Item: Hotline
Author: JohnSlots

Game provider NetEnt has gone full-out retro with this game. Hotline takes us back to the 80’s, where hair was large and personalities were larger. In an online slot with a distinctly ‘Miami Vice’ feel to it, NetEnt has also thrown in some interesting game features that are decidedly 21st century.

Don’t know what we’re talking about? Younger players will find this game resembles another mainstay of popular culture, the hit video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

NetEnt has the unique capacity to free casino games from expectations and to do something different. Hotline is the perfect example of that.

5 reels, 3 rows, 30 fixed paylines
10 bet levels
Default coin values 0.01, 0.02, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1
Maximum win of 2,000 coins on a single betline
Special features: Wilds and Expanding Wilds, Re-Spins, Free Spins, Hotline Bonus Bet
Return to player of 96.13 – 97.04%
Variance is medium

Hotline bonus features

This game opens up with a video intro, which lays out the story so far. Detectives Quinn and Rivera are in hot pursuit of Kitty Weiss, the criminal responsible for a successful jewelry heist.

Keen-eyed players will spot a strange little detail – this game doesn’t have one RTP value but three. Read on to learn how that is possible and how players stand to gain from this unusual feature.

Wilds

The red sports car represents a Wild symbol in Hotline and it can appear on any reel on the screen. It will substitute for any symbol except for the Scatter.

When a Wild symbol appears on a Hotlined row, it becomes an Expanding Wild. This means it will grow to cover the entire reel, thus maximising the chance to strike a winning combination.

When a Wild lands on a Hotline and expands, players will be awarded a Re-Spin. Re-Spins use the same Hotlined rows, coin value and bet level as the initial spin.

Hotline free spins

The car chase heats up with the Scatter symbols. These can appear on reels 1, 3 and 5. These symbols grant 7 free spins and the Hotline Bonus Bet will reflect the same conditions as the round that triggered the free spins initially.

Land an Expanding Wild during a free spins round and it will stay put over the reel until all the free spins have been played.

Hotline Bonus Game

On the left-hand side of the game screen, players will see three round icons. On opening the game initially, one of these will be coloured yellow and that means that that row is an activated Hotline.

At least one row must be Hotlined on every spin, which will be played at the base level. But players can choose to Hotline two or even three rows, depending on the level of risk they are comfortable with. Activating to a Double or Triple bet will increase the stake and it will also increase the chances of landing a Wild on the activated rows.

The different RTPs for activated lines are as follows. One row Hotlined – 96.13%; two rows Hotlined – 96.7%; three rows Hotlined – 97.04%.

Hotline jackpot

Hotline does not offer a jackpot. The maximum win on a single bet line is set at 2,000 coins but the maximum coinciding win is a meaty 60,000 coins.

RTP

The Return to Player on Hotline depends on how many rows have been selected as Hotlines. Thus the RTP ranges from 96.13% to 97.04%.

Hotline on Mobile

Hotline is available on mobile platforms thanks to NetEnt Touch. Take this NetEnt slot anywhere you go, on your iPhone, iPad or Android devices. Just don’t play while driving. Or while robbing a bank.