When provider Nolimit City released the mining themed slot Fire in the Hole game in 2021, it went down with a real bang, gaining rave reviews and thrilling slot players far and wide. Since then, the fuse cord leading towards the highly anticipated release of its sequel has been gradually burning away. Well, I’m pleased to say that Fire in the Hole 2 has finally arrived, and it’s time to assess whether it’s been successful in building further upon the explosive action of its predecessor. It’s a high volatility, six-reel slot with an RTP of 96.07% and a potential maximum win of 65,000x.
The popularity of the original title demanded a follow up, and I’m sure we’re all eager to discover what this new version brings to the table. Stats-wise, the already impressive max win has seen a slight uplift of 5,000x. Visually, things are much the same, other than some minor graphical tweaks. When it comes to the gameplay features, Nolimit has stayed true to the first iteration, retaining features such as the x-bomb multiplier and wild mining mechanisms, along with the various versions of the Lucky Wagon free spins bonus. So, what’s new? Well, one addition is the x-split aspect, which cuts symbols in half, doubling their value, and another is the introduction of a seventh reel in the bonus, where upgrade crystals can land. Plus, we have the beer modifier, which can reactivate symbols, and an x-bet option, which guarantees at least one buried scatter symbol that can be unearthed by blasting away the row positions around it.
It’s always tough for a provider to strike the right balance between making too many changes or not enough when re-imagining an old classic. It’s hard to please everyone, and whether or not a happy medium has been achieved largely comes down to individual perspective. You can make your judgement by checking out the Fire in the Hole 2 demo slot; it’s available to play below, completely free of charge!
| Provider | Nolimit City |
| Reels | 6 |
| Rows | 6 |
| Paylines | 46,656 |
| Bonus Rounds | 3 |
| Bet Range | 0.20 - 100 |
| Volatility | High |
| Max Win | 65,000x |
| Bonus Buy | Yes |
| RTP | 96.07% |
| Our Rating | 9.2 |
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Fire In The Hole 2 Demo Slot
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Fire In The Hole 2 Slot Theme, Stakes, Pays & Symbols
On the face of it, you wouldn’t imagine that the dirty, claustrophobic activity of mining would be an obvious theme for slot design inspiration. Then again, I guess the prospect of uncovering buried gold and valuable gems is similar to hoping to hit a big win on the reels, so it does make sense. Nolimit City slots are veterans of the pits, having had great success with multiple titles in this category, such as their Dead Canary slot and Misery Mining, which have proved to be some of their most popular creations. However, If the high volatility of those productions puts you off somewhat and you’d prefer a slightly more relaxed search for buried treasure, try out Bonanza or play Diamond Mine, as they could be just what you’re looking for. Having scooped up a generous chunk of pay dirt in our initial foray into Fire in the Hole 2, it’s now time to sift through it in more detail to extract the valuable particles within; I’ll see you over at the paytable where we’ll begin that process.
Matching six symbols across a payway is the key to achieving the top payout value for each symbol on Fire in the Hole 2. There are five premium symbols to work with, all of which depict various types of mining equipment. First, it’s the Lantern, which serves as the top symbol and will return 7.5x the staked amount for each winning way of six. Next, we have the Satchel at 3.75x, the Map at 2.5x, boots worth 2x, and the final premium symbol, the Spade, which will pay 1.75x. The non-premium offerings are the familiar K, Q, J, 10, and 9, which return 1.5x, 1.25x, 1.1x, 1.05x, and 1x, respectively, per winning combination of six.
You don’t just pitch up to a mining site and expect the buried valuables to appear of their own accord; you’re going to need the right tools to dig them out. The same could be said of stake selection, where we’ll need to equip ourselves appropriately before getting stuck in. Thankfully, we have all we need here, with 25 stake options to choose from in total. These range from a low of €0.20 to a high of €100.00, with an abundance of selections in between.
Fire In The Hole 2 Slot Base Game & Modifiers
Fire in the Hole 2 uses a six reel grid, with up to six row positions on each. The default starting set-up on a base game spin sees the grid arranged in a 6×3 formation, but this area can be expanded, one row at a time, by either a winning combination, an x-bomb, or a wild mining activation. Once fully expanded, there are up to 46,656 ways to win on the grid, with wins achieved by matching symbols from left to right, commencing on the leftmost reel. Any symbols involved in a win or exploded as part of a feature activation are removed from the reels, and all those above them will fall downwards to fill the gaps, with additional symbols then dropping in from the top to fill the remaining spaces.
