Colossus Hold & Win: Slot Overview

Created to mark the island’s successful defence, the Colossus of Rhodes is said to have stood around 70 cubits, or 33 meters tall, placing it among the tallest statues of the ancient world. For perspective, that’s roughly comparable to the Statue of Liberty’s height – excluding the pedestal she stands on. Its scale helped earn it a place among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, though it partly fell in an earthquake in 226 BC and was later completely destroyed by an Arab army in 653. There’s even been occasional discussion about rebuilding it at Rhodes Harbour, but the idea is still very much in limbo. Anyone not keen on waiting for a real-world revival can get their fix via iSoftBet’s online slot Colossus Hold & Win.

As you might expect, this is another entry in iSoftBet’s rapidly growing Hold & Win slot line-up. The collection is packed with streak respin-style titles, and Colossus delivers one of the simplest bonus rounds in the bunch. We’ll cover that shortly. First impressions from the loading screen may trigger a Helios’ Fury sense of déjà vu, since both games draw on the same classic Helios statue theme. Once you’re in, the two begin to separate a little. For starters, Helios is positioned on the left in Colossus Hold & Win, whereas he appears on the right in Helios’ Fury. Beyond that, the similarities remain noticeable; both run on a 5×3 game grid filled with various Ancient Greek-themed items.

Colossus Hold & Win leans into a more traditional slot vibe, using a 20 fixed paylines setup for wins instead of the connector-ways approach seen in Relax’s title. Volatility is high, and the hit rate is fairly punchy too at 37.2%. RTP is calculated in two different ways depending on how the bonus is entered. When triggered normally, at every 182 base game spins on average, it returns 96%, rising to 96.95% when the feature is purchased.

With stakes ranging from 20 p/c to $/€20 per spin, standard wins are formed when matching symbols connect left to right on adjacent reels, starting from the far-left reel. Low-paying symbols are the card ranks Jack through Ace, awarding 1 to 3 times your stake for five of a kind, while the higher pays include ships, weapons, armour, and warriors. Hitting five premium symbols on a payline returns 3.5 to 20 times your stake. The wilds add a nice touch; they can land on every reel except the first, and they expand to cover all positions on the reel. Along with substituting for any paying symbol, they can also receive a multiplier of x2, x3, x5, or x10 via the Colossus Rising Flame.

Colossus Hold & Win: Slot Features

No one would call Colossus Hold & Win a complicated slot. The core mechanic is Colossus Hold & Win Respins, which can be triggered naturally or purchased, depending on whether that option is permitted where you live.

Hold & Win Respins

Hitting 6 or more gold coins activates this feature. The coin symbols that trigger it are locked in place, and the bonus plays out on a grid that can land either coin symbols or blanks. Any new coins that appear also lock in and reset the number of respins to the starting total of 3. Once the respins are used up, the combined value of all visible coin symbols is paid out.

Colossus Rising Flame

During the respin feature – at the beginning of the round, when a new coin lands, or when the feature ends – the Colossus Rising Flame may ignite and multiply the value of coin symbols on the reels by x2, x3, x5, or x10.

Colossus Spin

Should players fill all positions on the grid during the respin round, they are awarded 1 Colossus Spin on a special reel. This spin can land the Minor, Major, or Colossus prize, paying 50x, 500x, or 10,000x the bet.

Colossus Bet

Where regulations allow, you can purchase immediate entry to the bonus round for 100x the bet. After buying it, the feature is guaranteed to trigger on the next spin.

Colossus Hold & Win: Slot Verdict

Colossus Hold & Win delivers one of the most stripped-back hold & win bonus rounds we’ve come across in quite some time. The base game is nearly as minimal as well, although the relatively strong hit rate and the occasional expanding wild with a multiplier help reduce the monotony. That said, there’s little to no realistic chance of landing the game’s 10,000x potential via the Colossus award through regular play, which makes the bonus buy feel especially tempting as a shortcut to the more lucrative possibilities.

It often seems like this style of bonus feature is caught in an arms race, with studios adding special symbols to ramp up the excitement – Money Train 2 is a well-known example – or building more elaborate boards like Dead Man’s Trail, plus plenty of other twists in between. Colossus Hold & Win goes the other way and removes most of those embellishments. It isn’t completely lacking in modifiers, since the Colossus Rising Flame multipliers can still lift returns, but it’s unusual knowing that only coin symbols will appear throughout the bonus.

On the plus side, Colossus Hold & Win may suit streak respin fans who want a breather from the constant escalation seen in many modern releases, and who prefer straightforward mechanics. On the flip side, the respin feature isn’t particularly lively, so if you’re after big spectacle, fresh ideas, or more variety, the simple rules and limited extras may feel a little flat.