San Quentin 2: Death Row Slot Review

The San Quentin 2: Death Row Slot Game

It’s funny how Nolimit City describes this game as:

Yet they expect players to rock the reels amid hard-core convicts, where you shouldn’t drop the soap!

Anyway, you can test the waters with the free demo available here before risking your money and returning to a place without the light of day again.

San Quentin 2: Death Row starts with a prison bus passing the security gate, manned by CCTV cameras. The rear of the bus supports the 5 by 4 gameboard, flanked by barbed wire fences on either side. For the record, the rows can grow up to 6 symbols, thanks to the Enhancer Cells on the top and bottom of each reel.

In summary, the visuals aren’t very different from its predecessor. Yet, they’re still top-quality, with an upbeat rock melody representing the adrenaline-pumping experience.

Symbols and Payouts

The five convicts from the original slot return to this new video slot, albeit in their older versions. Clearly, it’s a maximum prison for hard-core offenders serving severe jail terms.

The characters complete part of the thematic paytable, which includes 10 paying symbols. Since the matrix has 1024 win ways, a winning combination of identical symbols, as indicated in the paytable, will pay from the leftmost side to the right and on adjacent reels.

You multiply the payout values by the stake for the total win!

The low-valued symbols in San Quentin 2: Death Row are the Depleted Toilet Roll, Gloves, Dice, Comb, and Soap. They award between 0.05-0.2x, 0.1-0.4x, 0.15-0.6x, 0.2-0.8x, and 0.25-1x the stake, respectively.

The high-priced category includes the Green, Turquoise, Purple, Brown, and Red Portraits convicts. Per the listing order, they award 0.3-1.2x, 0.35-1.4x, 0.4-1.6x, 0.45-1.8x, and 0.5-2x the bet.

Any wild symbol that hits on the reels can substitute for all other symbols except the bonus.

San Quentin 2: Death Row Slot Bonus Features

You’d think that nothing happens on death row, but this Nolimit City production insinuates otherwise. Because of the features, you can win up to 200,000 times the bet!

Enhancer Cells

The top and bottom of each reel have locked Enhancer Cell positions. When triggered to open, they may reveal one of the top-priced symbols, a Wild, a Razor Split, or an xWays symbol.

The Razor Split symbols split all symbols on its reel’s regular positions, doubling them. If the Razor Split lands on the Enhancer Cells on the same reel, it will split them twice. Further, if it splits a bonus symbol on its column, then the bonus symbol will become wild and split its row, respectively.

All xWays reveal the same regular-paying symbols and 5 high-stacked. When the xWays appear on both active Enhancer Cells per reel, 10 singleton wilds cover the entire column.

Split Wild

This symbol can land on any San Quentin 2: Death Row main game. It splits all the regular symbols on the same reel except itself.

Green Mile Spins

The bonus symbol can hit on any reel, and if 1 or 2 hit, they will turn into a wild and open the Enhancer Cells on its reel. Meanwhile, landing 3+ bonus symbols triggers the Green Mile Spins with 1, 2, or 3 starting Jumping Wilds.

Before starting the feature, you can gamble and win an additional Jumping Wild up to 5 or collect the awarded ones. However, an unsuccessful gamblededucts 5 spins. The awarded Jumping Wilds determine the number of reels with active Enhancer Cells as follows:

• 1 Jumping Wild - 3 reels with active Enhancer Cells.
• 2 Jumping Wilds - 4 reels with active Enhancer Cells.
• 3 to 5 Jumping Wilds - 5 reels with active Enhancer Cells.

The 4th and 5th awarded Jumping Wilds start with a x2 multiplier. After reaching 5 Jumping Wilds, you can risk them for the Max Win!

When the Green Mile Spins start, the reels with active Enhancer Cells will persist throughout the feature. Meanwhile, hitting a bonus symbol on a reel with a locked Enhancer Cell will unlock it and convert the bonus symbol into a Jumping Wild. Furthermore, 2-5 Bonus symbolsaward 3-6 extra spins, respectively!

Jumping Wilds

These symbols shift to a random regular position per San Quentin 2: Death Row spin. When a Jumping Wild lands on the reel alongside the Razor Split, it will double its multiplier and retain it for the rest of the Green Mile Spins. It also doubles all positions on the same row. 

The Jumping Wilds on rows affected by a split Jumping Wild will also double its multiplier and have it for the rest of the bonus. The Jumping Wild multiplier counts as the wilds on that position.

Nolimit Booster & Nolimit Buy

The Nolimit Booster feature offers two options for boosting your chances of triggering extra features. Pay 2x or 45x the bet for one and two guaranteed bonus symbols, respectively.

On the contrary, the Nolimit Buy has four options of triggering the Green Mile Spins with 1, 2, or 3 Jumping Wilds for 100, 500, and 2500 times the stake, respectively. It also has the Lucky Draw option worth 740 times the bet!

How to Win at San Quentin 2: Death Row Slot

This slot is among Nolimit City's few straightforward games. Its 5-reel, 4-row layout offers 1024 ways to win, and the rows can expand to 6 symbols high.

The objective is to spin the reels and cross your fingers for a win. To happen, a winning combination of 3+ matching symbols must land in adjacent reels from the furthest left side to the right. Only the highest win per way is paid based on the selected stake.

Since wins are random, limit your bets to sustain you for a more extended gambling period. It’s possible to wager between €0.20 and €100.

Afterwards, press the Spin button to play the San Quentin 2: Death Row reels once. Or use the Autoplay feature to play them several times and automatically. The other functions are the Lightning Bolt for faster spins and the Menu icon for the paytable and game rules!

San Quentin 2: Death Row Slot RTP & Volatility

At least this game boasts an above-average RTP of 96.13% despite its extreme volatility. Furthermore, it can award up to a staggering 200,000x the bet!

The Final Thoughts

As I grew older, I realized that you must always aim for greatness to achieve success. And if that’s not the same mantra used by Nolimit City designers, then I must be in a loooong a$$ slumber! Because since the creation of the original San Quentin xWays, I don’t think any other game developer has given players a penitentiary adventure as realistic as that.

Yet, this Malta-based game provider has opted for the second release, which is as good as the original. Correct me if I’m wrong; it’s better!

San Quentin 2: Death Row has more features and better statistics, including an improved winning potential of up to 200,000 times the stake. While you may perceive the win cap to be a long shot, it’s worth noting that a lucky gambler ever won the original slot’s 150,000x bet!

My only caution would be to watch out for the slot’s insane volatility. While it could work to your advantage with significant wins, it could do the opposite by draining your bankroll quicker than an average slot. Worse of all, its bets should suit high-rollers better.