Henry the Ape: Slot Overview

Hopefully it’s a scenario we never have to face, but if humanity were ever wiped out by an extinction-level event—whether caused by ourselves or otherwise—it’s anyone’s guess which creature might eventually rise to the top. Online slots sometimes let you play out these “what if” ideas with different animals, and one of the most common human-like picks is our primate relatives. Push Gaming leans into that angle with Henry the Ape, a slot where apes mirror human life, backed up by nudges, an emphasis on the super high pay symbol, free spins with symbol upgrades, and more.

Visually, Push Gaming uses a clever fisheye-style perspective to bring Henry the Ape’s setting to life. The viewpoint sits low to the ground, showing skyscrapers, everyday buildings, spray cans, a yellow cab, and a boombox—like wandering through the busy streets of New York City. Sound is a key part of the atmosphere, and with New York being the birthplace of hip-hop, the theme clicks into place. Henry the Ape isn’t quite as wild as East Coast vs West Coast, but it’s still tough not to move along with the beat as Henry and his crew drop in across the reels.

Henry comes across as a huge, hard-edged character, and the game’s highly volatile math model suits him perfectly. Players get a solid default RTP of 96.44%, with stakes ranging from 10 c to $/€100 per spin. Activate the Push Bet and the wager doubles, boosting the likelihood of landing the bonus round. Hit spin and the action plays out on a 6×4 gaming area with 4,096 ways to win.

The paytable in Henry the Ape includes J-A low symbols, microphone and boombox mids, two monkey character highs, plus one super high pay symbol. Five-of-a-kind returns are 0.8x for lows, 1.5x for mids, 3x for highs, and 6x for the super high. Henry is the super high-paying symbol. When it lands on reels 2 to 5, the Nudge feature kicks in. While active, any super high pay symbol on reels 2 to 5 nudges down one row as the other reels spin. The nudging keeps going until super high pay symbols drop off the reels. Wilds can substitute for any paying symbol and appear on all reels except the leftmost reel. In the base game, wilds can reveal a multiplier of x2 to x10 when they help form a win. Multiplier values are additive.

Henry the Ape: Slot Features

Henry the Ape includes Fat Stacks, Drop the Win, Rewind, Second Chance, free spins, plus two feature buy options.

Base Game Features

• Fat Stacks – In the base phase or bonus round, 1 to 2 stacks of super high pay symbols may randomly be added to reels 2, 3, 4, or 5 on a non-winning spin.
• Drop the Win – Drop the Win may trigger at the end of a non-winning base game spin. It adds super high pay symbols or wilds to complete a winning combination.
• Rewind – Rewind may also trigger after a non-winning base game spin, respinning the reels to create a win.
• Second Chance – When two scatters land in the base game, the second chance feature has a chance of triggering. When it activates, an extra scatter is nudged onto the reels to trigger free spins.

Free Spins

• 3 scatters award 8 free spins.
• 4 scatters award 10 free spins with the mid 2 symbol transformed to the super high symbol.
• 5 scatters award 12 free spins with mid symbols transformed into super high symbols.
• 6 scatters award 15 free spins with mid and high symbols transformed into super high symbols.

In free spins, a Bonus Meter appears above the reels. Super high pay symbols can land or nudge carrying a Gold Disk, which is collected by the Bonus Meter. Each set of 4 Gold Disks collected grants additional free spins, and one symbol is transformed into the super high symbol. Reaching 4, 8, 12, or 16 Gold Disks awards +5, +4, +3, +2 free spins, and mid 2, mid 1, high 2, and high 1 symbols are transformed to the super high pay symbol, respectively. Also, during free spins, wilds always reveal a multiplier when they contribute to a win.

Feature Buy

Players can purchase a randomly triggered free spins round for 179x or buy free spins triggered by 6 scatters for 425x their bet.

Henry the Ape: Slot Verdict

Early impressions of Henry the Ape brought to mind the classic Thunderkick title Pink Elephants. It’s not the first game to echo those ideas, but the animal-led theme, the 6×4, 4,096 ways to win setup, and free spins that upgrade symbols to the super high by collecting a specific item all feel familiar. It’s a strong formula, no doubt, though perhaps a touch less original than expected from a studio of Push Gaming’s statue. Even so, Push Gaming has added its own flavor throughout. For example, the base game can feel more lively thanks to Fat Stacks, Drop the Win, and Rewind.

As in the bonus, the base game also keeps attention firmly on the super high pay symbols. Nudges—very much a Push Gaming trademark—bring extra tension and potential to every stage. They can be frustrating when a stack of Henry’s slowly shuffles down the grid without ever connecting on the leftmost reel, or brilliant when multiple ways link up for a satisfying payout. The base game extras are welcome, but the ability to upgrade mid and high symbols during free spins may be exactly what’s needed to flood the reels with Henry’s and let the game really open up. And for bonus buy fans or anyone short on time, where a slot like Pink Elephants relied on natural triggers, Henry the Ape allows players to buy free spins with up to all symbols upgraded, which could be one of the main selling points.

The headline win potential is also impressive at 10,000x the stake, and overall, balancing the familiar concepts with the newer additions, Henry the Ape is an entertaining pick for anyone who wants a more feature-packed, upgraded take on Pink Elephants.