Extra Chilli Megaways Review: A Spicy Slot with a Sizzling Bonus Round
Review Setup
| Mobile Device | iPhone 15, Chrome 131.0.6778.204 |
| Play Time on Mobile | 60 minutes |
| Desktop Browser | Chrome 131.0.6778.204 |
| Play Time on Desktop | 60 minutes |
| Amount Bet | $2,200 |
| Net Result | $267 won |
Extra Chilli Megaways is a highly volatile slot from Big Time Gaming, the Australian studio famous for inventing the Megaways feature. This revolutionary feature drastically increases the number of potential paylines on an online slot.
Big Time Gaming released Extra Chilli Megaways in 2018. This 6-reel slot has up to 117,649 paylines. You can increase the return to player (RTP) rate to 96.82% (well above average for an online slot) by activating the buy bonus feature. Extra Chilli Megaways also offers the chance to win up to 20,000x your bet.
My Extra Chilli Megaways slot review explains everything you need to know about this game. I’ll discuss the features, the volatility, the audiovisual experience, and the risk-reward ratio.
First Impressions with Extra Chilli Megaways
I wasn’t exactly blown away by the graphics when I opened the Extra Chilli Megaways slot for the first time. The action takes place in a Mexican market. You can hear the chatter of locals in the background, and a generic Mariachi band starts playing. The background is not particularly sharp, but the symbols are well-designed.
However, I immediately enjoyed the gameplay. This is an enjoyable, feature-rich slot. I particularly liked the tumbling reels feature. Every time I landed a winning combo, the symbols disappeared. New symbols tumbled down to replace them, offering extra chances to secure winning combos.
I was playing for $2 per spin. After playing for 10 minutes, I triggered the bonus round for the first time. I decided not to gamble, and I collected my eight free spins. During the bonus round, the win multiplier went up to 6x, and I won a total of $61.60. That left me up by $92.90 overall, so it naturally improved my initial impressions of Extra Chilli Megaways.
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Visuals and Presentation: 4/5
Big Time Gaming released this online slot back in 2018. The graphics are now slightly dated, and the background is not particularly exciting.
However, I enjoyed the presentation of the grid. It is designed to resemble a market cart, and it’s draped with chilis and garlic. The symbols are well-designed, including chillis and playing cards.
I also liked the visual effects. When you land a winning combo, the symbols explode. The reels cascade down, filling the missing spaces on the grid. This gives you extra chances to win on the same spin. These animations are smooth. I also liked the fireworks that went off each time the win multiplier increased during the bonus round, so I was impressed by the overall presentation of this online slot.
The Role of Sound: 3/5
I found the audio effects pretty underwhelming on this slot. There were initially some scattered snatches of Spanish speech and birds chirping. When I spun the reels, upbeat Mariachi music began to play.
It’s not a particularly original soundtrack for a Mexican-themed slot. However, it’s pretty inoffensive, and it doesn’t really detract from the gameplay. I also enjoyed the sounds of fireworks and the noise the symbols make when they explode.
Gameplay Journey: 5/5
I really enjoyed playing this online slot. Extra Chilli Megaways has lots of features, and the action is varied. However, it’s also an accessible slot, with a relatively simple format.
This was how my experience unfolded:
- I began playing for $2 per spin. After a brief losing streak, I won $24.80 from a single spin. That left me with a $21 profit. A couple of minutes later, I won $26.10.
- After playing for around 10 minutes, I triggered the bonus round for the first time. I was awarded eight free spins. The game gave me the option to gamble, which could have resulted in me winning up to 24 free spins. However, I wanted to see how the bonus round played out, so I decided not to gamble.
- I hit “Collect” and my free spins began. The music changed, and the sky in the background darkened. Fireworks went off each time the win multiplier increased, which heightened the excitement. I got the win multiplier up to 6x and won a total of $61.60.
- By this point, I was up by $92.90. The cost of activating the bonus buy feature had dropped from $100 to $92 (this happens when you hit a certain symbol on your spins), so I decided to activate it. This time I gambled, but I was left with zero spins, which was disappointing. (The number of slots on the gambling wheel you spin suggest that your odds of increasing your free spins is only 50%. Since you don’t double your spins, the risk doesn’t feel worth that gamble.)
- I activated the feature again for $100 and didn’t gamble. This time, the win multiplier went up to 9x, and I won a total of $333.40. That left me with a $234.30 profit.
- After playing for another 15 minutes, I wanted to see how high the multiplier would go if I had 12 free spins. I activated the bonus buy feature, but once again, my gamble didn’t pay off. I tried once more, and I finally won 12 free spins.
- During this bonus round, I won another four free spins, taking my total to 16. The win multiplier went up to 10x, and I won a total of $243.70. Most of that came from my 15th free spin, which became a “Super Win.”
- I followed this pattern for a couple of hours, and I decided to walk away with an extra $267 in my balance. When playing a highly volatile slot, I expect to endure lengthy losing streaks, but that wasn’t really the case on Extra Chilli Megaways. I secured regular wins, and my balance always remained healthy, so luck was on my side during this session.
