Blaze Buddies Demo & Slot Review

Blaze Buddies Review

Blaze Buddies slot, from developer Backseat Gaming, features a 5x4 grid set against an icy mountain backdrop. Don't let the chilly scenery fool you though, this game is all about fiery dragons. You can play with bets ranging from a modest €0.10 up to €100 per spin, making it suitable for both casual players and high rollers. The reels are filled with 4 adorable teenage dragons, each with unique colors and quirks.

To score wins, you'll need to land matching symbols across any of the 20 paylines. The dragon characters are the premium symbols, awarding payouts between 5x and 20x your stake for five-of-a-kind combinations. The royals (10 to A) offer smaller wins, ranging from 1.5x to 2x your stake for 5-oak. While the base game is about as barebones as it gets, it boasts an impressive hit rate of 57.4 %. This means you can expect winning spins more often than not on average, which is rare to see in online slots.

However, keep in mind that Blaze Buddies is a high-volatility slot, scoring 4 out of 5 on Backseat’s scale. This means that while wins come often, the really big payouts are reserved for the bonus round. To trigger this fiery feature, you'll need to land enough scatters to activate a dragon egg-picking game. Here, you get to choose eggs to reveal modifiers that will be active during your free spins. These modifiers can turn dragons wild, add multipliers, or even transform dragons into full-reel wilds.

Blaze Buddies Slot - Reels Screen

The free spins round is where Blaze Buddies truly heats up. With the potential for combined modifiers per dragon, retriggers, and extra feature picks, you can unleash the game’s full potential and chase the max win of 10,000x your stake. If you're feeling impatient, you can also take advantage of the ante bet option to increase your bonus chances or buy the free spins directly with the bonus buy feature (if available in your country).

Blaze Buddies Features

While there are no base game features to speak of in Blaze Buddies Backseat Gaming, you get plenty of potential modifier action in the bonus round. Let’s check it out!

Blaze Buddies Free Spins

The Dragon's Delight Bonus Round triggers from 3 scatters in view, while the Blaze of Glory Bonus Round triggers from 4 or 5 scatters. You get 10 free spins in both features, with the same amount of upfront feature picks as the number of triggering scatters. Scatters land on reels 1 and 5 during the feature, awarding 1 extra feature pick each time with up to 6 picks being possible. Scatters do not land after the 6th extra pick.

You pick from a selection of dragon eggs, each revealing a random modifier that will be active in the bonus round. If you get 3 picks, the extra free spins prize can only be awarded once, but you can also win extra free spins via retriggers during the feature. Here’s an overview of the bonus round modifiers:

• Expanded Dragon - expands 1 of the 4 premium symbols to a full-reel symbol (can only apply to one dragon symbol and land once per reel).
• Wild Dragon - turns 1 of 4 premium symbols into a golden wild. If it’s the expanded dragon, you get a full-reel wild.
• Dragon Multiplier - adds a random multiplier between x2 and x100 to a random premium symbol. The multipliers are added together per payline for wins with this symbol.
• Extra Spins - awards +2, +3, or +4 extra free spins on top of the 10 default free spins.

Blaze Buddies Bonus Buy (not UK)

Eligible players can take advantage of the bonus buy menu found via the yellow button in the bottom left corner. It comes with 3 options in Blaze Buddies slot:

• BonusHunt FeatureSpins - pay 2x your stake to increase the bonus round hit rate by 3 times.
• Scorching FeatureSpins - pay 50x your stake to turn all instances of a random premium dragon symbol into a full-reel multiplier wild.
• Dragon's Delight Bonus - costs 100x your stake.
• Blaze of Glory Bonus - costs 200x your stake.

Blaze Buddies Slot - Free Spins Gameplay

Theme & Graphics

The Blaze Buddies game features a paradoxical mix of fiery dragons and a frosty mountain setting. The cartoon-style dragons are the stars, filling the reels with their colorful personalities. The pre-bonus pick game takes you to the mother dragon's lair to select dragon eggs, while the free spins round transports you to a volcanic lava landscape for some heated wins. The shift from icy mountains to fiery depths creates a visual contrast that makes the theme more dynamic and interesting.

Pros and Cons of Blaze Buddies

Our Verdict

Hacksaw partner Backseat Gaming has created a feel-good atmosphere in Blaze Buddies slot, with its charming cartoon style and quirky dragons. However, much like the snowy mountain landscape in the background, the base game is as barebones as it gets. Backseat seems overly focused on the bonus round in many of their games, sometimes neglecting the base game experience. A few simple additions, like full-reel dragon wilds, could have made a world of difference.

While the high hit rate does result in frequent wins, these wins are often small and don't do much to keep things exciting. It helps you stay afloat to a certain degree, but I wouldn't say it's enough to keep you on the edge of your seat. I also wish they would disclose the bonus round hit rate, especially since there are no base game features to keep you entertained while you wait. This information would also be helpful for players considering the bonus buy option.

That being said, I have to admit that the bonus round is quite engaging. Picking dragon eggs to reveal modifiers is fun, and upgrading the dragon symbols with different abilities can lead to some thrilling moments. However, the excitement largely depends on how many modifiers you get. Without a decent number of picks and extra picks, the bonus round can fall a bit flat. The multiplier modifier is especially crucial for hitting those big wins.

Overall, Blaze Buddies Hacksaw is another decent Backseat Gaming release with a solid 10,000x max win. It's a visually appealing game with an entertaining bonus round, but the lack of base game features might leave some players feeling a bit cold. I'd love to see this developer add more spice to the base game in their future releases, perhaps taking a page from Hacksaw and delivering more balanced experiences that keep you engaged all the way.