Itero: Slot Overview
To borrow from Nietzsche, here's a question: if you were offered
the chance to live your life again and again, in exactly the same way, down to the
smallest detail, for eternity, would it be a blessing or a curse? According to one
interpretation, those who answer yes, have embraced their lives, the good, the bad, the
ugly, and owned it. Or, as the German philosopher said, 'how well disposed would you
have to become to yourself and to life to crave nothing more fervently than this
ultimate eternal confirmation and seal?' Developer Hacksaw Gaming may well have been
grappling with this concept, or something similar, when they designed Itero, a game
that lets players repeat an aspect of the past with a new mechanic called EchoSpins –
available in the base game and in two bonus rounds.
Itero, a Latin word meaning 'to
repeat', certainly puts on philosophical airs when it loads. The game uses a similarly
dark palette to Hand of Anubis but has a very different mood to the other's heavy
Egyptian afterlife vibe. Itero is more introspective and takes place in a grey/black
classical setting, with a flowing piano-led soundtrack which would be perfect for a
montage clip of modern life
. With a classical Roman focus, statues appear as
symbols on its 5x4 game grid, with splashes of bright neon colour sprinkled throughout,
breaking up what might have been an overly dour atmosphere without it.
Now, for some
numbers, starting with RTP, which is configurable, and has a maximum value of 96.18%,
when playing in regular mode. If bonus buys are available for you, then the figure will
change as you will see further below. As per usual with Hacksaw volatility is high,
with the studio rating it 5 out of 5, meaning sessions which dip and dive as wildly as
any other.
Playable from 10 p/c toR$/€100 per spin, the game comes with hit rate of
29.38%, whilst wins occur when matching symbols land left to right from the rightmost
side on any of the 20 paylines. Roman fonted 10-A symbols are used as the low pays,
worth 1-2x the bet for five of a kind, whereas five busts are used as the highs, worth
4-10x the stake for a line of five. Three-headed dog wilds land in any reel to
substitute the normal pays and are worth 10x the bet if five wilds land along a
payline.
Itero: Slot Features
Itero sees the introduction of a new respin mechanic from
Hacksaw called EchoSpins. This triggers in the base game or in either bonus game,
called Wrath of Jupiter and Gift from the Gods.
EchoSpins
EchoSpins are a form of
respin where the original triggering spin is repeated. When a Hand of Jupiter symbol
hits at the same time as at least one winning payline, EchoSpins are awarded. The Hand
of Jupiter symbol reveals a number from 1 to 8, equating to the number of won
EchoSpins. There is an important addition: 2 types of Multiplier symbols also land on
the reels. These are Additive Multipliers of x2, x3, x4, x5, or x10, and Multiplicative
Multipliers of x2 or x3. If EchoSpins trigger with multiplier symbols in view, they are
collected by a global win multiplier which is applied to the total line wins. The
collection is repeated on each EchoSpin, too. For example, if 2 EchoSpins are won, with
an x2 and x5 Additive Multiplier in view, the win on the first respin is multiplied by
x7, then on the second respin by x14. Multipliers are only applied to wins during
EchoSpins.
Wrath of Jupiter
This bonus is awarded when exactly 3 scatter symbols are in
view. During the feature, there is a higher chance of hitting Hand of Jupiter symbols,
with a better chance for more EchoSpins and greater multipliers. The win multiplier
resets at the end of an EchoSpins sequence.
Gift from the Gods
In this bonus, awarded
when 4 scatter symbols hit, any multiplier symbol that lands is saved by the total win
multiplier. The next time EchoSpins are triggered, the accumulated multiplier applies
to the repeat wins. After an EchoSpins sequence ends, the win multiplier resets.
Buy
Bonus
Players with access to the Buy Bonus button can buy the highly volatile Wrath of
Jupiter for 129x the bet (RTP 96.2%) or 200x the bet for the very highly volatile Gift
from the Gods (RTP 96.25%).
Itero: Slot Verdict
From its name to the focus on cultural
icons of a classical era, Itero is a very unique experience. Some games go for a
visceral gut-punch approach, whereas Itero stirs something intellectual as well. It has
an unusually highbrow element, provoking ideas most slots don't, while also capable of
producing white knuckle moments. You have to hand it to Hacksaw; again, they are doing
stuff no one else is. It's amazing when you think of their journey from earlier
releases like Om Nom, a fun handheld game about junk food, to Itero, a Latin titled
slot that explores the mysteries of time in a philosophical setting. The creativity the
studio displays, their curiosity to explore a broad range of themes is breathtaking,
and an ideal antidote for an industry flooded with a fair share of unimaginative
mediocrity.
What's equally impressive is that Hacksaw is just as good as pushing out
new gaming concepts, and EchoSpins is another intriguing one - similar in spirit to
4ThePLayer's 10x Rewind, though different in practice. Like a lot of things Hacksaw
does, EchoSpins are definitely volatile. One of the first times we encountered the
mechanic, it coughed up like four solidly multiplied respins. Not too shabby an
introduction to the concept. They vary widely, though, from repeat 0.1x wins with no
multiplier to bigly stacked multipliers. Relating it back to Nietzsche's question,
excellent EchoSpins you want to repeat, low-value ones, meh. There is something highly
satisfying about winning a handful of EchoSpins with a couple of multiplier symbols in
view, knowing that each win from then on is just going to get better and better.
EchoSpins didn't tend to be very common in the base game, so bonus buys may be a
temptation. We did experience a Gift from the Gods bonus round that built a multiplier
from start to end but dropped no Hand of Jupiter symbols to use it, so tread carefully.
When put to good use, however, Itero can crank out wins worth up to 10,000 times the
base bet.
Itero is not a beer and pretzels slot you fire up to feel cheerful. It's got
more depth than that and might take a bit of effort from the player to extract full
enjoyment. Like riddling out a philosophical conundrum, if you can work through a
virtual 'dark night of the soul' and emerge victorious, Itero can be a hugely thrilling
game, entertaining in its unique way.
