Hope Unleashed Fortune Rises

Hope Unleashed Fortune Rises: Slot Overview

In the long, varied history of human belief, some stories recur in online slots, some are yet to be plastered in playing card royals and fruit symbols. One that reappears from time to time is the ancient Greek myth of Pandora's Box. Software provider Play'n GO has explored it in the past, in the 2023 release Pandora's Box of Evil, and it has once again opened the forbidden box to design Hope Unleashed Fortune Rises. Pandora famously went on to open the box (originally a jar) given to her by Zeus with the warning she should never do so, unleashing all sorts of evil. Interestingly, hope remained inside the box. Let's see if Hope Unleashed Fortune Rises can coax it out.

Play'n GO has unleashed a pretty-looking game, all ancient Greek infused with magic and spirits. A moon-lit setting provides the location for the action to unfold in a craggy, columned place where who knows what is set to occur. Pandora, as the story goes, was the first human woman, created by Hephaestus out of earth and water, as a 'beautiful evil' punishment for Prometheus giving them fire. Hope Unleashed Fortune Rises leaves the nastier aspects of the story out, preferring to focus more on souls, magic, and mystery.

Played on a 5x4 grid, 20 paylines are included for landing winning combinations of 3-5 OAK along. The game is medium volatile, made with six RTP configurations, with 96.2% being the highest. Players may choose a stake of $/€0.05 to $/€100, with no bonus buy or ante bet available.

Ten to Ace card symbols are the low pays, while the high pays are scrolls, locks, hour glasses, harps, and urns. Pay symbols award 1.2x to 8x the bet for 5 OAK. Wilds may be revealed by mystery symbols, and they substitute all symbols except scatters and Magic Circles. Wilds revealed from mystery symbols have a chance of getting a multiplier of x2 to x5. Two or more multipliers on the same payline add their values together. Wilds pay 8 OAK for 5 OAK as well.

Hope Unleashed Fortune Rises: Slot Features

Let loose in this section are mystery symbols, Magic Circles, Pandora's Box, and free spins.

Mystery Symbols

Mystery symbols may appear on any spin. They reveal matching regular symbols, or individual mystery symbols may reveal a wild, or Magic Circle symbol.

Magic Circle

Magic Circles only appear from mystery symbols. They become expanding wilds and trigger a respin at the end of the current spin. Respins guarantee new mystery symbols appear. Expanded wilds only remain on the reels in the respin that triggered them. If a new Magic Circle is revealed, it creates a respin streak, which upgrades the multiplier of the new expanding wild. The new Magic Circle that expands will be an expanding multiplier wild, triggering another respin, where a new Magic Circle may be revealed, and so on. The first respin streak has an x2 multiplier for the expanding multiplier wild that can be upgraded to x5. The sixth streak onwards has x5 multipliers. Respins are capped at 30.

Pandora's Box

Souls may be attached to regular symbols, though never from symbols revealed by mystery symbols. Pandora's Box may trigger if there are Souls on the reels. The more Souls, the higher the chance to unlock the box. When triggered, Pandora's Box awards the 5x Mini, 20x Minor, 100x Major, or the 1,000x Grand prize.

Free Spins

Hitting 3, 4, or 5 scatters in the base game awards 8, 12, or 15 free spins, respectively. During the round, landing 3, 4, or 5 scatters triggers an additional 3, 5, or 8 free spins. Mystery symbols in free spins may reveal regular symbols with Spirit Orbs attached. Spirit Orbs carry an instant bonus of 1x to 5x the bet, which is only awarded if Souls are on the reels. When triggered, the instant bonus awarded by each Spirit Orb is multiplied by the number of Souls in view. Free spins are capped at 40.

Hope Unleashed Fortune Rises: Slot Verdict

Proving that beauty is sometimes only skin deep, once you get past Hope Unleashed Fortune Rises' glossy outer wrapping, what lies beneath are servings of 'what could be inside the box' anticipation that never quite delivers. In fact, in many ways, it delivers even less than Play'n GO's last Pandora's Box slot, Pandora's Box of Evil. The foundations were laid in the previous slot, though, which also included mystery symbols, wild multipliers, and respins in its bag of tricks. Can't say the two games are identical twins, but they do have a fair share of commonalities.

Pandora's Box of Evil is possibly less reliant on mystery symbols than its predecessor in some ways, instead flinging jackpot prizes and including Spirit Orbs into the mix to drum up some wins. Not enormous wins, it might be said, since while the addition of a 1,000x Grand Prize might seem like an upgrade to some gamblers, the max exposure of 1,234x the bet represents a significant haircut compared to the 6,000x of its predecessor. Perhaps the hope part of the box was on a strict budget. Put another way, the jackpot element feels less like a bonus add-on and more like the main focal point in terms of winning potential.

Visually, Play'n GO's art people have done a good job of crafting an atmospheric experience rooted in Greek myth, and fans of the provider's polished style should find plenty to admire. However, Hope Unleashed Fortune Rises' gameplay and stats were disappointing, so beyond casual mythological players, the lid might be best kept fastened on this one.