Holy Diver Slot: Overview

Once celebrated mainly as a 1983 Heavy Metal anthem, Holy Diver is now set to be permanently linked with Big Time Gaming’s newest standout release. Here, players get their first taste of the Reel Adventure™ mechanics—a fresh approach to slot play that makes the whole experience feel genuinely different. Running on a 6-reel engine (slaps roof of car), this beast can hold a ton of Megaways and, as is typical for these guys, it’s loaded with potential.

Holy Diver blends a few different ideas, but most clearly it’s an online slot presented with video game-style animations in a medieval setting—though the bright blue skies make it feel far from gloomy. According to what we’ve heard, Holy Diver actually traces back to the era of Bonanza, but development wasn’t finished until now. Visually, it has that familiar Big Time Gaming look and, in our view, shares a bit of DNA with Dragon Born (2016).

Because BTG is known for huge potential and ultra high variance games, volatility is usually the first thing people want to pin down with any new release. In this case, the volatility isn’t quite as punishing as some other titles, which makes it seem a touch more bet-friendly—yet the upside is still very much there.

On the reels you’ll see low-value A, K, Q, J, 10 and 9 royals along with 4 gems—the purple gem is the top payer, awarding 15 times the stake for 6 across a full payline. If you’re coming from Bonanza, you’ll probably notice right away that symbol values aren’t nearly as high here. That doesn’t mean the game is short on potential; it’s simply delivered in a different way, as you’ll soon find out.

Holy Diver Slot: Features

The newly introduced Reel Adventure™ concept is what gives the game its distinctive setup, letting players upgrade their run for more winning opportunities and a higher ceiling. Beneath the reel set—which can hold up to 7 symbols per reel and expand to 117k win ways in the base game—an animated knight travels along a path and, when he reaches a treasure chest (roughly every 1 to 5 spins), he boots it open to reveal 1 of 4 reel modifiers:

• Standard Symbol Bonus – One of the low-value symbols is randomly selected and turned into a wild.
• Sword Bonus – In true Danger! High Voltage fashion, it adds up to 3 full wild reels with a multiplier up to x7.
• Fireball Bonus – Fires up to 4 wild symbols onto the reels.
• Gem Symbol Bonus* – Grants one or more Gems which are then converted into wilds. These wilds can appear as x2 or x3 multipliers as you fight your way through the levels.

Holy Diver doesn’t use a standard scatter symbol. Instead, you must gather gems that appear from the chests. You need 4 in total—one of each colour (and yes, it’s possible to land all 4 at once)—to trigger the bonus feature. But there’s a catch. Rather than playing the free spin feature at progression level 1, you can choose to decline the bonus and upgrade to level 2 instead. You’ll then return to the base game, now playing with an upgraded x2 wild multiplier.

If you trigger the bonus at level 2, you again get the choice: enter the free spins (with an x2 multiplier) or upgrade to level 3, the final stage. Triggering the bonus at level 3 removes the decision—you must start the free spins, now with an x3 multiplier. In other words, you can effectively set your own volatility through these choices.

10 free spins are awarded when you decide to launch the free spins. At that point, it becomes pretty clear where the game’s name comes from, as the 1983 Heavy Metal super-hit Holy Diver starts playing. Oh yeah, baby! During the bonus, keep an eye out for gems landing on reels 2 through 5, because these convert into wilds with multipliers tied to your current level. At level 2 and 3, they become x2 and x3 wild multipliers respectively.

The brave knight joins you in the feature too. Instead of smashing chests, he fights mystical figures blocking his path. When beaten, they may leave you with nothing—or drop sparkling diamonds. The first 4 diamonds each award +1 spin, and the 5th re-triggers the feature with 8 additional free spins. With every re-trigger, the win ways climb, up to a maximum 586k Megaways. It’s a smart setup, since the re-trigger remains possible right up to the final spin.

Holy Diver Slot: Verdict

Holy Diver offers a genuinely fresh and inventive ride, and it’s unlike anything we’ve seen before. The decision-driven design—choosing whether to level up or jump into the bonus—is excellent, making you feel involved and like you’re influencing the unfolding action. The Reel Adventure™ mechanic is clearly an intriguing idea, though it doesn’t quite match the lively, ever-shifting magic of the Megaways engine that made it such a phenomenon.

Whether Holy Diver ends up being a hit or a miss is, of course, down to the players, but we’re pretty taken with it and had a blast trying it out in demo mode. You definitely don’t need to be a Metal Head to enjoy Holy Diver—and when that track kicks in during the bonus, we turn it up to 11 and wish it would go on forever.

Don’t Miss…

If you like Holy Diver we recommend taking a look at Kingmaker, another Megaways slot from Big Time Gaming that’s built around a comparable theme.