Take a Trip to the 80s with NetEnt’s Hotline 2
Hotline 2 is the sequel to NetEnt’s original Hotline, an online pokie with the 1980s at its core. You will love Hotline 2 if you’re a fan of 80s cop shows; remember Miami Vice? You could easily be on Miami Vice’s set when playing this machine.
NetEnt created a world full of neon that screams 1980s. But, and here’s the but, there is more to a good pokie than some flashing lights. Does Hotline 2 deliver or does it deserve throwing in a cell? We put it through its paces and here’s what we found.
Hotline 2 Fundamentals
Everything about Hotline 2 takes you right back to the 80s. A retro soundtrack, plenty of neon lighting and even 80s-style graphics pay homage to that time period. There is no doubt Hotline 2 draws inspiration from the cop show Miami Vice.
The game takes place on a 5×3 layout with 243 different ways to win. That layout expands depending on the activated features and increases paylines up to 1,944. Throw into the mix a medium volatile mathematical model and a 96.05% RTP and you have the recipe for a great time at your online casino.
NetEnt previously set the RTP of the original Hotline at 96.13%. This increased to 97.04% with certain features activated. That 2.96% house edge was super small, but this latest edition isn’t too bad in the grand scheme of things.
Your minimum bet weighs in at $0.30 with the maximum tapping out at $150. There is a wealth of options between these sums, as you expect from NetEnt.
The game is potentially very lucrative thanks to a maximum payout of 5,184-times your bet. This equates to $1,555 at min-stakes and a cool $777,600 at the highest stakes.
Hotline 2 Symbols
NetEnt has done an amazing job of recreating the 1980s. So much so that we wanted to don a Hawaiian shirt, open it to our navel and climb into our car without opening its door!
Kitty Weiss symbols are the rarest of the 10 paying symbols because they are high value. 20X your bet is your for landing three of them! A cool 80x hits your account if you manage to land five on a payline.
| Symbol | Three on a Payline | Four on a Payline | Five on a Payline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emerald (Green) | 1x | 2x | 4x |
| Sapphire (Blue) | 2x | 4x | 6x |
| Amethyst (Purple) | 3x | 6x | 10x |
| Diamond (Orange) | 4x | 8x | 12x |
| Ruby (Red) | 5x | 10x | 15x |
| Diamond (Pink) | 6x | 12x | 25x |
| Detective 1 (Microphone) | 7x | 15x | 30x |
| Detective 2 (Quinn) | 10x | 20x | 40x |
| Detective 3 (Riviera) | 15x | 30x | 50x |
| Kitty Weiss | 20x | 50x | 80x |
Fast cars are the wild symbols in Hotline 2 just as they were in the original. Wilds only land on reels 2, 3, and 4 and can expand to fill the entire reel.
Neon pink flamingos are the game’s scatter symbol. You need at least three of these fun-loving birds on reels 2, 3, and 4 to trigger the free spins feature.
What Are This Pokie’s Features?
We have to admit we’re a little disappointed with the features of Hotline 2, or the lack of them. They are strikingly similar to the original for a start. NetEnt had the opportunity to put a brand new feature in play but chose not to, for whatever reason.
Reel 3 is always a “hotline” but more hotlines activate when you choose the relative option. Double Bet turns reel 4 into a hotline and the bet is doubled. Triple Bet turns reel 2 into a hotline and, you guessed, the bet is trebled. We recommend playing Triple Bet and adjusting your stakes accordingly. This is because the RTP is at its highest here and you’ve more chances to trigger free spins.
Three flamingos grant you seven free spins; the flamingos have to land in a hotline. The grid can expand during the free spins feature, increasing the maximum paylines to 1,944. Two more free spins are yours when a row reaches its maximum height.
Conclusion
Hotline 2 is a decent pokie, one brimming with fun and sporting a potentially huge payout. The problem lies in the game is almost a carbon copy of the original. This isn’t an issue if you’ve not played the original but disappointing if you have.
