If you are a fan of Nolimit City games, you may be aware that some of them are fairly triple-x rated. Their most recent release, Punk Toilet, is a perfect example of this, so it was with a smile on my face that I began to look at the strangely named “X-Ways Hoarder xSplit”. The X-Ways in the title tips you off that this is a game with the possibility of many payways – between 243 and 259,920, to be exact. The RTP is casino-selectable, though thankfully, there are only two options – 96.14% and 94.10%. An interesting fact from the paytable is that there is a 1 in 14 million chance of hitting this game’s maximum payout of 11,030x.
The Nolimit City xWays feature was possibly created in response to Big Time Gaming’s success with their Megaways slots, but thankfully Nolimit City doesn’t appear to have any intention of trying to patent and license their similar yet sufficiently different set of mechanics. I have a particular dislike for this method of extracting value from the online casino market, as it stifles innovation by limiting what ideas can be included in new games – where would we be if somebody had patented 243-way slot mechanics? Or even something as basic as straight-up pay lines?
As always, we have a free demo slot of X-Ways Hoarder X-Split for you to try right here on this page. So, if you haven’t tried Nolimit City before, give this one a blast!
| Reels | 5 |
| Rows | 3 |
| Paylines | 290,920 |
| Bonus Rounds | 1 |
| Bet Range | 0.20 - 100 |
| Volatility | High |
| Max Win | 11,030x |
| Bonus Buy | Yes |
| RTP | 96.14% |
| Our Rating | 8.0 |
Xways Hoarder Slot Casino Bonuses
Xways Hoarder Xsplit Slot Free Play
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Xways Hoarder Slot Theme, Stakes, Pays & Symbols
The theme of X-Ways Hoarder X-Split seems to be radiation or some sort of apocalyptic future. The entire machine appears to be held inside some kind of gravestone-like structure, yet the inclusion of toilet paper, moonshine, and jerry cans combine to create a somewhat disjointed but amusing theme. The graphics are well drawn, and the music is up there with some of the best I have ever heard on an online slot, so kudos to the person responsible for that. If spinning the reels on a post-apocalyptic slot is your thing, I suggest you also take a look at Avatar UX’s title Zombie APOPolypse, which goes for a different type of approach to this genre.
The paytable will not impress you at first glance, but it is always important to keep in mind with these types of games that, the idea is for you to win on a large number of payways at once. With that thought in the front of your mind, the top payout of just 5x your stake for the guy in the radiation suit doesn’t seem quite as depressing – but you will only really start to appreciate the true mechanics behind this machine once you have begun to see the possible returns it can produce. There are five so-called “high-paying” symbols, all of which are rather strange-looking characters ( including Karen from Nolimit’s later release Karen Maneater ) which range from 1.5x to 5x your stake for five of a kind.
What is surprising to see for such a volatility game is the huge spread of possible bets – the minimum is €0.20 per spin, whilst the maximum is set at a massive €100. A jackpot at max bet would be a huge win in monetary terms but nowhere near big enough for me to risk those amounts on a single spin of an ultra-high variance slot.
Base Game & Modifiers
The initial play area looks like a typical 5×3 grid, and the 243 ways indicated to the left confirm this as the initial configuration. The xWays and xSplit features will show themselves immediately once you hit spin, and you are never likely to see 243 ways from an actual paid spin. The X-Ways symbols only land on reels 2-4, whilst xSplit Wild symbols only appear on reels 3-5. These symbols deserve their own explanation, which they get below.
X-ways Symbol
The X-Ways symbols are only present on the centre-most three reels but are the key to the biggest wins in the game. Each X-Ways symbol can divide between two and four of the same symbols, and multiple X-Ways symbols on a single spin will always transform into the same symbol. The ideal setup is to hit a matching symbol on reels one and five, then hit X-Ways symbols on reels 2,3 and 4, which all divide into four matching symbols. This would give you a maximum of 256 winning payways. Still, if the top symbol only pays 5x your stake, that only results in a win of 1,280x – how do you get higher? Read on.
X-split Wild
During the base game, these special wilds only appear on reels three, four, and five. When X-Split wilds land simultaneously as X-Ways symbols, things get a little bit crazy – all symbols to the left of your X-Split wild are split into two. When combined with the X-Ways symbol, the number of ways it produces doubles. If an X-Split symbol finds another X-Split symbol, it will split that into two as well – this can potentially multiply the value of the previous maximum X-Ways configuration by 8x. Throw in a few other minor wins, and you find yourself at that 14 million-to-one payoff of 11,030x your stake.
Xways Hoarder Slot Bonus Features
The base game features in this game would make it more than interesting – and high paying – enough for most players. The fact that Nolimit city threw us a free spins bonus round is just the cherry on top! The scatter symbol appears on four of the five reels, with 7 free spins being awarded for three scatters, whilst 10 are yours if you should hit all four. During testing, I never saw the four-scatter combination – it is likely to be just as rare as hitting five scatters on any other slot.
There is no payout for the scatter symbols, which is always disappointing. However, there is still one final trick up the sleeve for this game, which is the Super Scatter symbol, created when an X-Split wild hits a regular scatter symbol. If you don’t manage to trigger a feature, any Super Scatters will turn into X-Ways symbols instead, which isn’t a bad consolation prize.
Bunker Raid Free Spins
Triggered by hitting three or more regular scatters – you can have one super scatter mixed in as well – the bunker raid spins benefit from sticky X-Ways symbols that remain in place for the remainder of your free spins after landing.
Each time a new X-Ways symbol lands, it will add one extra free spin to your remaining counter. Additionally, these new X-Ways symbols will drop down the reel stack and merge with any existing sticky X-Ways symbols to create a bigger sticky symbol. It is possible to win huge here, so good luck.
Wasteland Free Spins
As you collect X-Ways symbols during the bonus, you will begin to remove the lower-paying symbols from the reels. If you manage to collect a total of 9, then the Wasteland free spins round will trigger. This will see the centre reels replaced by one giant reel that will award you a massive win multiplier on each spin. Match symbols on either side of this with your remaining free spins, and you have a really good chance of achieving the max win on the game.
Bonus Buy
Those players who can access the bonus buy option on xWays Hoarder can choose from the following options if they prefer to skip the play in the base game.
- 95x Bet: 7 Bunker Raid Spins.
- 180x Bet: 10 Bunker Raid Spins.
- 777x Bet: 7 Super Bunker Raid Spins.
- 218x Bet: Random Award.
Xways Hoarder Slot Review Final Thoughts
Nolimit City makes some of the most complex games on the market – trying to do all of the features and modes justice in a sensible number of words can be a tricky task. There’s a lot of fun to be had here for serious high-variance slot lovers, but I can imagine some players finding this game to be the equivalent of a modern fighting game – pressing buttons and watching all the crazy action happening on screen without ever truly understanding what is going on.
I consider myself an experienced slots player, and despite much more time spent playing and reading the rules and paytable than a typical review, even I found myself confused by what was happening when many X-Ways and X-Split symbols landed alongside scatters at the same time.
This could be intentional – perhaps the game is supposed to be completely wild and over the top. The 777x bonus buy feature would certainly suggest that Nolimit City want to be known as the craziest studio out there! However, I feel as if this game takes one or two things a little bit too far. Do you agree? Try our free demo slot and see what you make of it – it will be interesting to see how the average player feels about this one.
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