Extra Chilli Megaways Slot Review: A Spicy and Fun Adventure!
Released in 2018, Extra Chilli Megaways was the follow-up by Big Time Gaming to one of their most successful slots ever, Bonanza. Bonanza featured Big Time Gaming’s trademarked Megaways system and offered players numerous ways to win. Set in a fictional mine, this slot served up gems, diamonds, and more. It was a blast for online gamers. Extra Chilli Megaways takes much of what Bonanza had that made it so exciting and serves it up in a brand new slot. Does Extra Chilli Megaways improve upon its closely related predecessor to become one of the best slots available? Let’s find out in our comprehensive Extra Chilli Megaways review!
Extra Chilli Megaways Theme
As with most Big Time Gaming slots, Extra Chilli Megaways has an elaborate, entertaining backstory. It continues where Bonanza, one of the all-time best Megaways slots, left off. The slot’s premise is that the Bonanza mine is still flush with gold, but some time ago, JosĂ© CavadorĂ© became one of the top miners in Mount Cashmore. He decided to pack a donkey and make the trip down to Mexico, where he crafted magnificent jewellery from those stones from his mine. At the same time, he developed a taste for the very rare Purple Conquistador (a hot chilli). Today, JosĂ© goes to Mexican markets hawking his wares in exchange for these hot chillis.
Therefore, the background is a cart, presumably at a Mexican market, and the slot reels fill up with the standard 9, 10, J, Q, K, A symbols plus various chilli peppers. Although the graphics look a little dated compared with some newer, more modern slots, it’s a delightful theme. Given its release date in 2018, there’s little excuse for the visuals not to be a little bit more modern. Hopefully, in the future, Big Time Gaming, with its newfound backing of Evolution Gaming, will update this slot machine!
Play Extra Chilli Megaways at the Best Casinos
How to Play Extra Chilli Megaways
Playing Extra Chilli Megaways is relatively straightforward, although there are a few quirks depending on which version of the game you are playing. First, getting started is as simple as selecting your stake on the bottom-left corner and then hitting the play button on the bottom-right to start the reels spinning.
Like many online slots, you can set the reels to spin automatically. The auto-spin feature lets you set a spin number, a loss limit, and a single win limit. Once the slot hits any of these limits, it will stop automatically spinning the reels. The ability to specify these parameters means that you can create some interesting combinations. For example, you can set the game to spin 50 times, stopping if you win $50 on any given spin or lose $50. Or, you can tell the game to spin 50 times and only stop if you’re down $100. The only parameter that would be nice to specify is a total win limit. Instead of a single win limit, it might be nice to have something like “spin 200 times until I win $100 or lose $100.” If you are playing the version with the Feature Drop (more on this later), you’ll also have an option to buy that in the bottom-left corner. The feature costs 50x your bet, so if you are betting $1 per spin, you’ll need to pay $50 to access this. All in all, playing Extra Chilli Megaways is very accessible – even for those newer to online gaming!
Symbols and Bonus Features
There are ten paying symbols that you will encounter when you spin the reels on this slot. They are:
- Purple chilli pepper
- Red chilli pepper
- Blue chilli pepper
- Green chilli pepper
- Ace
- King
- Queen
- Jack
- Ten
- Nine
You will also see a wild symbol, which matches with anything on the board and the letters “H,” “O,” and “T,” which spell “HOT” and trigger the free spin feature (more on that below). You will see gold coins on a purple background for games that have Feature Drop enabled (more details also below). When you see one of those coins, it will lower the cost to buy the feature somewhere between 0.2x your wager up to 2x your bet.
Free Spin Feature
One of the more frustrating aspects of the original Bonanza was that it had players chasing for the letters G, O, L, and D. Extra Chilli Megaways replaces that with H, O, and T. Unlike GOLD, though, HOT all comes up in the same spin. Those three letters anywhere in the play area trigger the free spin feature. The bonus starts with eight free spins, and any additional H, O, and T will award another four spins. Furthermore, if you get 3-4 bowls of chillies, you might get another four or eight spins added to the bonus. When the re-trigger hits, you can also gamble to try and win more free spins (up to 24 are up for grabs!). During the bonus, the win multiplier goes up by one on every win cascade. There’s no limit, technically, to how big that multiplier can grow, and it’s not hard to imagine how easy it is to win significantly with a large multiplier!
