Hustling

Theme and Design

West Coast LA Vibe and Cool Hip Hop Soundtrack 

Hustling has both East Coast and West Coast represented in its free spins round rap battle finale, but the backdrop is most definitely west coast with a real LA vibe it. There is a back alley littered with graffiti and trainers hanging from power cables, whilst palm trees and a pacific beach with golden sun fill the background.

What I love is the pace of the game. Start spinning the reels and a relentless backbeat with bass starts up. It’s slow and hypnotic, waiting for one of the rappers to drop on a Stacked Wild to get the show started, or better still, both to drop at the same time, because that is when the main event kicks in, a free spins rap battle. It feels like Red Tiger put a lot of thought into how the game is built around that trigger, because suddenly the sluggish pace gives way to drama, kind of like your favourite artist hitting the stage.

Whilst this is not a slot that offers relentless features, the style and theme carried it for me.

RTP and Variance

Red Tiger are a slot developer who build games with more than one RTP setting. This is not uncommon but it means it’s worth checking the setting before you start spending money. You can do this on the info screen once you’ve launched the game. I have round Hustling running at 4 different settings across various sites: 95.73%, 93.68%, 92.11% and 90.07%.  Whilst there is not much to choose between those top 2, I would avoid playing at 92.11% or 90.07% which trims your odds too much.

Currently, Hustling runs at 95.73% at Casumo Casino which makes that a good site to play the game at.

Hustling is also a highly volatile slot so it will be unpredictable and unlocking the free spins round where the biggest wins are will be a tough ask.

Maximum Win

The top payout in Hustling is 3,151x, giving you a maximum win of £3,151 for just a £1 stake. In my opinion that is disappointing cap and it certainly doesn’t compare favourably with the biggest max win slots you can try right now. However, some slots players don’t pay too much attention to max win as the odds of hitting it are so long, so it shouldn’t color your view on Hustling too much.

Symbols and Paytable

Win Both Way Paylines But It's All About The Wild Stacks

Hustling uses a very simple 5 reel and 3 row reel set, but adds an extra dimension to the gameplay with win both ways paylines. There are 10 in all and you can trigger pay outs by landing 3 or more identical symbols from left to right OR right to left.

That fits neatly with the rap battle theme as we shall find out.

Paytable values are about average in keeping with the modest maximum win potential of the game. There are 5 low value ones – 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace – valued at from 0.1x for 3 10s up to 1.2x for 5 Aces. Premiums are the hip hop pieces – cap, spray paint, ghetto blaster, trainer, and gold $$ necklace. These are valued at 0.4x for 3 caps up to 20x for 5 gold $$ necklaces.

Wilds come only in the form of 1x3 stacks on the outer reels, helping to complete paylines when they can.

Features and Gameplay

Hang On Til You Hit The Free Spins Round - That's Where It's At

There is a kind of rap battle vibe going on here, and fans of this kind of music will appreciate the features built around it.

Stacked Super Wilds Are Sticky

The key to scoring anything like a big win is landing at least one, and preferably two, of the Stacked Super Wilds on the outer reels. These are represented by a rapper with a mic. Not only do these help build wins – both ways remember – but they also trigger a re-spins and stick in place each time they land.

That is important because you can score another win, but also because if you land BOTH Stacked Super Wilds at the same time, then the free spins round triggers.

Rap Battle Free Spins Round With Progressive Multipliers

You might call it a gimmick, but I love how the free spins round works. At the start you must choose your rapper – called East Wild or West Wild (left or right).

Then, you get 10 spins.

Each wild is sticky for the round and starts with a 1x multiplier. Each time a wild is involved in a win, then its multiplier increases by 1x. Or, if both wilds are involved in a win, then their multipliers are multiplied.

This continues until the spins run out. Then, if your chosen rapper (wild) has the higher multiplier at the end, then another 10 spins are awarded. If he has a lower multiplier, then the round ends and you are back in the base game. It's that simple!