Bee Hive Bonanza Slot Review: Experience the Buzz
NetEnt returns with another bee-themed online slot release, this time set in a medieval world full of honey-loving characters looking to deliver plenty of sweet features and wins worth up to 5,000x your stake. Bee Hive Bonanza offers familiar grid-style gameplay that unfolds across a 5×5 reel layout with all wins being awarded via a Scatter Pays mechanic, so you needn’t worry about traditional paylines.
There’s also a wide range of exciting features to discover, including Avalanches, special Money Bee symbols that can generate instant cash wins and, of course, free spins. So, if you’re keen to learn more, be sure to continue reading our Bee Hive Bonanza slot review to see why we’re buzzing about this new slot release.
Bee Hive Bonanza Features
NetEnt rarely disappoints when it comes to packing slots full of intriguing features and Bee Hive Bonanza comfortably continues the trend. The base game offers all sorts of payout potential thanks to the game’s Scatter Pays mechanic working in unison with the Avalanche feature to deliver multiple wins per spin, whilst instant cash prizes are available via the Money Bee feature. Plus, there’s even a free spins bonus for you to enjoy that can benefit from some huge multipliers!
Scatter Pays & Avalanches
Bee Hive Bonanza doesn’t come with a standard payline structure. Instead, you simply need to land 6 or more matching symbols anywhere on the reels to form a win. All wins trigger the Avalanche feature, which removes all winning symbols from the reels to leave space for new ones to drop in and potentially create a series of consecutive payouts.
Money Bee Feature
In both the base game and free spins, special Bee symbols with values worth 1x, 2x, 5x or 10x your current bet can randomly appear on the reels. These values are worth nothing on their own but if either a Beehive, Adder Beehive or Multiplier Beehive symbol lands at the same time the Money Bee feature triggers, collecting each prize and removing each symbol from the reels.
The collector symbols behave in the following manner:
- Beehive: Collects the face value of all Bee symbols in view.
- Adder Beehive: Increases the value of all Bee symbols in view by the current bet value before they are collected by any Beehive, Adder Beehive or Multiplier Beehive present.
- Multiplier Beehive: Multipliers the value of all Bee symbols in view by 2x before they are collected by any Beehive, Adder Beehive or Multiplier Beehive present.
Scatter Symbol
Scatter symbols, depicted by golden honey pots, are key to triggering the free spins on Bee Hive Bonanza. Landing 3, 4 or 5 Scatters during a single spin awards 10, 15 or 20 free spins, respectively.
Bee Hive Bonanza Free Spins and Bonus
Upon triggering the free spins feature, you’ll benefit from the Money Bee feature becoming active throughout the bonus, thus increasing your payout potential. In addition, a new Collection Meter comes into play, which collects all Scatter symbols landing during free spins, awarding extra free spins and increasingly valuable multipliers for each 3 Scatters it collects, as follows:
- 3 Scatters: 2x Multiplier + 2 free spins
- 6 Scatters: 3x Multiplier + 2 free spins
- 9 Scatters: 4x Multiplier +2 free spins
- 12 Scatters: 5x Multiplier + 2 free spins
Bee Hive Bonanza Theme and Symbols
Set in the middle ages, Bee Hive Bonanza is a medieval-themed slot that introduces a roster of buzzing beehives, brazen bandits and jolly jesters. It’s certainly a unique setting and as NetEnt is a studio renowned for its quality of design, we’d expect this slot to transport us to a rich and vibrant world. Unfortunately, though, the overall aesthetic feels rather lacklustre as the generic background and repetitive audio do little to offer any real sense of immersion.
As for the symbols, NetEnt remains true to the game’s theme as all high and low-paying symbols are represented by ye olde coins, with the premium awarding 8x your stake whenever at least 22 appear during a single spin.
Bee Hive Bonanza RTP and Volatility
With an RTP of 96.09%, Bee Hive Bonanza sits around the average mark in terms of its expected payout rate, which is something you should always consider before playing.
However, as it’s rated as a high volatility slot, you may need to exercise some patience when hunting for larger wins; you’ll likely see some steady returns during your session but the game’s bigger payouts may be somewhat elusive.
How To Play Bee Hive Bonanza
One of the major positives of playing Bee Hive Bonanza is that its gameplay is extremely straightforward. With no traditional paylines to speak of, you needn’t worry about landing matching symbols in specific positions, you simply need to match 6 or more anywhere on the grid to earn a payout. Plus, as is the case with most modern releases, all of the necessary functions are conveniently located beneath the reels.
We’re also pleased to report that it comes with a fantastic range of staking options. With a €0.10 minimum bet and a €200 maximum bet, players of any type can enjoy all that’s on offer without having to worry about restrictive betting limits.
Slotsia’s Review
This new NetEnt offering will likely appeal to a wide audience as it has plenty to offer. The theme is unique, there’s a great selection of interesting features to discover and the game’s extensive range of betting options should draw the attention of all types of players looking for a comprehensive online slot experience.
However, there can be no doubt that the game’s true payout potential only comes into play when the free spins bonus and its respective multipliers combine with the Money Bee feature. Still, there’s enough overall depth to the gameplay to ensure each spin can be enthralling, which, at the end of the day, is what online slots are all about.
Great range of features
Free spins with multipliers
Fantastic range of betting limits
Solid maximum win potential – 5,000x
Highly volatile gameplay
Lacklustre visuals