Feature Drop (Available Only If the Casino Supports It)
The Feature Drop is a fascinating addition by Big Time Gaming to this slot. While not all casinos offer it, it’s in this Extra Chilli Megaways slot review in case yours does. Many newer online slots have a concept of “buying” the feature, meaning that, instead of spinning a hundred times hoping to get the free spins above, you can pay a certain amount of money upfront to trigger it immediately. Big Time Gaming took this and added a twist to it. The default cost to buy the feature is 50x your wager (so if you’re betting $1 per spin, you’ll need to pay $50 to trigger the free spins immediately). However, you can also spin the reels and get the “Feature Drop Symbol,” which lowers your cost by anywhere from 0.2x your wager to 2x.
In practice, the way this works is as follows. Let’s say you’re just starting. The feature costs $50 as you are betting $1 per spin. You spin the reels, and the 1x Feature Drop Symbol shows. Now, buying the feature only costs $49. Maybe you spin a bit more and get the 2x symbol. Buying the feature is now only $47. Eventually, as you play through the game, you’ll whittle your feature price down so much that it’ll be essentially worth it to buy it! Or, you might get into a fun scenario where you get the feature naturally, but it only costs $10 or so to buy it so that you can have back-to-back free spins!
Odds and Payouts
In any given regular (non-bonus) spin, there are a total of ten paying symbols. The payouts for those are:
- Purple chilli pepper: 50x your bet for six in a row, gradually going down to 2x your bet for just two.
- Red chilli pepper: 7.5x your bet for six in a row, going down to 1x your wager for three.
- Blue chilli pepper: Getting six of these will get you 2x your bet, while getting three will only get you 0.25x your wager.
- Green chilli pepper: This symbol will also get you 2x your bet for six but 0.25x your wager for three.
- Ace: Players will receive 1.75x their wager for six of these and 0.2x for three.
- King: This symbol is similar to the Ace in that players get 1.75x their wager for six and 0.2x for three of these in a row.
- Queen: 1x the wager for six and 0.2x for three.
- Jack: 1x the wager for six and 0.15x for three.
- Ten: Getting six of these will get you 0.9x your bet, while getting three will get you 0.15x your wager.
- Nine: The game will pay 0.8x your bet for six of these and only 0.1x for three.
Other symbols, like the bowls of chillies, can increase your free spins, but they won’t pay any money.
RTP and Volatility
The return to player for this particular online slot varies depending on which version of the game you are playing. If you are playing the version without the Feature Drop, the RTP is 96.41%, and if you are playing with the Feature Drop, it rises slightly to 96.82%. Either way, this slot has quite a good RTP, considering that the average online slot returns about 95% and the average Vegas slot returns 93% or less. As for the volatility, this game ranks very highly. That means you might find long stretches without a win, followed by a substantial payoff. The volatility of this particular online slot might be a little high for some people, but if you love the thrill of a huge win, this is the slot where you can try for that (indeed, you can win as much as 20,000x your bet!).
Who Makes Extra Chilli Megaways?
As mentioned earlier in this Extra Chilli Megaways slot review, Big Time Gaming develops Extra Chilli Megaways. Now part of Evolution Gaming, these talented engineers and artists are the ones who created the Megaways brand, giving players more ways to win. Some Big Time Gaming slots available online include Bonanza Megapays, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Megapays, Wheel of Fortune Megaways, Survivor Megaways, and Monopoly Megaways. As you can tell, they have licenses with many of the hottest entertainment games and shows around. They’re big enough that you should find their games on almost any new slots casino.
Is It Possible to Play Extra Chilli Megaways on Mobile?
Yes, playing Extra Chilli Megaways is entirely possible on mobile. It is an HTML5-based game that’s compatible with most devices and browsers, including iPhones, iPads, and Android phones. Of course, if you want to play it on your desktop, you can do that, too. It is also worth noting that you will get the same experience playing Extra Chilli Megaways on a mobile phone as you would on your desktop. They do not skimp out on the animations or graphic fidelity for the mobile experience. It is a joy to play, no matter what device you are using!
Extra Chilli Megaways Slot Review: Our Thoughts
As you can see from this Extra Chilli Megaways slot review, there’s a lot to love about this game. It is fun, entertaining, and has a uniquely intricate story behind it. It is one of this company’s best Megaways slots. The only real criticism of this slot is that the graphics feel a little outdated compared with some of the other ones on the market, but that is a relatively minor critique overall. The reality is that, as long as you enjoy the high volatility, you’ll probably have a blast with this game!
Therefore, the next time you log into your favourite online casino, check to see if they have Extra Chilli Megaways and give the slot a few spins. You’ll be glad you did! And, if you need a new slots casino to get this game (or you’re new to online gaming in general), please check out our comprehensive list of the best Canadian online casinos. You’re sure to find one there that you love and that has Extra Chilli Megaways! It is, indeed, one of the best slots for most online gamblers.
