Willy's Hot Chillies

Willy’s Hot Chillies was mentioned in our new online slots category earlier this month. This Mexican-themed slot is proving to a major hit among players right not, thanks to an entertaining hot wheel bonus round and a special multiplier feature. So, with this in mind, we’ve decided to make this new Netent five reel slot our game of the month for August.

Theme/Visuals

Willy’s Hot Chillies (WHC) shares a similar theme to Spinata Grande. However, Netent’s creative team have opted to design the game with 3D polygon imagery. The ‘so-simple-its-cool’ approach has been used to great effect with certain video games (think Minecraft) and it seems to work well here too.

The reels are set against a basic but nicely drawn desert background that brings to mind old Warner Brothers’ cartoons of the 50 and 60s. In addition to playing card symbols, they’re decorated with images that could only be associated with Mexico such as a taco, a piñata horse and a chilli sauce bottle – more about these in a minute.

Play is accompanied by a rather subdued mariachi melody that’s interspersed with the crow of a cockerel, the chirping of a cricket and the occasional trumpet fanfare. Happily, it’s nowhere near as extravagant as Spinata Grande’s pulsating/over-the-top soundtrack which after a while really sets the teeth on edge. But there’s no need to hit the mute button here.

How to Play Willy’s Hot Chillies

There are five reels with 20-paylines. To win, you’ll need to land three, four or five symbols from left to right. Of the eight symbols, there are four low value ones which are signified by playing card suit icons, clubs, spades, hearts and diamonds.

High value symbols are represented by a taco, chilli sauce bottle, a piñata horse and a treasure chest. The latter is the most lucrative paying out three times your stake should five appear in combination.

A chilli serves as the wild and substitutes all others apart from the sombrero-wearing Willy who is the bonus symbol. The wild also includes multipliers of x2, x3, x4 or x5 and can appear in stacks. Should at least two wilds land across a pay-line, the multipliers are added together which can result in some decent wins.

Bonus Features

In addition to the multiplier wilds mentioned above, WHC includes a bonus wheel side game known as Willy’s Hot Wheel. In order to active this round you’ll need to unveil the bonus symbol on the first reel and at least one stacked wild on the second, third, fourth or fifth reels.

Willy’s Hot Wheel

Willy’s Hot Wheel has two tiers and ‘spins’ from left to right. The reels underneath that have been filled with multiplier wilds become Fire Pointers and display the number of spins you’ve got to play with. At the very least, you’ll be awarded with six.

With a drum roll, the main 4 x 1 ‘hot wheel’ and its potential prizes are spun horizontally. Any that line up with the aforementioned Fire Pointer(s) are then awarded.

Hot Wheel prizes include coin wins of up to 30 times your bet, 3 bonus spins, an ‘extra’ that turns another reel into a Fire Pointer and a chilli multiplier that multiplies all wins during the bonus round.

To land major wins, the goal here is to win multiple Fire Pointers so keep an eye on the ‘extra’ prizes. However, bear in mind that the wheel also includes blank spaces which of course means that it’s not always possible to win on every spin. The round comes to an end when you’ve used up all of your spins.

Conclusion

Like many of the latest online slots, the standout feature here is the bonus wheel game. While it’s hard not to feel like a spectator during at times, it’s possible to bag some pretty solid returns provided of course that you unlock those Fire Pointers.

We should point out too that Willy’s Hot Chillies is a medium volatility slot. So although wins tend to be frequent, don’t expect them to be that lucrative. The maximum win potential is 2000x your bet which isn’t the most generous we’ve ever come across. With that said, the betting range is pretty wide, ranging from 0.20 to 400.00. So there’s plenty here that will appeal to both low and high rollers.

RTP: 96%, Minimum Stake: 0.20