xWays Hoarder 2

xWays Hoarder 2: Slot Overview

Play your share of online slots, and you're bound to come across some weird games. One that floats out there in the ether, waving at the straights from the bizarre side of the bell curve, is Nolimit City's 2021 release xWays Hoarder xSplit. It was a post-apocalyptic nightmare of toilet paper, Geiger Counters, and a max win figure equal to the amount of poo a 76-year male drops in kilograms over a lifetime. Yeah, huh? Who else but Nolimit City? Clearly, one game about scavenging leftovers from a nuclear wasteland wasn't enough because the studio has gone and dropped the sequel xWays Hoarder 2, and please don't ask what that smeared '2' in the title is made of. Let's pretend it's chocolate.

High-brow, tasteful, good-mannered action is not on the menu then it is fairly safe to say. xWays Hoarder 2 does not dive completely into the grotesque, revelling in muck, but, um, it has its moments. Its base game has moved from the building-dotted landscape of xWays Hoarder xSplit to a beneath-ground bunker where a pipe marked 'Feed Tube' doesn't hint at good things. Free spins move play above ground, where the dystopian future looks as dystopic as ever, and one shudders to think how horrific a nuclear winter where society has completely broken down might be. xWays Hoarder 2 offers some clues…

While the art style has changed compared to part 1 (though the choice audio fits like a lubricated latex glove), some things have remained the same. One is volatility, rated 10 out of 10 and described as 'Extreme', so tread carefully and all. The highest available RTP, too, is digit for digit the same as before, at 96.14%, though lower return configurations have also been made available. When betting, a horde of extra ante bet or feature buy options are on hand, while base stakes can be set as low as 20 c per spin or as high as $/€100. A 6x3-oriented gaming grid hosts the festivities, with 729 ways to win, though splitting symbols can significantly up the number of ways to win.

Pay symbols now, and they have been divided into 5 lower-value objects and 6 higher-value characters. A winning way of 6 matching objects awards 1x-1.2x the bet, going up to 1.5-5x the bet for having 6 identical characters in a winning way. When wilds are involved, they substitute for any regular paying symbol.

xWays Hoarder 2: Slot Features

xWays Hoarder 2 has definitely hoarded features as it comes stocked with xWays, xSplit Wilds, xSplit Nudge, Loot Respins, Raid Spins, Plunder Spins, Binge Spins, Nolimit Boosters, and Nolimit bonus buys.

xWays

The xWays symbol can land on reels 2, 3, 4, or 5. It reveals a random regular symbol, and if there are more than one xWays symbols on the reels, they all reveal the same symbol. The size of the xWays symbol varies depending on how many of them are connected. A single xWays symbol can expand to 2-4, two xWays symbols on the same reel can expand to 3-8, while three connected xWays symbols on the same reel can expand to 4-12.

xSplit Wilds & xSplit Nudge

xSplit Wilds land anywhere except on the leftmost reel. xSplit Wild symbols split all symbols to the left on the same row, doubling those symbols. If a symbol is split more than once, it displays a multiplier. When xSplit Wilds split xWays symbols, the multiplier doubles for each split. Loot symbols are not split. xSplit Nudge symbols also land anywhere except on the leftmost reel. They land as a stacked symbol, which always nudges and stops before any special symbol - if there is one. Each xSplit Nudge position then splits symbols to the left on the same row, doubling the symbols.

Loot Respin

In the base game, landing a Loot symbol along with any special symbol (xWays, xSplit, scatter or xSplit Nudge) triggers the Loot Respin. During a Respin, the Loot symbol expands on the leftmost reel and locks it. If any special symbol lands, it sticks, and another respin occurs. When no new special symbol lands, the leftmost reel is unlocked, and one final respin occurs. A Loot symbol may land again, retriggering the feature.

Scatter Symbol

Scatters hit anywhere except the leftmost reel. Scatter symbols are not split by other special symbols but instead become a Super Scatter symbol.

Raid Spins

Getting 3, 4, or 5 scatters in view triggers 7, 10, or 13 Raid Spins, respectively. During Raid Spins, xSplit, xWays, or xSplit Nudge symbols are sticky for the remainder of the feature after landing. Super Scatters convert themselves and regular paying symbols below them to xSplit symbols. Any additional scatter awards an extra spin.

