Hot Chilli Fest

Hot Chilli Fest: Slot Overview

Time for some tastebud torment players, courtesy of developer Stakelogic in the game Hot Chilli Fest. Have you ever envisaged a get-together of online slot makers, an informal one, let's say a BBQ, and the participants are engaged in a passive-aggressive competition to see who is able to concoct the hottest, spiciest dish at the party? Just occurred to us due to the continued popularity of chilli-themed games heating up the market. In an attempt to add a dash of heat of its own, Hot Chilli Fest serves up multiplier wilds, which roam in free spins, a free spins gamble, and a bonus buy.

A hot and spicy cooking ingredient is paired with an equally hot and spicy location. The game info mentions 'Spanish dancing style characters, ' so presumably, that means players can pretend they're somewhere like sunny Spain or, more likely, Mexico when taking Hot Chilli Fest for a whirl. Wherever we are is a nice spot too, where sultry sunlight pours into a charming urban scene of quant stone buildings and those flags on strings, which are a popular addition in these sorts of online slots. The music is excellent, too, bearing a strong Mariachi spirit, and when combined with the warm visuals, Hot Chilli Fest gave off a friendly, festive, almost Pixar vibe.

As well as the previously alluded to feature buy, players can bet 'normally' at 25 p/c to $/€125 per spin or activate the Super Stake, which doubles the wager. When Super Stake is activated, it increases the chances of triggering free spins. Literally, that's about all the paytable has to say about it, which is a little vague. The RTP is clear, at 96.01%, whilst the game runs on a medium-high volatile math model.

It also runs on a 5-reel, 3-row gaming grid with 25 paylines for landing winning combinations of three or more of a kind across. From the bottom up, Hot Chilli Fest's got 10-A card royals as its lower pays, then a cactus, a guitar, maracas, a hat, a donkey, and a se?orita as the six high pay symbols. Hitting 5 matching low pays triggers a payout worth 1 to 2 times the bet, whereas a line of 5 matching premiums pays 4 to 30 times the bet. Wild se?or symbols are available on all reels and substitute for all symbols except the scatter symbols. Wild symbols take a random multiplier on each spin of x2, x3, x4, or x5. If more than 1 wild symbol is part of the win of a payline, the multiplier values of all wilds on the payline are added together.

Hot Chilli Fest: Slot Features

Wilds get a leg up in free spins too. To reach the free spins round requires landing 3 scatter symbols on reels 1, 3, and 5. Doing so awards 8 free spins. During free spins, all wild symbols remain on the reels and roam to new positions until the round ends. Free spins are retriggered by landing 3 scatter symbols to win an extra 5 free spins. A retrigger upgrades all roaming wild symbols with a +1 multiplier up to x5. Upgraded multipliers are applied on the next spin.

Free Spins Gamble

Before entering free spins, players may choose to gamble on the Extra Chilli Megaways inspired gamble wheel. When gambling, the game will display the results of a winning gamble and a losing gamble where it is possible to lose up to all free spins or win up to 24 free spins, depending on the gamble level.

Bonus Buy Feature

Free spins can be bought at any time using the feature buy. The two choices are 8 free spins for 100x the bet or a 50% bonus chance for 50 times the bet.

Hot Chilli Fest: Slot Verdict

Hot Chilli Fest is a reminder of why casino game makers return to the Mexican slot theme so often. Get it right, the way Stakelogic has done here (though heavily inspired by Big Time Gaming's Extra Chilli Megaways), and there's nothing quite like the jovial, upbeat spirit of a good mariachi-led fiesta. The studio has done a great job of bottling this spirit and pouring it into Hot Chilli Fest, which made a warm first impression through its music, of course, but also through its charming background graphics. If Hot Chilli Fest was a party, it'd be one people would be trying to sneak into if they didn't have invites to share in the good times.

The features do a pretty good job of keeping the goodwill flowing as well. There's nothing unmissably original about them, but multiplier wilds add spice to the base game, despite there seeming to be a lot of dead spins. In fact, come to think of it, perhaps Stakelogic put so much effort into making the audiovisuals so energetic to cover for the possible low energy of the action in the base game. Multiplier wilds come into their own during free spins since they stay on the board, roaming around the place – should they hit. The sugar on top of this sopapilla is the opportunity to win up to 5,000x the bet, which is the win cap set in place in the base game and in free spins. Free spins end if the cap is hit.

Players looking for a chilli pepper or Mexican-themed online slot aren't exactly strapped for choices these days. There are a ton of slots to choose from. Hot Chilli Fest doesn't exactly dominate the genre or mix together the sort of chillied brew that would win a heat competition. But it's a nicely put-together game with an infectious spirit and the sort of features that can get pretty spicy when the going's good.