Joker Hot Reels - Review, Demo Play, Payout, Free Spins & Bonuses

Introduction

Over the past year or two we’ve seen Playtech mixing things up quite a bit when it comes to game development - and, in an effort to keep up with the likes of Big Time Gaming and other Megaways developers, the developer has been releasing a line of their own ultra high-variance video slots. Joker Hot Reels isn’t one of those games, however, and Playtech have chosen to go “back to basics” in creating something that most players wouldn’t spend more than a couple of seconds looking at - Joker Hot Reels.

However, while Joker Hot Reels looks pretty basic (and, in fairness, it is), don’t let the poor visual graphics and classic nature of the slot put you off playing. The slot is actually pretty fun and uses a Starburst-like re-spin mechanism to deliver some decent win-potential in the base-game on a fairly regular basis.

Format and RTP

The game itself is built around a 5-reel, 3-row format and there are 5 fixed paylines. In Playtech’s earlier games you often had the chance to customise the number of paylines yourself but that does not appear to be the case any more.

The RTP of Joker Hot Reels is set at 95.51% which is a little on the low side - but we were pleased to see that only 0.99% of the RTP is set aside for the progressive jackpots, so it’s way less than most jackpot game RTP contributions. It is also a medium/high variance slot – a 4/5 on Playtech’s scale.

You can win up to 6,000X your stake on every spin in Joker Hot Reels and you can play from between 0.05 and 500 credits per spin! Let’s kick off this Joker Hot Reels review with a look at the game’s various symbols and payouts.

Joker Hot Reels Symbols And Payouts

Playtech have chosen to build Joker Hot Reels around a very classic slot format and this means that you’ll see a wide variety of classic “fruity” symbols on the reels. There are a few different fruit symbols including Cherries, Lemons, Oranges, Plums, Grapes and Watermelons - and despite being the game’s lower-paying symbols they can pay relatively well if you can line up a 5-of-a-kind combo.

The game’s top-paying symbol is the Red 7, and you’ll see this on all reels - although it’s not stacked on the middle three reels, so just bear that in mind. Now, the reason why the Red 7 is so worth paying attention to is due to the payouts it offers. For example, while landing a 3-of-a-kind combo awards a payout worth just 10X your stake lining up a 4-of-a-kind or 5-of-a-kind combo awards a whopping 40X or 300X your stake - so it’s not hard to see where the game’s potential is here. 

There’s also a wild symbol that appears in Joker Hot Reels as - well, naturally - the Joker! He appears stacked on the middle three reels but is not found on reels 1 or 5. This means it’s possible to fill the middle three reels with wilds, and this is undoubtedly where Joker Hot Reels’ biggest win-potential lies - especially seeing as the stacked wild symbols tie directly into the game’s main bonus round.

Joker’s Re-Spins Feature

As we mentioned earlier, the Joker wild symbols are stacked on reels 2, 3 and 4. If you manage to land a full stack of these symbols (meaning they land fully in view) you will trigger the Joker’s Re-Spins feature; this awards you with 3 re-spins during which the stack of wild symbols lock in place. If you’re lucky enough to land another stack of wilds during the re-spin bonus round they will also lock in place.

Progressive Jackpot Bonus

Progressive jackpots can be found in quite a large number of Playtech’s slots, and Joker Hot Reels is no exception. However, unlike most of the developer slots, Joker Hot Reels only has two progressive jackpots - the Grand and the Mini. Both of these progressive jackpots are triggered randomly during the base-game and you don’t need to look out for any symbols on the reels in order to trigger them.

Max-win 6,000x

Volatility Medium

Top RTP 95.51%

Our Verdict Of Joker Hot Reels

Joker Hot Reels is pretty much as simple as it gets when it comes to video slot development. Playtech have clearly chosen a “back to basics” approach here, and while that’s going to turn quite a substantial number of players off the game, it’s worth pointing out that it’s actually a pretty decent game, especially if you’re looking to play something a little more chilled out than you’re perhaps used to playing.

Despite the basic nature of the game, Joker Hot Reels can dish out some relatively impressive win-potential and it actually holds quite a few resemblances to NetEnt’s Starburst; however, unlike Starburst, a full screen of wilds awards a payout worth a whopping 6,000X your stake as opposed to 500X your stake.

We also like the fact that Playtech have added in a couple of jackpots - although, as we mentioned earlier, not all variations of the game carry the jackpots so make sure you’re playing a version that does if that’s what you want!

Disclaimer: Joker Hot Reels trademark / license is owned by Playtech. This site is not endorsed by Playtech.