For every third xWays, xSplit, or xSplit Nudge collected, a new Radiation level is achieved as part of the Radiation Level Up feature. Binge Spins is the final level with the maximum number of collected xWays, xSplit, or xSplit Nudge symbols and only 3 different symbols on the reels. Each level upgrade awards an extra spin:

• Radiation Level 1 - 3 xSplit, xWays or xSplit Nudge symbols collected. The lowest-paying character symbol and object symbol are removed from the reels.
• Radiation Level 2 - 6 xSplit, xWays or xSplit Nudge symbols collected. The second lowest-paying character symbol and object symbol are removed from the reels.
• Radiation Level 3 - 9 xSplit, xWays or xSplit Nudge symbols collected. The third lowest-paying character symbol and object symbol are removed from the reels.
• Radiation Level 4 - 12 xSplit, xWays or xSplit Nudge symbols collected. The fourth lowest-paying character symbol and object symbol are removed from the reels.

Plunder Spins

Landing 3, 4, or 5 scatter symbols (where at least 1 is a Super Scatter) triggers 7, 10, or 13 Plunder Spins, respectively. The Super Scatter position and the positions below it become sticky xSplit symbols for this feature. Any additional scatter awards an extra spin. Radiation Levels are active and upgrade in the same way as levels do in Raid Spins.

Binge Spins

Binge Spins are triggered when Raid or Plunder Spins progress to level 4. For this one, only the top 2 highest-paying character symbols and the highest-paying object symbols may land.

Nolimit Booster

There are three Nolimit Boosters to choose from. Activating the xBet costs 3x the base bet to make it 4 times more likely to trigger free spins. At 10x the base bet, activating the xSplit Nudge Bet guarantees at least one xSplit Nudge. Finally, at 30x the base bet, the Loot Respins Bet guarantees to trigger the Loot Respin feature.

Nolimit Bonus Buy

In addition, players have access to four bonus buys. For 80x the bet, it is possible to buy Raid Spins, while Plunder Spins with 1 guaranteed Super Scatter costs 300x the bet. Plunder Spins 2, which has 2 guaranteed Super Scatters, costs 800x the bet, while the Lucky Draw choice costs 312x.

xWays Hoarder 2: Slot Verdict

If nothing else, xWays Hoarder 2 goes to show you can't keep a good Karen down, though how you would define the word 'good' in this instance will vary wildly. She was one of the key characters of the first Hoarder game before getting her moment in the spotlight for Karen Maneater, and now she's tottered back to preside over xWays Hoarder 2. Put another way, the theme treatment is as irrelevant as ever, and surviving the wasteland at the end of the world is as despairing as you might imagine. Get yours, screw the rest, and let the chips fall where they may…

The chips can fall all sorts of ways in xWays Hoarder 2, being a highly, sorry, extremely volatile Nolimit City release. The way they can fall is varied, too. From the trio of 'x' symbols to the new Loot Respin feature to the handful of bonus rounds. Loot Respins; now they look intriguing and are a nice way of jazzing up the base game.

Respin features that stack wilds or pay symbols are fairly common, but respins that stack x-symbols, well, that might get serious. We're talking about a lot of possible splitting happening in that phase of play - if you're lucky, like finding a cache of 4-ply toilet paper while foraging in the wilderness level of luckiness. The sticky 'x-symbol' business extends to free spins, where, again, x-symbols are plastered to the grid when they hit, in a way which felt similar to Nitro Reels in a Nitropolis slot. xWays Hoarder 2's action and pacing didn't come across as manic or as adrenalized, though. However, the potential for significant destruction lurks just around the corner, which the 25,920x top win theoretically achievable in less than 1 in a million spins is a testament to.

From top to bottom, xWays Hoarder 2 is a through-and-through Nolimit City production. The studio went off the rails a while ago now (in a good way) and hasn't looked back since. There have been misses along the way, no need to name names, but there have also been a remarkable number of hits. xWays Hoarder 2 finds itself on the positive side of the quality scale, delivering strong if intimidating stats, x-thrills, the return of Karen, a box of Beefy Dick's massive dildos, and a bag of consumables called Shittles. What more could a hoarder ask for?