San Quentin xWays Slot Overview
San Quentin xWays is a casino slot from Nolimit City where players get to visit one of the most notorious correctional facilities in the history of the United States and its infamous inmates. Formally known as San Quentin State Prison, it's "home" to such criminal celebrities as Loco Luis, Crazy Joe, Biker Bill, Heinrich the 3rd, and, the nastiest of them all, Beefy Dick. We advise you to watch those gentlemen from a safe distance, with a set of solid fences in between, and look out for any sign of disturbance, as that's when things can get out of control pretty quickly. Luckily for you, there's no real danger here, but be sure to listen for the sound of sirens as they will inevitably announce the Lockdown Spins, during which you'll stand to win up to 150,000 times the bet.
San Quentin xWays is a video slot from Nolimit City with 5 reels, 3 rows, and 243 payways. Players can choose their stake from a range of options, starting from a Min.bet of 0.20 up to a Max.bet of 32. The game offers a default RTP of 96.03%, although two lower variants of 94.11% and 90.11% are also available for operators. It has a base hit frequency of 34.25% and a free spins frequency of 1 in 230 spins. The mathematical profile is characterized by very high volatility and brings a max win up to 150,000 times the bet, with an average chance of hitting it 1 in 2 billion spins.
Most inmates would probably say that there's not much else to do behind bars than serve your time, but in this prison, there's plenty to do, thanks to a collection of engaging features. The features in San Quentin xWays are Split Wild, Enhancer Cells, Razor Split, xWays, Jumping Wild, Lockdown Spins, and Feature Buy.
San Quentin xWays Slot Information
You can say many things about a prison yard, but undoubtedly not that it's an inviting place, which is instantly noticeable upon opening San Quentin xWays slot. Gloomy, gray skies hang over the walls crowned with barbed wire while two sets of security cameras vigilantly scan the area. Above and below the main playing grid, two rows of Enhancer Cells show inmates casually strolling or pumping iron to pass the time. It's all quite intimidating, along with a dynamic soundtrack that perfectly complements the uneasy mood. Landing a win requires matching at least 3 identical symbols on adjacent reels, starting from the leftmost one. The game can be played on most common mobile devices and desktops.
Low-paying symbols appear as various items in the everyday life of an incarcerated criminal, like a roll of toilet paper, a set of handcuffs, a shank made out of a toothbrush handle, a flip-lighter, and the most dangerous of them all, a bar of soap. Those pay between 1.5x and 2x the bet for a 5-of-a-kind hit. High-paying symbols depict the five most notorious inmates, namely Crazy Joe, Biker Bill, Loco Luis, Heinrich the 3rd, and Beefy Dick. They bring payouts ranging from 2.5x to 5x the bet for matching five in a combination. Naturally, there are a bunch of special symbols available as well, which we will introduce in the next part of the review.
San Quentin xWays Slot Features
What is the max win in the slot San Quentin xWays?
You can win up to 150,000x the bet.
What features are available in the slot San Quentin xWays?
The features are Split Wild, Enhancer Cells, Razor Split, xWays, Jumping Wild, Lockdown Spins, and Feature Buy.
Split Wild
Split Wilds can land on any reel in the main game. Once they do, they will split all regular symbols on the same reel into 2 instances, except themselves.
Enhancer Cells
Two extra rows above and below the primary grid are Enhancer Cells. They are always locked at the beginning of every base game spin and can be opened by landing a Bonus symbol. Both top and bottom Enhancer Cells on the respective reel will open, and each position will show one of the five high-paying characters, a Wild, a Razor Split, or an xWays symbol.
Razor Split
A razorblade adorned with the letter "S" is the Razor Split symbol. Once revealed in the Enhancer Cell, all regular symbols on the aligned reel will be split into two instances. If Razor Split symbols land simultaneously in the top and bottom Enhancer Cells, the split will occur twice.
xWays
Each instance of the xWays symbol during the same spin reveals a 4-stacked matching regular icon. Two xWays instances appearing in the top and bottom Enhancer Cells of the same reel will populate that column with 8 single Wilds.
