Breakout

Breakout: Slot Overview

There's a saying, 'Don't do the crime if you can't do the time', which serves as a warning that if someone isn't prepared to accept the punishment, they shouldn't commit the wrongdoing. Generally speaking, the thought of languishing in prison, paying fines, or whatever the punishment might be is usually enough to keep most of society on the straight and narrow. However, for those who commit the crime but don't want to sit around doing the time, then breaking free of captivity is one possible option. That's where we're at in developer Nolimit City's release Breakout, a slot featuring three criminals caught in a vicious cycle of crime, capture, and escape.

Breakout's vibe differs from a lot of Nolimit City's portfolio in that it doesn't really use a lot of humour. Where contemporaries like Gator Hunters, Seamen, and Tsar Wars attempted to tickle the funny bone, Breakout is more serious by nature. So, it could be said are slots like Dead Man Walking or Mental 2, but Breakout has a different vibe, which is closer to, not sure, Road Rage? Perhaps it's the quality of graphics which makes it stand out in this way, as it looks like the studio employed a different art team, or at least experimented with a different art style. Not to say there is anything upsetting with what's on the screen, Breakout does have a slick criminal style, just that from a bare naked screenshot, the game might not strike one as obviously being a Nolimit City release.

Played on a 5x4 reelset, Breakout provides 20 paylines for evaluating winning combinations. This jail cell is governed by a highly volatile math model, available in a trio of RTP configurations, where 96.07% is the preferred figure. The game's stake range varies from $/€0.20 to $/€100, and as we've come to expect from a Nolimit City piece, a host of buys and boosters are scattered about the place for gamblers to choose from.

Breakout's pay symbols are divided into low pay grenades, Molotov cocktails, and dynamite bundles, medium level badges, communication devices, and cameras, and three high pay character symbols. Hitting lines of 5 matching low pays awards 1.5x to 0.45x, 5 matching medium pays are worth 0.6x to 1.2x, while the characters pay 2x to 5x the bet when 5 OAK combinations land. These guys are clearly pros, since they do not require wild symbols to help them make wins.

Breakout: Slot Features

Breaking out of this joint may be assisted by such features as Syndicate Multipliers, Chain Reaction Respins, Breakout Spins, Clearout Spins, Nolimit Boosters, and a set of feature buys.

Syndicate Multiplier

Each high pay symbol has a Syndicate Multiplier symbol linked to it. When the Syndicate Multiplier lands, it transfers the multiplier onto all corresponding high pay symbols. If more than one Syndicate Multiplier of the same type lands, each multiplier will be added to the corresponding high pay symbol. Multiplier levels range from x2 to x100.

Chain Reaction Respins

Landing at least 6 high pay symbols of the same type can trigger a respin, during which the triggering high pay symbols are sticky. Landing another high pay symbol of the same type as the sticky symbols, or at least 6 high pay symbols of another type, retriggers a respin. Each bonus scatter symbol appearing on the initial spin or respin will be collected.

Breakout Spins

Scatters appear on all reels except the leftmost reel. Landing 3 scatters triggers 7 Breakout Spins. During this feature, Syndicate Multipliers are persistent between spins. Respins behave as they do in the base game, and landing an extra scatter awards +3 free spins. Landing a second scatter upgrades the round to Clearout Spins. Multiplier levels of high-pay symbols are carried over during the upgrade. At the time of upgrade, the number of remaining spins are added as multipliers to a random high pay symbol.

Clearout Spins

Landing 4 scatters triggers Clearout Spins. It begins with 1 life for each high-paying symbol. Syndicate Multipliers are also persistent in this feature, and Respins behave in the same way. When a Kill symbol lands, it reveals a high pay symbol or a miss. If it reveals a high pay symbol that is still active on the reels, that high pay symbol is removed. When the Kill symbol lands and the last high pay symbol is killed, a respin is awarded. All instances of that symbol on the reels stick for the respins. High pay symbols cannot be killed during respins. Once a high-paying symbol is eliminated, it no longer appears on the remaining spins. In addition, its multiplier transfers to the highest paying symbol that is still active.

Nolimit Booster & Bonus Buy

At a cost of 2x the bet, players are 4 times more likely to activate a bonus round with the Bonus Chase. The Syndicate Multiplier costs 20x and guarantees a random Syndicate Multiplier on each high pay symbol, while the x100 Syndicate Multiplier costs 90x to guarantee an x100 Syndicate Multiplier on each high pay symbol.

Breakout Spins or Clearout Spins can be bought for 80x or 300x the bet, respectively, while a lucky draw option costs 190x. The God Mode feature can be bought for 2,000x the bet, which lands 1 to 3 Max Win symbols. Landing 3 Max Win symbols triggers a respin. Any additional Max Win symbol that lands retriggers a respin until a total of 5 Max Win symbols land. Players win 1,000x, 2,500x, or 20,000x the bet when collecting 3, 4, or 5 Max Win symbols. Payout occurs when the feature ends.

Breakout: Slot Verdict

Without the initial jolt of humour, horror, or absurdity that usually comes with the first look at a Nolimit City slot, Breakout had to work a bit harder to raise interest levels and get the emotions ticking over. The absence of satire or over-the-top stylisation makes this one of the studio's more grounded releases; haters might even call it plain, yet restraint lends the game a different kind of edge, one where players can put aside cartoon capers to concentrate on the action. Breakout still manages to bring a measure of attitude, with its edgy artwork and whatnot, providing a certain thematic slickness. So while it might be more serious in tone, Nolimit City fans get hints of the studio's presence once they've gotten into the rhythm. To an extent.

The gameplay follows suit, being volatile and structured. Syndicate Multipliers are one of the main excitement engines when they're piling up thrills as they attach to high-pay symbols, helping knock out a decent result. Add in Chain Reaction Respins and persistent multipliers during bonus rounds, and you've got a setup that may thrive when it gets a good momentum going. The squeeze continues in Clearout Spins, which, as the name alludes to, is all about killing high pays, transferring their multis to the next highest paying symbol, and pushing it all out in a climactic respins sequence, should all go well. When all goes really well, fortunate players are able to walk away from this slammer with a 20,000x the bet win in their pocket, triggering the Off The Hook element. If you've seen the classic prison break film The Shawshank Redemption, you'll know that digging out of a cell can take time. For those in a hurry, the dicey God Mode buy may speed the process along. Though it might also speed a wrecked bankroll along, too, such is this sort of feature's risk.

And yet, God Mode did deliver the review's most exhilarating moments. In part because it is such a knife-edge feature, in part because Breakout wasn't quite up to the high standards we've come to expect from a Nolimit City product. Technically, the game can certainly perform, and combining Syndicate Multipliers with a hold and respin feature is an interesting component. Yet, despite what is an adrenalised theme, Breakout's presentation was lacking, and ultimately felt like the game fell short of what it could have been.