Hot Stars

Players seeking the best online slots will want to look closely at Hot Stars, a fiery fruit title released by Fazi.

While solid fundaments are the story in this old-school game, there are some modern features: be on the looking for this title’s two progressive jackpots, a Gamble feature, and best of all, the fiery phoenix, which turns entire reels wild while while awarding free re-spins.

Theme

The modern popularity of video slots makes it easy to forget the genre’s humble origins: the original slots were analog ‘one-armed bandits’ found in seedy bars before they were available in casinos. In its way, Fazi pays homage to this lineage in this slot.

This is a minimalist title – rather than a gateway to big bonus features, base play is the core of this game.

Naturally, when a designer places the basics at center stage, fundamentals have to be absolutely on point. Visually, there’s no question that this is the case: all gaming symbols are rendered beautifully, with subtle animated sequences accompanying each win. A simple, dark-blue background makes for a calm visual environment.

As is to be expected, fruits provide most of the gaming symbols – lemons, cherries, oranges, and plums – while bars of gold, stars, bells, and lucky sevens complete out the set (the last of which offers an impressive payout of 1000x for five-of-a-kind wins).

This slot’s most important symbol, however…

… is the phoenix scatter symbol. This powerful bonus symbol makes an entire reel wild while triggering a free re-spin. It appears on the middle three reels only.

Betting Options and Functions

This slot offers 10 adjustable paylines, all paying from left to right. Bet per line can be set from 0.01 – 3.00 for an overall per-spin bet range is 0.01 – 30.00 times the betting currency.

Autoplay can be engaged for up to 1,000 spins at a time, with limits available for single wins or bankroll swings of a selected size and options for quick spins. The overall theoretical return to player ratio is unknown.

Bonus Features

• The “2X” symbol on the left of the reels activates the Gamble option
• Players attempt to predict the color of the next playing card to appear.
• A correct guess doubles the size of the win; an incorrect guess drops the win total down to zero.
• The max gamble limit is 2000.00.

• Progressive jackpots are available at random on any spin.
• Higher-level bets are more likely to result in jackpot wins.

Our Take

Experienced players will know very well that, in today’s online gambling landscape, there are plenty of modern slots positively awash in bonus features… and that there are many vintage options with no bonuses whatsoever.

Hot Stars is a different kind of title. While an old-school ethos definitely guides this slot, there are enough features that players will never forget that they’re playing in the 21st century, not the 20th. This unique quality makes this a game not to be missed.

Players who enjoy this game’s design style should explore Burning Ice, a three-reel mini-slot with a similar visual approach.