Deadwood RIP

Deadwood R.I.P: Slot Overview

When you have the word 'Nolimit' in your name, you really have to bring it, at least every so often, to prevent the gambling community from sniggering into their cornflakes over limp releases that never live up to the boast. However, no sane gambler would ever, in their wildest imaginings, get the impression this studio operates under anything as constricting as limits. Pah. Instead, the team gets bolder with each release in just about every area of slot design - mechanics, potential, and theme choice. One theme that fits the fiendish studio like an absolute glove is the Wild Wild West. NLC has made some of the biggest, scariest, downright meanest Westerns in the gambling space and has gone and done another, titled Deadwood R.I.P.

If you're conversant with Nolimit City's back catalogue, alarm bells should be ringing right about now, as Deadwood R.I.P merges ideas from heavyweights such as Deadwood, an A-star Western slot, and Tombstone RIP, one of the meanest hombres ever to rock a wide brim Stetson and a pair of assless chaps. Like Tombstone RIP (or Tombstone No Mercy, El Paso Gunfight, True Grit Redemption, or Bounty Hunters, for that matter), Deadwood R.I.P is a serious affair, as heavy on the colour scheme as it is heavy on mood. Deadwood R.I.P makes up for any lack of colour with lashings of bullets, bloodshed, and violence; yep, it's a bleak game, alright, one where the violent imagery spills over into violent mechanics.

One contributing factor is the 10 out of 10 extremely volatile math model, which, if you've played any of the related slots, will know is no boast. Forking off its roots, Deadwood R.I.P is played on a 5-reel gaming grid with symbols landing in a 3-4-4-4-2 pattern. The rightmost reel has several interesting properties. For starters, all symbols that land on it count as double when they land fully, but low-value symbols are not present on the reel. The Gunslinger symbols and Hog Me Tight symbols are present in the base game and Redemption Spins however in Salvation Spins, it holds only the Hog Me Tight symbol.

By default, there are 384 ways to win, though splits and whatnot can increase this figure. Regular stakes of 10 c to $/€100 may be selected, and as well as several feature buys are 2 xBet options - info on these is provided below. Regular betting brings a default RTP of 96.09%, though this figure changes depending on xBet/bonus buys.

Symbol values never change, though, which means 1-1.2x the bet is the value of 5 matching 10-A card rank symbols, or 1.5 to 3.5 times the bet for 5 of the same Gunslinger symbols. Keep your eyes peeled for the return of El Gordo, Edda Star, as well as Skinny Joe. Whenever wilds enter the picture, they're able to substitute any regularly paying symbol.

Deadwood R.I.P: Slot Features

Deadwood R.I.P is another NLC feast of features, offering 2 xBets, xNudge Wilds, xSplit Wilds, Quick Draw, Shootout, the dreaded xRIP, Redemption Spins, Salvation Spins, and Nolimit bonus buys.

xBet1 & xBet2

Hey players, how would you like to increase the base bet by 150% to 'sacrifice for a more brutal, less awarding base game' but with an increased chance of free spins? If so, then the xBet1 is for you, which guarantees a scatter symbol on the second reel, providing more than double the chance of triggering Redemption and Salvation Spins. The RTP is 96.13%.

Or, if that's not enough, then increasing the bet by 1,400% (making it 15x) can be done by activating the xBet2. This one provides an even more brutal session to have Redemption and Salvation Spins trigger more than 10 times more often. The xBet2 guarantees scatters on reels 2 and 3. The RTP is 96.18%.

xNudge Wilds & xSplit Wilds

The xNudge wild is a stacked wild symbol that always nudges to become fully stacked. Each nudge increases the win multiplier by +1. xNudge Wilds appear only on the three middle reels. In the base game, several xNudge wilds add to each other for a total multiplier. In bonus modes, several xNudge Wilds multiply each other for a total multiplier.

Landing 2 Diamond Back scatter symbols activates the Reel Split Wild. After landing, it splits itself and other symbols on the reel in half, doubling the symbols on that reel. Reel Split Wilds only activate on the middle three reels. The Hog Me Tight scatter appears on the rightmost reel and counts as 2 symbols high. It is also wild. When landing, it cuts symbols to the left in the middle rows. Reel 1 - the symbol in the middle row is split; on Reel 2, the symbols in the two middle rows are split. When an xNudge Wild is split, it doubles the xNudge Wild multiplier.