Bonus Features Through My Eyes: 5/5
The Extra Chilli Megaways slot includes several features. I’ve discussed my experience of these features in the table below.
| Feature | Description | Impact on Gameplay |
|---|---|---|
| Tumbling reels | Each time you secure a winning combo, those symbols will explode. The reels will tumble down, and new symbols will take their place. | This gives you extra opportunities to form winning combos, without spinning the reels again. The cascading reels feature makes the base game more fun and varied. |
| Extra row | An extra row appears at the bottom of the grid. It is below reels 2, 3, 4, and 5. | This extra row can also help you create winning combinations. |
| Wild | The firework symbol is wild. It substitutes for all other symbols except scatters and feature drops. | The wild symbol appeared pretty frequently when I played Extra Chilli Megaways. |
| Scatter | The “H,” “O,” and “T” symbols are scatters. If you get three “HOT” scatters, you’ll trigger the bonus round. Every extra scatter you land during the bonus round earns you an extra four free spins. | I only triggered the bonus round a few times during the base game. If you want to play the bonus round, I’d recommend simply using the buy bonus feature. |
| Buy bonus | You can dive straight into the bonus round by activating this feature. To do so, you’ll need to pay 50x your bet size. | I found this feature to be rewarding. It takes you straight into the heart of the action, and it increases the RTP rate from 96.15% to 96.82%. When I activated this feature, I normally recouped the fee and ended up with an overall profit. As mentioned earlier, luck was on my side during this session. |
| Feature drop | Feature drop symbols can appear at random during the base game. They can reduce the cost of activating the bonus buy feature. | I landed a few of these symbols throughout my session. That allowed me to activate the bonus buy feature for $92 or $88 instead of $100. |
| Free spins | When you land three “HOT” scatters or activate the buy bonus feature, you get free spins. I usually received 8, but once I received 12. During the bonus round, the multiplier starts at 1x. After each winning spin, the multiplier increases. The multiplier is unlimited, and you can ultimately win up to 20,000x your bet. |
My favorite aspect of this bonus round was the progressive multiplier. It often hit 5x or 6x pretty quickly, which helped me rack up large wins. I was regularly on course to win less than the cost of the bonus buy, only to land a big win on my final or penultimate free spin. |
| Free spins gamble | If you opt to gamble, a new wheel will spin. There are two outcomes. If it lands on green, you’ll win an extra four free spins. However, if it lands on black, you’ll lose all of your free spins. You can gamble four times. | I can see why some players would be tempted to gamble. The win multiplier increases throughout the bonus round, with no upper limit. As such, you could start landing some big wins towards the end of the round if you had 24 free spins. However, I ultimately found it too risky. I often earned big wins from the eight standard free spins, and the prospect of losing them all was unappealing. |
Balancing Risk and Reward: 4/5
When I play a slot with high volatility, I expect a large maximum win. You can win up to 20,000x your bet on Extra Chilli Megaways, which justifies the volatility.
I was expecting to embark on long losing streaks while chasing big prizes, but that wasn’t the case when I played this slot. Extra Chilli Megaways has an above average RTP rate, and I was also lucky when playing the game.
If I’m playing a bonus buy slot, I also want the bonus round to justify the fee. I was happy to buy my way into the bonus round on Extra Chilli Megaways. The free spins bonus proved lucrative during my testing. Activating the feature also increased the RTP rate. Meanwhile, I regularly earned extra free spins when a scatter appeared. That often allowed me to earn more than the cost of initiating the feature.
The Good and Bad of Extra Chilli Megaways
There are pros and cons to any slot. These are the main strengths and weaknesses that I identified when playing the game.
- This is a feature-rich online slot with an above average RTP rate.
- The gameplay is varied, with 117,649 paylines and all sorts of interesting features.
- I enjoyed the ability to activate the bonus buy feature.
- While it’s a highly volatile slot, I won on a pretty regular basis. I enjoyed chasing large prizes, although I didn’t come close to winning 20,000x my bet.
- The graphics are now a little dated, so it may be time for the studio to release a sequel.
- The soundtrack is pretty unoriginal, although it was generally unobtrusive.
- This online slot’s gamble feature is tempting, but I didn’t have much luck with it.
- I wouldn’t recommend this game for players with a low risk tolerance. It’s very volatile, and you need to activate the bonus buy feature to unlock the maximum RTP rate.
Final Thoughts on Extra Chilli Megaways
Extra Chilli Megaways is an impressive slot. Big Time Gaming allows other studios to use the Megaways feature on license, so these games are now pretty common. However, this is one of the best Megaways slots I’ve played.
I can’t say I particularly enjoyed the soundtrack, and the background is a little blurry. However, the grid looks great. The gameplay is fun and varied. I particularly liked the tumbling reels feature, the buy bonus option, and the free spins round.
Extra Chilli Megaways has a strong RTP rate, which increases if you activate the feature. The chance to win up to 20,000x your bet is also tantalizing, so it’s easy to see why this game is popular.
Final Score: 4.5/5
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