Lockdown Spins
At least 3 Bonus symbols represented by a watchtower in full alert are what you want to land in order to access the bonus round. If you don't manage that and get only 2, they will still transform into Wilds (aside from opening the Enhancer Cells) to help you land a consolation prize.
Landing 3, 4, or 5 Bonus symbols triggers the Lockdown Spins with 1, 2, or 3 Jumping Wilds active and 3, 4, or 5 reels with Enhancer Cells open.
Before the round starts, a special minigame played on the unlocked positions will determine the multiplier applied to one of the high-paying symbols or the Jumping Wild and the total number of free spins.
During the free spins, Jumping Wilds are persistent and will randomly change position on every spin, while Enhancer Cells will behave in the same way as they do during the base game. Landing a Bonus symbol on a reel with locked Enhancer Cells will open them for the duration of the bonus, award extra spins, and the symbol itself will change into a Jumping Wild. Whenever a Jumping Wild lands on the same reel as the Razor Split symbol, the Jumping Wild's multiplier will double, up to a maximum of x512. There can be a maximum of 3 Jumping Wilds present on the grid during one bonus playthrough.
Feature Buy
Lockdown Spins can be triggered instantly for a fixed buy-in. There are three options available:
100x = Lockdown Spins with 1 Jumping Wild at 96.26% RTP.
400x = Lockdown Spins with 2 Jumping Wilds at 96.26% RTP
2,000x = Lockdown Spins with 3 Jumping Wilds at 96.95% RTP.
San Quentin xWays Slot Conclusion
After the controversial release of the Punk Rocker slot that sparked multiple conversations about the themes used in casino games, Nolimit City surprises with another peculiar setting. And even though crime tends to be a subject matter that appears in slots from time to time, it's usually presented in a much softer way, like the Mega Heist slot from Relax Gaming, for example. San Quentin xWays has nothing soft about it, starting from the gritty visuals, through extreme volatility, and finishing on a jaw-dropping max win, sitting at 150,000x the bet. One could say it's a production as harsh as the topic it depicts. Of course, the creators made sure to inject it with a sizeable dose of dark humor, mainly situated in the big-win presentations and, what's not so common, in the no-win scenarios. To be fair, comparing the near-miss situation to dropping the soap in the prison shower might come off as a little intense. But to each their own. In general, San Quentin xWays does an excellent job of representing the everyday reality of an inmate locked in the max-security facility.
In regard to the technical aspects of the slot, there's much to explore as well. The main gameplay comes with Enhancer Cells, which even carry a fitting name, considering they are meant to represent the actual prison cells. From them, players will receive a decent variety of modifiers, from high-paying symbols capable of extending a lucrative combination with additional payways, to splitting symbols with Razor Split and experiencing a bit of mystery from xWays symbols. Lockdown Spins, being the main bonus round, may come with multiple persistent Jumping Wilds with increasing multipliers and up to 10 Enhancer Cells open throughout. To top it all off, one high-paying symbol or the Wild will receive a random multiplier before the free spins begin. It's not a common occurrence for a slot to offer a comparable level of engagement both in the base game and in the bonus round, but San Quentin xWays is definitely one of them.
Looking at the game's statistics, one number seems to stand out massively. A 150,000x the bet max win may just be the highest in the industry at the moment of this release. This is not to say that it will be easy to score it, given the extreme volatility rating, but even knowing it's within reach will surely prove irresistible to many players. The RTP of 96.03% may feel a little bit on the low end but still within the acceptable frames.
In 2024, San Quentin xWays finally received a sequel that ups the stakes by taking players to death row and elevating the max win figure to an insane 200,000x the bet, so be sure to check out San Quentin 2: Death Row. If you're a fan of gritty and uneasy themes married to exceptionally high volatility, slots like Stockholm Syndrome by Nolimit City and Darkness by Print Studios should be right up your alley.
San Quentin xWays from Nolimit City boldly mixes the brutal realities of prison life with a high dose of dark humor while offering gripping gameplay crowned with a fantastic max win of 150,000x the bet.
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