Quick Draw

Landing a revolver cylinder on the leftmost reel activates the Quick Draw. The Quick Draw shoots 3 to 6 times (depending on how many bullets it shows), each shot doubling the symbol multiplier of the symbol which is hit.

Shootout

Landing 2 Sheriff Badges on reels 2 and 4 triggers the Shootout feature. All low-pay symbols on the centre three reels act as wild symbols.

xRIP

Any spin in the base game or bonus game that generates combinations where the total payout is below the base bet triggers the xRIP. When the xRIP is triggered, you ain't getting any money for the hit.

Scatters

Diamondback scatters appear on the middle three reels in the main game. The Hog Me Tight scatter appears only on the rightmost reel in the main game and free spins. Landing 3 Diamondback scatters activates 5 Redemption Spins. If the Hog Me Tight scatter also lands, then 6 Salvation Spins are awarded. Landing only 2 Diamondback scatters converts them to Reel Split Wilds. Landing a Hog Me Tight scatter without triggering Salvation Spins means it splits symbols to the left in the middle rows and acts as a wild. Lastly, landing 3 RIP scatters during the bonus modes retriggers the bonus.

Redemption Spins

During Redemption Spins, the win multiplier is increased by xNudge Wilds and remains throughout the feature. Any collected win multiplier is multiplied by another xNudge Wild. Landing a Hog Me Tight scatter upgrades to Salvation Spins and awards +1 additional spin. Landing 3 RIP scatters awards +5 spins.

Salvation Spins

In Salvation Spins, the win multiplier is increased by xNudge Wilds and remains throughout the feature. Any collected win multiplier is multiplied by another xNudge Wild. In this one, the rightmost reel always has the Hog Me Tight scatter that is both wild and a symbol splitter. Landing 3 RIP symbols awards +6 spins.

Nolimit Bonus

At the Nolimit Bonus is where the 2 xBets can be found, alongside Redemption Spins buy for 80x the bet (RTP 96.18%), Salvation Spins for 1,500x the bet (RTP 96.24%), 80-20 Lucky Draw for 364x the bet (RTP 96.13%), or 50-50 Lucky Draw for 790x the bet (RTP 96.23%).

Deadwood R.I.P: Slot Verdict

Damn, hitting this thing on a bad day might feel like duelling the local bully and getting shot in the back while you're walking out the ten paces from each other. Any slot with the xRIP feature, if we can call it a feature, threatens to do that. If you're new to xRIP, in a nutshell, if a total win is worth less than 1x the bet, it is not paid, funnelling part of the RTP elsewhere instead. Deadwood R.I.P was an interesting one. It didn't feel like a stand-alone slot, ramming its flag into the soil to stake out its own individual piece of land, but rather a coming together of various elements from previous games - those in the Tombstone and Deadwood family tree. It also didn't provoke the same emotionally visceral reaction as Tombstone RIP, nor did its primary feature create the same level of suspense as the Boothill feature with its monstrous multiplier assignments could.

Hopefully, that didn't sound overly critical, though, because, really, any criticism Deadwood R.I.P generates is mainly due to the absurdly high standards Nolimit City has set in previous Western slots. Compared to some of what came before, Deadwood R.I.P might seem a little brutally mannered. But brutal gets the job done, and so theoretically can Deadwood R.I.P, posting an enormous win cap of 100,000x the bet. It also, on an eyeball level, triggered free spins with surprising regularity - relatively speaking. Not Salvation Spins, though, they had to be bought, but Redemption Spins were no stranger. xNudge symbols felt quite rare, though. Naturally, Redemption Spins are nowhere near as potent as Salvation Spins, a trait reflected by the huge difference in costs to buy them. Who knew a piggy paired with flying tomahawks could be so desirable?

While not as evolutionary as some of the others in its cohort of related slots have been, suffice it to say, if you liked what Nolimit City has accomplished on previous trips out West, then giving Deadwood R.I.P a run is a no brainer. It sits somewhere between the elegance of Deadwood and the insane brutality of Tombstone RIP, mixing parts of its predecessors into a new tornado of warm, wild gun smoke.