Remember when nerds were looked down upon and then they became hip? How about when certain computer experts spoiled the trend for the rest of us? I can’t say for sure; it’s tough to stay abreast with popular opinion. Anyway, maybe Hacksaw Gaming’s Dork Unit can help us make up our minds. Dork Unit is an animated and colorful slot game with full-reel wild multipliers, Gift Boxes that provide more wilds, and a Dork Spins extra game.
After slogging through some of Hacksaw’s heaviest slots like Hands of Anubis and Itero, loading up Dork Unit felt like falling into a pick ‘n’ mix candy bin at the grocery store. Although it’s not a game about sweets, Dork Unit has a similarly bright and chunky aesthetic. The soundtrack is also appropriate for the zany tone, giving Dork Unit the feel of a children’s TV program from the 1970s. Something along the lines of Sesame Street, but not quite.
Dork Unit is a slot machine with 5 reels and 4 rows, and it has 16 different ways to win. Dork Unit has a medium level of volatility (3.3 out of 5) and a maximum return to player (RTP) of 96.24% when played in the default setting. You should know that there are models with a lesser return. The game may be played on any device, with a betting range of 10 p/c to £/€100 each spin.
Dork Unit’s graphical presentation is reminiscent to a fruit machine. Cherry, lemon, apple, and strawberry tokens represent high payouts, whereas 10-A card rank tokens represent low payouts. Five of a type wins between 1-2 times the wager for the low pays and 4-10 times the wager for the high pays. Next up, the wilds.
Geek Functions: Slot Options
Tiny Timmy, Stout Hector, and Lengthy Lenny are the three nerds in the story. You won’t encounter them frequently unless you either activate or purchase Dork Spins. Dork Unit also has a Gift Bonanza bonus round and wild Gift Box icons that function as multipliers.
Packing Cases
The three different types of Gift Boxes are all wild multiplier symbols that can appear on any reel during the main game. Values of 2, 3, or 4 are printed on standard gift boxes. The values of uncommon gift boxes are multiplied by 5, 10, 15, or 20, while those of epic gift boxes are multiplied by 25, 50, 75, 100, 150, or 200. When utilized in a winning combination, Gift Boxes can stand in for any other pay symbol and add an additional multiplier to the prize. If a victory involves more than one Gift Box, all of the Boxes’ values are totaled together and then subtracted from the total. A full row of Gift Boxes pays out 10 times the wager.
Riches of Gifts
The Gift Bonanza bonus is activated when three Gift Boxes appear in a single spin. When activated, Gift Boxes become sticky and grant three free spins. New Gift Boxes turn sticky and return the free spins counter to 3. Each spin awards a win, and the bonus round concludes after all spins have been used.
Dweebs Twirl
The free spins scatter symbol is a clown named Lenny, and getting three of him anywhere on the board activates 10 Dork Spins. If Lenny lands on reels 2, 3, or 4 during the bonus round, that reel will become a wild Dork Reel for the duration of the bonus round. Depending on which Dork lands on them, Dork Reels can become stacked wilds with a multiplier. Long Lenny has x25, x50, x75, x100, x150, or x200; Tiny Timmy has x2, 3, or 4; and Hefty Hector has x5, x10, x15, or x20. Each time you spin Dork Reels, a random dork will appear. When there is more than one Dork Reel in play, the multipliers will be summed together before being applied.
Spend Money on a Bonus
To access the bonus round, click the Buy Bonus button. There are three distinct playstyles available in this section of Dork Unit. One option is to use Featurespins, which cost 3x the stake and ensure that a Gift Box appears during a spin (RTP 96.41%). The Gift Bonanza may be purchased for 100x the stake (RTP 96.38%), while 200x the wager will get you Dork Spins (RTP 96.35%).
Judgment: Slots (An Idiot Unit)
The color palette in Dork Unit is sure to catch your attention if you enjoy visually stimulating games. Its reels may appear fruity, but the three offbeat characters, the very weird setting, and the distinctive artwork save it from being a generic fruit machine. The beat is catchy and makes you want to tap your toes. Overall, Dork Unit provides a laid-back, yet upbeat, environment in which to test your luck.
Looking at the game itself, Dork Unit is a dull basic game that is somewhat redeemed by the game-like sound and graphics. The Gift Boxes are present, but the sluggish gameplay makes the Buy Bonus option more alluring. If there’s one thing Hacksaw Gaming is familiar with, it’s multipliers, albeit they haven’t done anything to shake things up this time around. There are no Hop’n’Pop splitting/progressive multipliers or Gladiator Legends-style battles, nor are there any mental streak respin rounds as in Chaos Crew. Dork Unit is not as complex as those, but the crazy Dork Reels know how to crank up the pressure when things are going well. For example, if you get two of them on reels 2 and 3, you may experience a string of large winnings. Or, if you want to go for broke, get all three Dork Reels and you might win 10,000 times your wager. That sum doesn’t seem like it would be reached by some kind of exponential explosion, but rather through the tried-and-true method of aligning pay symbols with the help of wild multiplier reels.
For a Hacksaw Gaming machine, Dork Unit sure was shy. There’s a sweet naivete about it, and because this is Hacksaw, multipliers may create magical situations. However, it did feel like a mental reset before the company dove back into developing something dark, weighty, and menacing to scare gamers.