Slot Overview: Take The Shot by Betsoft
Take The Shot, an offering from Betsoft, hopes to channel a bit of the electric hockey vibe.
In this review, we are going to delve deep in the slot itself – mechanics, features, looks, and the way you actually play.
Being a game that I’m sure offers something for everyone, I have dedicated a lot of time to playing Take The Shot over both demo and real play, and can provide a full and honest review to newcomers and experienced veterans alike.
Our aim with this guide is to provide you with enough information to determine whether or not this slot is for you, and also stress the importance of responsible gambling.
Take The Shot Details, RTP, Payout & Volatility
Take The Shot has an RTP of 95.14% which is a little below the typical online slots average. That means, in theory, players can be refunded 95.14 cents of every dollar wagered through the slot’s lifetime. But remember, RTP is a theoretical figure and short-term results can differ drastically.
The game volatility is medium, which means you can expect frequent small wins with a hope for some big cash. This means that it should appeal to a broad audience, from players who like regular wins to people who are more interested in infrequent, bigger rewards.
The most you can take off Take The Shot is 95.14x your stake and, although not mind-blowing this is not bad for a medium variance slot.
The bet sizes range from just $0.20 to $260 per spin so this game is suitable for both low wagers and high rollers.
The game is built on a 5x4 reels format, and utilizes an all-ways-pays mechanic, which pays out for all symbols appearing in adjacent reels from left to right and irrespective of how they behave in the reels. This eliminates the limitation of fixed paylines, meaning there are more opportunities of hitting a winning combination on every spin.
Theme, Audio & Symbols
Real potential to win big, that’s what - and there’s far more than one way to get things working out for you with the all-ways-pays game mechanic we’ve all come to love in recent times.
It was nice that I really could adjust what I was betting to how much I was comfortable with, which allowed me to span my play out without ever putting too much at risk.
In my testing I found that smaller wins occurred at a relatively regularity, which is what you would expect from a game that’s had a medium volatility tag assigned to it. But getting the larger wins remained more elusive and needed patience and a bit of luck too.
The RTP is slightly below my liking, although I enjoyed the gameplay and the chance to win some hefty payouts.
As displayed in a screenshot, the UI is clean and it is simple to change the size of wagers or find information about the games.
Bonus Features
From a visual perspective, Take The Shot is a game which looks and feels hockey, with bright graphics and an energetic layout.
The reels are laid over a busy hockey rink, with a crowd cheering and lights flashing to keep you intrigued.
The symbols are well presented and feature hockey players in different action poses and hockey gear such as skates, helmets, and pucks.
Players form the high-value symbols, and alternates as a pack of cards for the low-value symbols – pictured as card suits and hockey symbols.
The colours are vibrant and strong, reflecting the fast pace of the sport. so we don’t know if it is an extraordinary job made by the art team for the symbols and the letters (!) or if the developer simple used the original ones that came with the software where he made this game.
The animations when you hit a winning combination are smooth and the symbols that you won with will “burst” in to cinematic sequence making it more entertaining.
The sound design is a strong match for the imagery. It's all soundtracked with some fun upbeat music and realistic sound effects—roaring crowd, the clank and clink of hockey sticks and the swoosh of an airborne puck.
These sound building blocks draw you into the very heart of the hockey game.
Mobile Experience
The level of detail in the graphics and sound effects of Take the Shot is very high.
I really felt like I was in a hockey arena during the match, and it was just fine to me; I felt part of the game.
I liked how sharp the graphics were, how smooth the animations were, and how the sound effects drew me in.
When it comes to bonus modes, the sound heats up, building up the anticipation.
Some people might think the hockey topic is a bit specific, but I think it’s well done, and it certainly makes the slot stand out.
It would have been cool if there was a video that featured the amazing animation that occurs when a bonus combination wins with any one of those top symbols.
Pros & Cons
Take The Shot has a couple of important bonus elements which could very well boost what you could win on the title.
The most thrilling of these is the free spins round, that is unlocked when 3 or more scatters land anywhere on the reels. Once the feature triggers, you will receive a certain number of free spins, often with multipliers applied to help increase your winnings. In the free spins feature, landing more scatter symbols can re-trigger the feature, earning you even more free games. This is the kind of thing that translates into long periods of enjoyable gameplay.
This game also features the Tumbling Reels or Cascading Wins feature. This results in the winning symbols being removed, the winning combination vanishes, and new symbols take their place.
This can lead to chains of wins in one spin, because when winning combinations form, the symbols will cascade and new wins will form. This feature plays until there are no more new wins created.
Our Verdict
Buy Bonus feature – this gives you the opportunity to enter the free spins feature instantly for a cost.
It’s a tempting play for those who want to dive right into the bonus action but it behooves us to calculate the price, and potential upside.
There is an Ante Bet option which gives you greater odds to have the features triggered. This might be a solid strategy if players want to up their odds of landing the free spins round, but it is higher in terms of risk.
In my experience I found that the free spins was the most rewarding bonus. The free game multipliers can boost your wins in an amazing way, offering the possibility to re-trigger it for truly amazing prizes.
The Tumbling Reels feature heightens the anticipation even further, as it offers the possibility for more than one win per spin.
The Buy Bonus option is handy, but costly, so it’d be wise to consider whether the cost is worth it.
Play Responsibly
Free spins were triggered at an average rate during testing, typically requiring 100-150 spins.
This frequency was generally normal, with occasional periods of more frequent or less frequent triggering.
The Tumbling Reels feature, however, occurred much more often, sometimes multiple times within just a few spins.
Triggering the free spins bonus was exciting, knowing the multipliers could lead to significant wins even from small spins.
I experienced five re-triggers during the free spins and won a substantial amount.
The Buy Bonus feature did not guarantee a win, as the outcomes within the free spins game are still random.
