Hot Pepper Slot Review – Pragmatic Play

Studio Pragmatic Play is on fire with the number of games being announced, soon we will be learning about early 2023 game plans which is very exciting! The latest announcement was for the game titled ‘Fury Of Odin‘. Which has a max win capped at 15,000x and a Free Spins feature with an increasing win multiplier. Today we are learning about an intriguing slot follow up, titled ‘Hot Pepper’, which is set to release on December 8th across all sites!

The original game is titled ‘Chilli Heat‘, released in 2018 and followed up by the release of ‘Chilli Heat Megaways‘ in 2021. Now we have the third instalment in the series, all 3 games use a Mexican inspired theme and all include the same male character wearing a sombrero. Usually these game backgrounds are set in the heart of a traditional Mexican town. Instead we see a beautiful desert landscape, with nothing around for miles in all directions. With tall stone mountains, blue skies and little plant life to be seen.

There is a beautiful aesthetic within this background, there is little colour and a lot of small details you can spot. There are some animations you will notice, such as birds flying, plants moving in the wind and an adorable lizard on the bottom left perched on a rock. The reel set is filled with bright symbol art work and a simplistic wooden reel border with a paint pattern. Each symbol has its own unique animation which plays when part of a win before removed from the reel set. I think this slot has nailed the theme choice, with the colour choices and general aesthetic of all the assets used.

Hot Pepper has a setup of 7 reels by 7 rows; this includes 20 set pay lines. This slot is high variance with a set RTP of 96.45% and a max win capped at 10,000x. You can bet from £0.20 to £100.

Hot Pepper Symbols & Pay Table

There are 9 symbols in total; this includes 3 low-paying symbols. These are represented by Clubs, Hearts and Spades. There are also 4 premium symbols; these are represented by Limes, Tacos, Piñatas and a Mexican Male character. In addition to these regular symbols is a Sun Bonus symbol and Chilli Wild symbol. The highest paying symbol is the Mexican Male character premium, which pays 50x for a cluster of 15+. Sun Bonus symbols appear on all reels. Chilli Wilds substitutes for all symbols except the bonus symbol.

Hot Pepper Features & Mechanics

There is an active Tumble Feature which is active on all spins. Wins are paid, and all winning symbols will disappear from the reel set. The remaining symbols fall to the bottom of the reel set. New symbols will fall from above to fill any empty spaces. Tumbles continue as long as winning combinations occur.

Whenever a cluster of symbols hits and explodes, a Wild symbol is left behind in a random empty symbol position.

Every time at least one winning cluster appears, a progressive feature is triggered. First, a random level from 1 to 5 is selected to start. Any Wild which has been generated by a winning cluster will have a multiplier, which is dependent on the current level of the progressive feature. For every 3 Wilds used during a tumble sequence, the level increases up to a maximum of level 5. These levels are;

• Level 1 = Clusters of 5 and 6 symbols generate a multiplier of 1x. Clusters of 7 and 8 symbols generate a multiplier of 2x. Clusters of 9 and 10 symbols generate a multiplier of 4x, and clusters of 11 or more symbols will generate a multiplier of 8x.
• Level 2 = Clusters of 5 and 6 symbols generate a multiplier of 2x. Clusters of 7 and 8 symbols generate a multiplier of 4x. Clusters of 9 and 10 symbols generate a multiplier of 8x, and clusters of 11 or more symbols will generate a multiplier of 16x.
• Level 3 = Clusters of 5 and 6 symbols generate a multiplier of 4x. Clusters of 7 and 8 symbols generate a multiplier of 8x. Clusters of 9 and 10 symbols generate a multiplier of 16x, and clusters of 11 or more symbols will generate a multiplier of 32x.
• Level 4 = Clusters of 5 and 6 symbols generate a multiplier of 8x. Clusters of 7 and 8 symbols generate a multiplier of 16x. Clusters of 9 and 10 symbols generate a multiplier of 32x, and clusters of 11 or more symbols will generate a multiplier of 64x.
• Level 5 = Clusters of 5 and 6 symbols generate a multiplier of 16x. Clusters of 7 and 8 symbols generate a multiplier of 32x. Clusters of 9 and 10 symbols generate a multiplier of 64x, and clusters of 11 or more symbols will generate a multiplier of 128x.

If more than one Wild is part of the same winning cluster, the multipliers will add to each other. If the same Wild is part of more than one winning cluster, the multiplier will apply to the win of all clusters it is part of.

Free Spins

Landing 3 Bonus symbols during a base game spin will trigger the Free Spins feature. Awarding 12 Free Spins, during spins Wilds generated by clusters are always level 5 for the duration of this feature. Landing 3 scatters during a Free Spin will award a retrigger, awarding 5 extra spins. This Bonus feature can be purchased for 100x your chosen stake.

Conclusion

Overall, I think this game is a great addition to the ‘Hot’ slot series and shows off new visual aspects. There are some similarities between the games, but this new addition uses a brand new background and uses new symbol art work. With a new beautiful aesthetic, showing a different side of the Mexican theme choice and represents it well. Symbols stick with a vibrant design, some of the same items do appear but show off different art work. I love that each symbol has a unique animation which appears when part of a winning cluster, this makes gameplay more engaging and eye catching while you spin. Now onto the features and mechanics;

There is an active Tumble Feature, which creates smooth gameplay within the symbol clusters and gives the opportunity for new symbols to land for consistent wins on each spin. With each symbol win there is a Wild symbol left behind, which allows a higher possibility for new cluster wins to occur. Plus there is a progressive levelling system , which can reach multipliers of 128x on Level 5. I like that there is a lot within the base game, especially this levelling system which can award players incredible multiplier wins. In the Free Spins feature, the Level is automatically set at Level 5 for the duration of these spins. There is so much potential within this game and it is perfect for high volatility lovers. Be sure to try out the game for yourself and check out our exclusive casino offers.