Dead West Slot Review

About the Game

Dead West is a 7-reel, 7-row video slot from NetEnt with Avalanche™, special features, hot zones, free spins and Elevate feature with 5 options.

RTP

• The theoretical return to player for this game is 96.03%.
• The theoretical return to player in the Elevate Feature with Scatter Hunt is 96.02%.
• The theoretical return to player in the Elevate Feature with Feature Lane Max is 96.06%.
• The theoretical return to player in the Elevate Feature with Hot Zone Frenzy is 96.02%.
• The theoretical return to player in the Elevate Feature with Free Spins is 96.05%.
• The theoretical return to player in the Elevate Feature with Super Free Spins is 96.03%.

Game Basics

The game zone consists of 6 vertical reels and one horizontal reel (feature strip) that spins from right to left. The game is played using combinations of Scatter symbols and different bets. A combination of 8 or more identical symbols appearing anywhere on the reels awards a Scatter win. Scatter wins won simultaneously from combinations of different symbols are added together. Only the highest win for a Scatter combination is paid. A Scatter win is equal to the value shown in the paytable multiplied by any applicable multiplier. The payout values ​​for symbols are dynamic and change depending on the bet selected.

Avalanche™ Feature

Any win triggers the Avalanche™. Symbols in winning combinations disappear, and the remaining symbols move down, filling the empty positions. Once all positions are filled, the winnings are recalculated. The Avalanche continues until there are no more winnings left.

Wild Symbols

There are two types of Wild symbols in the game: regular Wild symbols (1×1) and Colossal Wild symbols (2×2 or 3×3). Colossal Wild symbols can appear randomly on the vertical reels, while regular Wild symbols can appear randomly on the main line. When a reel appears under a regular Wild symbol in Avalanche, it falls from the main line onto the reels. For the purposes of calculating wins, 2×2 Colossal Wild symbols count as 4 regular Wild symbols, while 3×3 Colossal Wild symbols count as 9 regular Wild symbols. Wild symbols substitute for all symbols except the Scatter symbol and special symbols. Substituting for a Wild symbol brings the maximum winning combination when winning with a Scatter symbol, according to the paytable.

Hot Zone

At the start of each spin in the game, at least two random positions on the vertical reels become Hot Zones (highlighted with a red border), which remain on the reels throughout the entire game round.

Each Hot Zone has a multiplier with a random starting value of x1, x2 or x3. If a symbol in a Hot Zone is part of a winning combination, the win is multiplied by the sum of all Hot Zone multipliers in that combination. After a winning combination disappears from the reels and until the next Avalanche begins, each Hot Zone multiplier that was part of that combination is increased by 1. Hot Zone positions and their increased multipliers are carried over to free spins.

Special Features

During the main game and free spins, you can activate one or more special features (Bomb, Swap, Multiply, Expand or Expand+).

Special symbols can only appear on the Feature Lane line. Their feature is activated when, after an Avalanche, a special symbol lands from the Feature Lane line onto an empty space on the reel below it. The feature starts when there are no more winning combinations on the reels; once the feature ends, another Avalanche/Avalanche spin occurs. If several features are activated at the same time, they are played in the following order: Expand, Expand+, Multiply, Swap and Bomb.

Bomb

When the Bomb feature is activated, the Bomb symbol explodes along with all adjacent symbols (except Scatter, Wild, Swap and unused multipliers), making room for a new Avalanche.

The Bomb feature ends when the Bomb symbol and its adjacent symbols explode, and a new Avalanche begins.

Swap

When the Swap feature is activated, the Swap symbol transforms itself and all adjacent symbols (except Scatter, Wild, Bomb and unused multipliers) into symbols of the same type, creating a Scope combination. If a symbol is transformed by the Swap feature and then transformed again by another Swap feature, it becomes a Scope symbol.

The Swap feature ends after it has transformed the surrounding symbols. If it has created a winning combination, that combination disappears from the reels after the wins have been counted, and a new Avalanche begins.

Multiply

The Multiply symbol has a random multiplier value of x2 or x3. When the Multiply feature is activated, the Multiply symbol multiplies the values ​​of all multipliers on its reel and on adjacent reels.

The Multiply feature ends when all multipliers on its reel and on reels adjacent to the Multiply symbol are multiplied by the multiplier value, and a new Avalanche begins.

Expand

When the Expand feature is activated, the position where the Expand symbol lands becomes a Hot Zone. If the Expand symbol lands on a position that is already a Hot Zone, it becomes an upgraded Hot Zone (marked with a bright red border) and its multiplier is increased to the sum of the multipliers of all Hot Zones in the playing area. If an upgraded Hot Zone is part of a winning combination, its multiplier is increased by 1 at the end, before the next Avalanche/spin begins.

If the Expansion symbol lands on a position that is already an upgraded Hot Zone, it becomes a permanent Hot Zone (highlighted in yellow) and its multiplier is increased again to the sum of the multipliers of all Hot Zones in the playing area. If a permanent Hot Zone (in yellow frame) is part of a winning combination, its multiplier is increased by 1 at the end, and the values ​​of all multipliers surrounding it are summed up, adding them to their final value before the next Avalanche/spin begins. The Expansion feature ends once all relevant upgrades are completed and a new Avalanche begins.

Expand+

When the Expand+ feature is activated, the position where the Expand+ symbol lands becomes a Hot Zone. Additionally, the Expand+ symbol will also transform itself and up to 8 adjacent positions into Hot Zones. If the Expand+ symbol lands on or transforms a position that is already a Hot Zone, it becomes an upgraded Hot Zone (highlighted with a bright red border) and its multiplier is increased to the sum of the multipliers of all zones surrounding it.

If the Expand+ symbol lands on or transforms a position that is already an upgraded Hot Zone, it becomes a permanent Hot Zone (highlighted with a yellow border) and its multiplier is increased again to the sum of the multipliers of all zones surrounding it. If a permanent Hot Zone (in a yellow border) is part of a winning combination, its multiplier is increased by 1 at the end, and the values ​​of all multipliers around it are also summed up, adding to its final value before the start of the next Avalanche/spin. The Expand+ function ends after all relevant improvements have been made and a new Avalanche begins.

Free Spins

Scatter symbols can appear on the reels or fall out from the bonus line during the main game and free spins. In the main game, 3, 4, 5 or 6 Scatter symbols appearing on the reels or falling out from the bonus line bring 5, 8, 10 or 12 free spins respectively. At the same time, when there is no more “Avalanche”, and winnings are counted.

During free spins, you can win additional free spins if 3, 4, 5 or 6 Scatter symbols appear on the reels or falling out from the bonus line. The number of free spins received (5, 8, 10 or 12 free spins respectively) is added to the number of free spins remaining on the counter. Free spins are played at the same bet as in the round that activated the free spins. When the Free Spins end, the total winnings from the Free Spins are added to any winnings from the round that triggered the Free Spins, and the game returns to the round that triggered the Free Spins.

Elevate Feature

In-game features can be activated using the Raise feature. Within the Raise feature, one of the following features can be activated in one round of play:

Pay Mechanic

Dead West is played using Scatter symbol combinations. A combination of 8 or more identical symbols appearing anywhere on the reels awards a Scatter win. A device failure voids all payouts and games. See the Unfinished Game Rounds section for more details.

Pros & Cons