Das xBoot

Das xBoot Overview

Based on the 1981 war film Das Boot, this latest slot game created by the provider's NoLimit City is a game set in World War 2 with a massive range of features and exciting visual elements. As is typical of NoLimit City, they have picked yet another edgy and extreme theme, with overtones of mystery and violence. Some highlights for this game include the incredible top payout of 55,200x the stake, its unique design and the stunning collection of features.

Speaking of the features, there are a total of six bonus features in this game. They include the xNudge Wild feature, which introduces expanded wilds with attached multipliers to gameplay. In addition, there is the xWays Feature, which transforms a regular symbol into a larger xWays symbol for more chance to win. Similar is the xBomb wild, which blows up symbols and also comes with a multiplier. Also included in this game are the Silent Hunter Spins feature, the Wolf Pack spins feature and the Nolimit Bonus feature. All features will be explained in more detail later on in the review.

Theme and Symbols

The theme for this game is, as we have mentioned, the classic 1981 West German war film Das Boot, which spawned a whole host of TV and theatre spin-offs. The film is based on a novel by Lothar-Günther Buchheim that documents his experiences aboard a German submarine during World War 2. The film captures the excitement and monotony of submarine life during its various adventures on Atlantic patrol in fairly realistic detail. This slot is just another remake with the same characters and settings but in a slot format.

The background for the base game of this slot is a picture of the exterior of the famous submarine, the U-219. It shows the submarine in dark and murky water reasonably close to the surface with moonlight shining on its topside. However, when you move to the silent hunter spins feature or the Wolf Pack feature, things get a little more animated with torpedoes, explosions and a healthy dose of sound effects and warlike action. The board is perhaps the most impressive visual feature in this game, being made to look like the various dials and pressure gauges one might see inside a submarine. This clever incorporation of marine paraphernalia adds a real stylistic flair to the proceedings.

The symbols for this game are split into low-paying, high-paying and special symbols. The low-paying symbols are the playing card royals from 10 to A. These are then followed up with the higher value symbols that comprise the submarine's crew. These start with the Chef, followed by the Signaller, the Mechanic, the Lieutenant and finally the captain. The captain is the most valuable, worth 20x the stake for the top combination. The specials finally comprise the Gold Medal xNudge Wild, the Silver Medal xWays symbol, the Mine xBomb icon, the Ship Radar bonus icon and ultimately, the Periscope wild.

Game Play

Das xBoot is played on a 6-reel, 2-3-4-4-3-2 formation playing board with 576 pay lines. To create winning combinations in this game, players must land three or more of the same symbol across a pay line from left to right, starting on the leftmost reel. The betting range for Das xBoot is 20p to as much as £100 per spin. To change your betting level per spin, use the bet adjuster tool located at the bottom of the playing window.

Further information regarding the slot, including a display of the paytable, can be accessed by clicking on the settings menu. The spin button is located to the bottom right of the reels. You can set up auto spins in the game's menu. The volatility for Das xBoot is rated in the extremely high range of the spectrum. The return to player percentage for Das xBoot is 96.05%, which is about average. The biggest payout that players can win on one spin is 55,200x your stake.

Das XBoot Features

The first feature in this game is called the xNudge Wild feature. This feature concerns the gold xNudge wild symbols, which land on reels 3 and 4. When they land, they always nudge to become expanded symbols. With every nudge that a symbol receives, its attached multiplier grows by 1x. If you land an xNudge on reels 3 and 4, the multipliers are combined, and the total is used as the value that wins are boosted by.

The xWays feature is the next bonus and concerns the silver Medal xWays symbol that can land on reels 2 and 5. When it appears on the reels, the feature is activated. The xWays symbol then reveals a random regular symbol. This xWays symbol can vary in size from 2 to 3, helping you score wins by substituting in for other symbols.

Next on the features list is the xBomb Wild Multiplier feature. This specific wild explodes all of the symbols that are not part of a win. These symbols substitute for all symbols bar the bonus symbols. After the explosion, the symbols still on the reels fall to the bottom of the reels, allowing for a new set to tumble into the vacant places. Every time this occurs, an attached multiplier grows by 1x.

The next feature is the Silent Hunter spins bonus, triggered by landing 3 Radar bonus symbols on reels 2 through 5. Doing so delivers eight free spins. Once this has been activated, reel 3 grows to an enormous height to resemble a periscope and increases the available wins. Once this has occurred, a new Periscope wild can also fall onto the reels. Landing a win with a periscope wild on reel three launches what the game calls the torpedo sequence. If the torpedo hits a target, the periscope wild grows up to the top position and nudges the rest of the symbols down to fill the entire reel. Every nudge equals an additional plus one to the attached multiplier. If the torpedo should miss, then the Periscope wild acts as a singular wild. xBomb symbols become sticky in this feature and also come with multipliers. Every bonus symbol landed in the feature also adds two more spins to your tally.

The penultimate feature is called the Wolf Pack Spins feature. When these free spins are triggered, a torpedo tube appears beneath reels 2-5. When new torpedo wild symbols hit these reels, they drop an xWays icon onto the torpedo area. These xWays symbols start on x2, increasing by +1 for each following torpedo wilds that hit from then on, up to a maximum of x9. When all four positions of the torpedo are filled, it launches out of the way to reveal xWays symbols. On reels 2 or 5, these revealed xWays transform into the respective number of regular icons; reels 3 or 4 become the applicable number of wild symbols. Like before, scatter symbols award an extra +2 free spins. A torpedo launch also increases the win multiplier by +1.

Finally, the last feature is the Nolimit Bonus feature, which is a bonus buy feature. However, this is not available for players in the UK.

Conclusion

If you were looking for feature-packed fun in a wartime setting, Das xBoot is about as good as it is going to get. Unique graphics, outstanding features and excellent top payouts all await players of this exciting game. It's a shame about the high volatility, but at least the RTP is pretty steady.