Hot Dog Heist

Hot Dog Heist: Slot Overview

Hot Dog Heist from Play'n GO closely mirrors the structure of Play'n GO's 2015 release, Wild North, a game that gained attention for its diverse bonus features and appealing design. In Hot Dog Heist, the setting shifts from the wild outdoors to an urban environment where a cast of dogs pursues hot dogs across 7 bonus rounds, maintaining the variety that defined its predecessor.

The Dog House with sausages was one early thought triggered when viewing Hot Dog Heist. Like its Prag-built neighbour, Hot Dog Heist's action takes place in a well-tended suburban location, where there's a BBQ burning to feed the crew, a picket fence to keep out ruffians, and a swimming pool complete with deck chairs and ice box. It really is a most pleasant environment to while away a lazy summer afternoon, maybe mow the lawn or trim the hedges, or just laze about before Monday morning rolls around and the cruel reality of exchanging your time for money in a dead-end job that's lost all meaning comes crashing in to destroy the bourgeois fantasy.

The hot dog loving dogs and other symbols appear on a 5-reel matrix, with 4 symbol positions per reel and 40 paylines for win evaluations. Beneath the shaggy coat is a 4 out of 10 low-medium volatile math model producing a healthy RTP (at best) of 96.55%, while lower configurations are something to look out for. Another thing to look out for is bet selection, from a low of 20 c to a high of $/€50 per game round.

Nailed together pieces of wood in the shapes of 9-A card royals are Hot Dog Heist's low pays, awarding 1 to 2.25 times the bet for 5 OAK. The high pays are 4 wascally doggies, paying 2.5x to 6.25x when landing a 5-of-a-kind winning combination. Wilds appear on all reels, substituting any pay symbol or awarding up to 12.5x the bet for wild only winlines of 5 OAK.

Hot Dog Heist: Slot Features

Scatter symbols are present only in the base game. Landing 3 scatter symbols triggers the Hot Dog Heist free spins. A feature wheel displaying 7 bonus modes appears, of which one bonus mode will be chosen at random:

• The Pack - 3 free spins where 4x4 Mega symbols are available on reels 2 to 5.
• Golden Retriever - 3 free spins where 1 or 2 entire reels are covered by wild symbols.
• Rough Collie - 1 free spin with Rough Collie symbols stacked on reels 2 to 4. One respin is awarded when these symbols form a full 3x3 or 3x4 block on reels 2 to 4. Full blocks are sticky on the respin.
• Labrador - 1 free spin is awarded, for which a multiplier of x5 to x30 multiplies the free spin prize amount.
• Border Collie - 1 free spin is awarded on which a 2x2 wild Border Collie symbol block appears. If additional Border Collie symbols appear, 1 respin is awarded. Border Collie symbols are wild and sticky for this feature.
• Bulldog - 1 free spin is awarded on which 2 2x2 Bulldog symbols appear. One or more respins may be granted with sticky Bulldog symbols until you hit at least 1 winning combination.
• Who's a Good Doggie? - a Pick & Click grid with 20 tiles is displayed on the screen. Players pick tiles 1 by 1, revealing hidden prizes of 0.25x to 25x the bet or a trigger of any of the above bonus modes. Clicking continues until an X is revealed, ending the feature. If Mode 1 or 2 is revealed, then the Pick & Click ends, and the free spins mode starts. If the other modes are revealed, the free spins mode plays out, then you return to the Pick & Click for more picking.

Hot Dog Heist: Slot Verdict

The last lot of Play'n GO slot reviews before this, Lion Saga Odyssey, Sobek's Godly Spins, and Boat Bonanza Christmas, for example, have leaned on the meh side, and much due to its Wild North cloning status, so does Hot Dog Heist. It put on a session which didn't seem to go anywhere, hence mental imagery of chasing one's tail came to mind. On the other hand, Wild North because popular thanks to its high bonus frequency and potential as a good wagering slot, so there is no reason Hot Dog Heist won't be able to attract the same target audience.

Just as with Wild North, the bonus round variety isn't an issue in Hot Dog Heist since there are no less than seven of them to activate and explore. However, bonus round potency, on the other hand, might be a concern, especially those one spin features should they go nowhere before sending you back to the base game with your tail between your legs. Even if Hot Dog Heist is getting all frothy and mucusy at the jaws in excitement, a max win of 2,500x makes it more of a chihuahua in the grand scheme of slots. Even that amount looks like a hard ask when browsing the features on offer, not to mention the max exposure probability.

When was the last time you loaded up a Play'n GO piece and were well and truly wowed? It seems like ages ago. So long, in fact, it's difficult to recall the last time, as if the studio has fallen into autopilot, happily pushing out okay, mediocre, middle-of-the-road games that have a certain amount of charm, but nothing which dazzles. Like someone who has hit middle age and is satisfied with their accomplishments, happy riding out the years, having mentally checked out of the rat race, going through the motions at work for a pay cheque, and no more. Any dreams of advancement have been tempered by the comfort of coasting along, the mind, heart, and soul, completely on other things like hobbies, friendships, or what's on telly that night. This is not a dig at anyone in this situation at all. It's just odd to see what was once a powerhouse provider slowly fade into the background and not seem bothered.