the Panda takes you to an Asian city which are normally known for their colours and neon effects. Whilst the city is alive, the panda doesn’t seem very energetic which is why you’ll see him sleeping with his arms crossed. This indeed adds a somewhat darker touch to the game which is something we have gotten used to in pokies delivered by this studio, like Chaos Crew 2 and RIP City. As for the symbols, you’ll first see the A, K, Q, J and 10 royals. Then there are other symbols such as junk food like ice cream, milkshakes, doughnuts, chips and burgers. The burger is the most rewarding symbol paying 2, 5 or 10x the stake for 3, 4 or 5 across a payline. The Panda itself is the game’s wild that substitutes for all symbols. Combos of 5 wilds will lead to payouts of 10x the bet. Look out for Wild Panda Multipliers which range from 2x to 10x. The last symbol to check out is the Free Spins Scatter which activates two FS features.

Bonus Features

Eye of the Panda pokie comes with a total 5 bonus features. These include Super Cascades, Wild Panda Multipliers up to 10x apply when they’re part of a win. Multiple Panda will see their multiplier values. There are two different FS features where Wild Panda Multipliers are collected and added to the reels in case of a win. For players in New Zealand, there is also a bonus buy feature. Here is what you can expect from all the features:

Super Cascade feature

The Super Cascade feature is activated when winning combos are made. In this case, all symbols of the winning type(s) will be removed from the reels whilst new symbols fall into the vacant spaces.

Wild Panda Multipliers feature

There are Wild Panda Multiplier symbols that appear in the base game. With 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x and/or 10x values, they will apply their multipliers to any winning combination the Wild Panda Multiplier symbol is part of. If multiple Wild Panda Multipliers are part of a win, the multipliers will multiply each other and then applied to the win. During the free spins, Wild Panda Multipliers remain sticky as long as they are part of a win.

Never Say No to Panda Bonus feature

This pokie also boasts the Never Say No to Panda Bonus feature. This feature is activated when 3 or more Free Spins Scatter symbols are landed during a base game spin. When this happens, 10 free spins will be awarded. In case a Panda Wild symbol isn’t part of a winning combination, it will be collected as 1 of the 5 Panda Collectors. This is done right next to the reel. If there are no empty slots in the Collector when a Panda symbol lands on a non-winning free spin, the Panda isn’t saved. During winning combinations, the panda will jump down and land on the reels. This happens fully randomly and is done for multipliers it is part of. If no more winning positions to fill, pandas are saved in the Panda Collector. As we pointed out earlier in our review, Wild Panda Multipliers are sticky as long as they are part of a win. When a winning combination comes to an end, the multipliers are removed alongside the winning symbols.

Jumping Panda Bonus Feature

This feature is activated when landing 4 FS Scatters on a base game spin. In this case, 10 FS are awarded. This feature shares a lot of similarities with what is seen during the base game. Do note that the first 5 Wild Panda Multipliers will be sticky for the rest of this bonus feature. The Wild Panda Multipliers will also jump to random positions, this happens on each free spin. They also cascade and get a new multiplier value with each jump. Finally, the Panda Multiplier value is applied to winning combinations.

Bonus Buy Feature

In New Zealand online casinos, there is a Bonus Buy feature that can be purchased to gain direct access to the bonus features. Kiwis have four different options to choose from, ranging from 3 to 200x the stake. This bonus feature can be enabled by pressing the Buy Bonus button. Here is what this means:

• Bonushunt FeatureSpins: Each spin is 5x more likely to activate a feature
  • 3x the stake per spin.
  • RTP: 96.34%.
• FeatureSpins: Each spin guarantees 5+ Panda symbols.
  • 50x the stake per spin.
  • RTP: 96.28%.
• Never Say No to Panda: Access to Never Say No to Panda Bonus feature.
  • 100x the stake.
  • RTP: 96.27%.
• Jumping Pandas: Access to Jumping Panda Bonus feature.
  • 250x the stake.
  • RTP: 96.33%.

Payout Metrics

The RTP of Eye of the Panda is set at 96.26%. This is perfectly fine as it sits above the 96% pokies average, but players will need to bear in mind that there are 94.21% and 92.25% RTP versions as well. We therefore recommend Kiwis to check this before opening the paytable. The idea is obviously to choose the version that has the highest RTP. The hit frequency rate is set at 33.87% which is the same percentage across all RTP versions. As for the game’s variance, the provider labels it somewhere in the medium category (3 out of 5). With regard to the game’s top win potential, Eye of the Panda boasts top wins of 10,000x the stake. The top win probability is set at 1 in 11.5 million spins.

Summary

Eye of the Panda Pokie is quite a unique game, both when it comes to the theme and the audiovisual part of it. Once again, Hacksaw Gaming has managed to set itself apart from other game developers in the industry. The brand new and darker look and feel of Eye of the Panda pokie is once again a perfect example of what makes this provider different from many others. We also liked the floating backdrop which is a nice addition to the game. When it comes to the bonus features, we had a great time testing this new NZ online pokie as well and we guess that many New Zealanders will agree.

In the base game Eye of the Panda, you can count on Super Cascades which will see all winning symbols removed from the grid making place for new ones. This cascading effect significantly improves your chances of making another win. The multipliers in the game are fairly basic, but the multiple multipliers will see the values multiplied after which they are applied. Players will find two different free spins features in the game which is always something positive. The Super Free Spins feature works pretty much like regular free spins feature, but lets players start at level 2. With max wins going up to 10,000x the bet and an RTP of +96%, the stats of Eye of the Panda Pokie are just as good as the game’s overall design. All together, this is a highly unique online casino game that is available in New Zealand. We recommend players to try out the pokie via the free demo and enjoy the game.