Xbomb Wild Multiplier
The xBomb wild multiplier symbol will substitute for any paytable symbol in a winning combination. If activated, it will remove all adjacent symbols from the grid and increase the multiplier value displayed above the reels by +1, which will be applied to any win formed in the next cascade.
Wild Mining
The Wild Mining feature is activated in the main game when a certain number of the same symbols align either horizontally or vertically on the reels, and there is no winning combination. The triggering symbols will be removed, leaving behind 1, 2, 3, or 4 wilds for an alignment of 3, 4, 5, or 6 symbols, respectively. All paytable symbols above this Wild Mining formation will also be removed from the grid as part of this process.
Buried Features
Dirt symbols acting as blockers covering rows that have yet to be unlocked may contain wild, xSplit, or scatter symbols. These buried symbols will be inactive whilst buried in the dirt until their row position is uncovered when they will come into play.
Split
The xSplit symbol splits paytable symbols on their row, doubling those symbols. If a symbol is split into eight or more pieces, it will be shown with the relevant multiplier value instead. Once xSplit symbols are activated, they will revert to a single symbol type. Dirt blocks affected by a split feature are removed if there is a collapse.
Xbet
For the cost of 2.5x the selected base stake, players may choose to enable the xBet feature. This will guarantee that at least one scatter symbol is present on the last inactive row on each spin. Additionally, all dirt blockers are removed from the base game, resulting in the easier activation of any buried features.
Fire In The Hole 2 Slot Bonus Features
Landing 3, 4, or 5 scatter symbols within the same spin on Fire in the Hole 2 will trigger the feature with 2, 3, or 4 rows of the grid active, respectively.
Lucky Wagon Free Spins
The bonus begins with three spins, and this count is reset each time a symbol lands on the reels, whilst three consecutive spins with no symbols landing will end the feature. A series of symbols will slide into the top row on each spin, and they can be collected by landing a coin symbol on the reel directly below them. The possible symbols that can be land are as follows:
- Coin Values: A stake value multiplier of up to 100.
- Multipliers: Multiplies the value of all coins on the reel below by up to x25.
- Dynamite: Throws dynamite onto the grid below. If it lands on dirt, it will remove it. If it lands on a coin, it will double its value. If it lands on a chest, it will activate the chest.
- Beer: Reactivates 0-5 old coins, which makes them trigger their respective enhancers for the next spin.
- Dwarf: Collects all values in the reel area at the triggering coin position.
- Collect Chests: The bottom row of the grid is covered by dirt that contains hidden collect chests. If these positions are uncovered by dynamite, these chests will be activated and collect any values in the reel above them on every subsequent spin.
- upgrade Symbols: During the bonus, an additional seventh reel is present, and only upgrade symbols appear within it. If a coin lands within the same row position as an upgrade symbol, the upgrade symbol will be activated. Coin values and multipliers will then continue to be active for the next spin, and dynamite, beer, and dwarf f
Bonus Buy
Fire in the Hole 2 is a bonus buy slot, and players can jump straight into the heat of the action by utilising the facility to purchase several features directly via the bonus buy button. These include:
- 3 Scatter Lucky Wagon Spins bonus: Cost: 70x, RTP: 96.10%.
- 4 Scatter Lucky Wagon Spins bonus: Cost: 200x, RTP: 96.34%.
- 5 Scatter Lucky Wagon Spins bonus: Cost: 600x, RTP: 96.33%.
- Lucky Draw: Randomly triggers the 3, 4, or 5 scatter bonus at a likelihood of 50%, 40%, and 10%, respectively. Cost: 175x, RTP: 96.12%
Pros
- Adds additional features whilst retaining the best of the original.
- Slightly higher max win.
Cons
- Some may argue that not enough has changed.
Fire In The Hole 2 Slot Review Final Thoughts
The original Fire in the Hole is a brilliant game, and this is very similar, so it was always going to be good. It will be subjective whether enough has been done to refresh it and justify a sequel as not much has changed, which won’t sit well with some players, but the additions that have been made are positive ones. In my view, this is an improvement on the last version, and I’m not offended that the tweaks have been minimal. It’s a great title.
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