Nostalgia is a powerful tool; that much will be obvious to anyone. The increase of remakes in TV shows, movies and video games tells us as much! Online slots are no different in this regard. In 2011, Microgaming sought to capitalise on our fond memories with the launch of Retro Reels: Extreme Heat! The developers set out to recreate the design and feel of old physical machines, and does a fantastic job. There is no denying they achieved that goal. However, does that goal create an interesting game?
We, the Labslots team, cannot say the graphics are very impressive. While this is an intentional decision on Microgaming’s end, it does not improve the look of their title. We understand wanting to look retro, but making things incredibly simple is not the way to go. Nostalgia fuelled re-releases should recreate what we know and love with a fresh coat of paint. Make it look as good as we thought it did all those years ago! Animations would have been the perfect way to handle this. Make the flames burn with a higher intensity. Have the symbols flip and turn after a win. Show some effort was put into Retro Reels: Extreme Heat, rather than using its purposefully older design to slack off. We have leniency for older titles. Newer titles lazily replicating their flaws do not get the same understanding.
Retro Reels Extreme Heat Slot Features
The main difference is that Retro Reels: Extreme Heat is on fire when it comes to entertainment value. There are 5 reels, making this a classically designed slot that will appeal to advanced gamblers as well as retro game enthusiasts. What's more, players can choose to play with up to 30 pay lines with 15 coins. The Retro Reels Extreme Heat slots game can be found at Microgaming casinos. Microgaming as a standard do not publish the slots house edge information of their games. However they lease their slots games out to casinos using other software, some of which do publish this information. So far we’ve only found one casino listing this information. Retro Reels Extreme Heat slot machine is a fascinating continuation of the good old Microgaming game called Retro Reels. New music and sound, changed characters, interesting respins.
- RTP: 97,50%
- Betting Range: £0.30 – £112.50
- Max Win: £14,666,666.00
- Similar Slots: Retro Reels: Diamond Glitz, Twin Spin, Fire Joker
How to Win in the online slot Retro Reels Extreme Heat
Play Retro Reels Extreme Heat on a five-reel board with 30 fixed paylines. Players are unable to turn them on or off; meaning the only way to change your bet is by adjusting the total bet directly. To win, collect three or more identical icons that follow one of the currently active paylines. Winning combinations in Retro Reels Extreme Heat must have all symbols adjacent to one another, and must start with the leftmost reel. The control panel is condensed and easy to use. Change your bet, see your credits, and spin the reels. Above each reel is a re-spin button, used to control one of its special features. Press the three lines on the side to open settings or to view the paytable. In settings, turn the sound on or off, or enable Quick Spin. Bet between £0.30 and £112.50 on every spin.
Icon designs in Retro Reels Extreme Heat are drawn in a simple style, reminiscent of older physical machines. Available symbols include cherries, lemons, golden bells, flaming bars and flaming sevens. Both bars and sevens come with one, two or three of their respective icon. A flaming dollar sign is used as a Wild, while the Free Spins Bonus icon is used as the Scatter. None of these symbols tries to do anything new. They look higher quality than their predecessors look, but offer no improvements beyond that. There are no cool Retro Reels Extreme Heat animations to wow players. Nothing that might tempt a new generation of punters to try games with a more retro design.
Bonus Rounds
Collect three or more Scatters in any position to activate the Flaming free spins. Three, four or five Scatters will award ten, fifteen or twenty extra turns, respectively. While the free spins are active, all winning combinations have their payouts doubled. Furthermore, you can retrigger the bonus! To do this, you need to collect three or more Scatters while the existing free spins are played. New extra turns will be added to the existing free spins round.
Retro Reels Extreme Heat Slot Machine
After each spin, you have the opportunity to further improve your chances by re-spinning a single reel. You do this by clicking the re-spin button above a specific reel. This action is not free. Each re-spin costs a certain amount of money. The more valuable of a prize the re-spin could create, the higher the price tag! You cannot use re-spins during the free spins round, or if you change your bet after a round is completed.
Retro Reels Extreme Heat Slots
The Verdict
Microgaming’s release is not a bad one from a gameplay standpoint. It keeps the simplicity of classic slots while adding something new in its re-spin special feature. That said, we still could not recommend Retro Reels: Extreme Heat. The bonuses are fun, and it has a good jackpot. However, this game being a success might send a signal that lazy nostalgia themed titles are acceptable. We have played many releases made by this developer on UK online slot sites. They can do a whole lot better than what they have done with Retro Reels: Extreme Heat.