Introduction to Honey Rush Black and Yellow
Honey Rush Black and Yellow is a casino slot from Play'n GO, once more dripping with the sweet produce of fuzzy, buzzing creatures, this time to the tune of an urban hip-hop track by a renowned artist. American rapper Wiz Khalifa has lent his voice to enrich this swanky setup with a hit song that not only matches the bee pattern but also relates to the artist's hometown's (Pittsburgh) official colours of black and yellow. While a seemingly unusual collaboration, it's worth noting that the studio has a proven track record of designing slots around various music bands, albeit mostly in a darker, more heavy metal mood. Therefore, it's nice to see a slightly different vibe, especially when it's combined with the solid cluster mechanics of a 2019 release, Honey Rush. If you hoped to see the bee colonies in action once again, spreading around the grid to form progressively larger sets of winning symbols, that's exactly what awaits you here. There are also some instant prizes up for grabs to enhance the experience, along with a significantly increased max win of 20,000x the bet.
If you can already hear the buzzing mixed with a bouncy beat sipping from the speakers, they come from the demo mode at the top of the page, where you can test the game risk-free.
Theme, Gameplay & Payouts
Honey Rush Black and Yellow is a video slot from Play'n GO with an unusual setup that resembles a honeycomb, comprising 7 reels and a 4-5-6-7-6-5-4 row arrangement, where wins are created by combining at least 5 matching symbols into a cluster. You can choose your stake from a range of options, starting from a Min. bet of 0.1 up to a Max. bet of 100. The game's math operates on a default RTP of 96.25%, indicating stable, long-term returns, although there are also several lower variants released, including 94.25%, 91.25%, 87.25% and 84.25%, so be sure to verify your version before playing. You can expect more value distributed to big wins at the cost of their lower frequency due to high volatility, while the max win can reach 20,000x the bet. The base hit frequency sits at the rate of 42.55%.
The main scene of the game is set against an urban landscape, most likely the city of Pittsburgh, considering the iconic golden Three Sisters bridges shining in the distance. As you might expect, black and yellow colours dominate the palette to match both the iconic pattern of the bees and the hip-hop track pounding in the background. The music dials down to a soft clapping rhythm whenever the action fizzles out and swells to a thick beat once wins and feature triggers start overtaking the scene. With a soft, cartoony design and a cheerful rapper bee hovering next to the playing panel, the game radiates a positive atmosphere, encouraging you to start forming clusters on the honey-covered hexagonal grid. Thanks to the game's high-quality, responsive design, you can jump in from any modern device, whether you play on a desktop, a smartphone, or a tablet.
Creating winning combinations requires landing at least 5 matching symbols next to each other to form a cluster. Among the low-paying symbols, there are four flowers in different colours, yellow, pink, white, and blue, awarding 10x the bet for a set of 35 or more instances. The high-paying group includes bronze, silver, and gold coins, complemented with a diamond, which bring payouts ranging between 20x and 50x the bet for a cluster containing at least 35 units. Reels will also hold Wilds in the form of a letter 'W' submerged in honey that substitutes for all regular symbols mentioned above, and Cash symbols adorned with a dollar sign.
Special Features & Slot Mechanics
What is the max win in the slot Honey Rush Black and Yellow?
You can win up to 20,000x the bet.
What features are available in the slot Honey Rush Black and Yellow?
The features are Cascading, Cash Symbol, Bee, Rush Meter, and Walking Wild Multiplier.
Cascading
The cascading feature triggers each time you hit a winning combination. This is followed by the involved symbols disappearing from the grid, causing all the remaining ones to drop to vacant positions. New icons then come down from the top to take their place and complete the view. This process continues until no new wins can occur.
Cash Symbol
Cash symbols carry instant prizes worth between 0.2x and 100x the bet. Whenever you combine 5 or more of them into a winning cluster, their combined value will be instantly awarded.
Bee
Any Cash symbols that don't end up being a part of a winning cluster are added to the Bee that hovers next to the grid. Any such collection can trigger the Bee feature, which will award one of four prizes at random: Mini, Minor, Major, or Grand, worth 10x, 20x, 50x, and 100x the bet, respectively.
Rush Meter
Every winning cluster charges the Rush Meter with the number of points equal to the involved symbols. Once no more wins can be formed, the Rush Meter will release a feature based on the number of accumulated charges.
Level 1 (30 points) = Drone Colony that clones the central symbol and creates a cluster of 7 matching instances around it.
Level 2 (60 points) = Worker Colony that clones the central symbol and creates a cluster of 10-15 matching instances around it.
Level 1 (90 points) = Queen Colony that clones the central symbol and creates a cluster of 20-37 matching instances around it.
Walking Wild Multiplier
Wilds can land anywhere on the grid between regular symbols. Whenever they contribute to a winning cluster, they do not disappear as a result of the cascading feature. Instead, they move to a random available spot and increase their multiplier by 1. Once it reaches the maximum multiplier value of x3, it will disappear after the last cascade or spin. Sets of 35+ Wilds pay 250x the bet.
Final Thoughts on Honey Rush Black and Yellow
In 2019, Play'n GO came up with a fun concept of turning a cluster-paying grid into a huge honeycomb and complementing it with some straightforward yet potent features that seamlessly fit into the theme. Honey Rush was a genuinely balanced game, which drew its power not from a multitude of features, but from a simple emphasis on creating the biggest clusters. The Honey Rush 100 sequel, which went live a few years after, replicated that formula with additional multipliers for boosting wins. In the Black and Yellow instalment, the original formula returns, although with the addition of instant prizes, which can form into clusters just like the regular symbols, or award one of the higher bonus rewards. The latter may not feel as impressive as in other games with fixed jackpots, tapping out at 100x the bet for the Grand prize, but perhaps it's possible to win them more frequently, which would go in line with the game's favourable hit rate of 42.55%. Otherwise, it's the same dynamic, meter-charging playstyle that accompanied the series from the start, where each new level achieved guarantees a massive cluster originating from the grid's central position.
Visually, and most importantly, audially, everything comes together nicely to fit into the urban hip-hop vibe of Wiz Khalifa's song celebrating the artist's hometown, while keeping in line with the predecessors' bee theme. Some visuals on the grid, like many of the regular symbols, were reused without any extra effort to modify them, but the environment has changed 180 degrees from a cosy natural landscape to a concrete jungle. Still, despite the sudden shift, the game remains an easy-going, positive, cluster-based slot.
Honey Rush Black and Yellow sticks to the series original gameplay with the addition of instant prizes, while transforming the setting to match the branded music collaboration.
