Honey Rush 100: Slot Overview

In the ever-buzzing world of bee-themed slots, one title that managed to rise above the rest and still holds up well is Play’n GO’s 2019 release Honey Rush. It delivered a pleasing mix of honeyed action, entertaining mechanics (even if a few ideas felt familiar), and an appealing upside. Evidently it was sweet enough for the studio to return for another helping with Honey Rush 100. If you don’t know the format, PnG’s ‘100’ series is essentially an upgraded take on earlier games. The look and sound largely mirror the originals, but the potential is boosted. In that spirit, Honey Rush 100 keeps recognisable elements from the first game while introducing several tweaks designed to tempt players back in.

One aspect that seems unchanged is the acoustic guitar-led soundtrack shared by Honey Rush and Honey Rush 100. It would be difficult to top such a warm, homely melody, so the decision to keep it makes sense. The music ties both games together, and that link is strengthened by the outdoor theme and the hexagon-style grid that dominates the screen. This time, the backdrop is noticeably richer in detail, increasing immersion as nature fans can enjoy flowers, rolling grassy hills, trees, and more across this idyllic setting. Up to this point, the presentation is sounding and looking very promising.

Moving on to staking, players can use the minus and plus controls to choose a wager of 10 p/c to $/€50 per paid drop. Official details were limited at the time of writing, though it’s reasonable to expect a default RTP of around 96.2%, paired with a highly volatile math model – based on previous Play’n GO titles and the behaviour of the original Honey Rush. As a cluster pays slot, Honey Rush 100 is played on a 7-reel grid set in a 4-5-6-7-6-5-4 formation, and a win is formed when at least 5 matching symbols connect.

Honey Rush 100’s pay symbols consist of 4 flowers at the lower end, followed by a bronze coin, a silver coin, a gold coin, and a diamond at the top of the paytable. For a 5-symbol cluster, payouts start at 0.1 to 0.5 times the bet, rising to 10 to 50 times the bet for a 37-of-a-kind cluster win. Sharp-eyed readers will notice these figures are notably lower than in Honey Rush.

Honey Rush 100: Slot Features

Feature-wise, Honey Rush 100 keeps that familiar blend of old and new, offering mechanics such as cascading wins, Rush Meter features, Overcharge, Colony features, and a Sticky Wild feature.

Cluster Wins

Whenever a winning cluster lands, the game removes the relevant symbols. The empty spaces are then filled as new symbols fall in from above, and the cascade sequence stops once no further wins are created.

Rush Meter

The Rush Meter is charged by winning symbols removed through the cascade process. When it reaches specific collection thresholds, different Colony features are awarded. Once the wins stop, any stored Colony features are then activated. These are:

• Level 1 – when 30 symbols are collected, the Drone Colony is queued.
• Level 2 – when 60 symbols are collected, the Worker Colony is queued.
• Level 3 – when 90 symbols are collected, the Queen Colony is queued.

Colony Feature

When triggered, the Drone Colony feature clones the central symbol and forms a cluster of at least 7 matching symbols including it. The Worker Colony works the same way but with a minimum cluster size of 10-15, while the Queen Colony does so with a minimum cluster size of 20-37 symbols.

Sticky Wild Feature

W symbols are wild and can replace any other symbol. If a sticky wild is included in a winning cluster, it moves downward to a free position. When it reaches the bottom edge of the grid, it drops into the honey pot, increasing the win multiplier by +1. A full grid of wilds pays 500 times the bet.

Overcharge

Once 90 symbols have been collected, the Rush Meter enters Overcharge mode. For every 15 symbols collected while Overcharged, the middle symbol to be upgraded. Upgrades continue until no further upgrades are possible. If the maximum number of upgrades is reached, the global multiplier will be increased by +3. After the Drone Colony is played, every wild that reaches the bottom of the screen adds +2 to the multiplier; after the Worker Colony and the Queeny Colony play out, falling wilds award +3 to the multiplier. The multiplier’s maximum value is x100.

Honey Rush 100: Slot Verdict

Having reviewed Sweet Alchemy 100 shortly beforehand, it was hard not to suspect Honey Rush 100 might end up as a bee-themed reskin of Moon Princess 100, much like Sweet Alchemy was. Thankfully, it turns out Honey Rush 100 feels far more like a continuation of Honey Rush than a lazy copy. That’s good news for anyone who enjoyed the original, as Play’n GO has built Honey Rush 100 with a deliberate balance of familiar foundations and fresh adjustments.

That said, some players may feel there isn’t quite enough new content to fully warrant Honey Rush 100’s existence. The main gameplay loop still focuses on collecting enough winning symbols to activate Colony features. This time, the Jammin’ Jars-style jumping wilds have been swapped out for the sticky/falling wild mechanic, which also feeds into the win multiplier. Previously, wild multipliers topped out at x27, but here the win multiplier can theoretically reach x100, which explains the title. Maximum win potential wasn’t available at the time of review, which could be a sticking point for some. Still, it’s fair to assume it’s higher than the original, as is typical for the ‘100’ series.

Overall, Play’n GO has delivered another solid ‘100’ update of an older slot, and fans are likely to come away satisfied. As with Sweet Alchemy, the remake approach has produced something enjoyable enough to play. Even so, adding yet another rework to the pile probably won’t silence the criticism that Play’n GO may be running short on new ideas and is increasingly leaning on its back catalogue.