Mental 2 Slot Review
Nolimit City is back at it again, pushing the boundaries of dark and disturbing with Mental 2, the follow-up to their cult classic Mental. If you thought the original was a descent into madness, brace yourself, this time, it’s full-blown psychosis.
Fans of Nolimit’s grittier releases like Serial and Blood & Shadow know exactly what to expect, raw storytelling, a sinister atmosphere, and that signature volatility that can either make or break you in a heartbeat. But Mental 2 isn’t just a rehash of the first – this sequel takes the asylum horror theme to a whole new level, with mechanics like xHole, seen only once before in Kenneth Must Die, and enough twists to leave you questioning your own sanity.
So, what’s lurking behind the padded walls this time?
Base Game & Features
Nolimit City’s Mental 2 is an extremely volatile 5-reel Video Slot with 108+ ways to win and multiple bet sizes between £.€0.20 and £.€100 per spin. The game has a fixed reel configuration of 3-2-3-2-3, offering an overall RTP of 96.05% and a whopping 99,999x your bet max win cap.
Mental 2 has 5 high-paying (patient) symbols and 5 low-paying (skeletal) symbols available. Wins consist of matching 3 or more of the same symbol types from left to right, starting from reel 1, awarding payouts between 0.1x and 2.5x your bet.
Fire Frames & Fire Reels
With each base game spin, between 1 and 13 reel positions are randomly highlighted to become a Wild Frame. Any symbol that lands within a Fire Frame is split into 2 instances.
Fire Reels occur randomly on the reels throughout base game spins, activating between 1 and 5 Fire Reels. Any symbol that lands within a Fire Reel is split into 3 instances.
Dead Patients
This feature activates when 2 or more Dead Patients symbols appear on the reels in a single spin. Once active, it reveals a high-paying (patient) symbol with a random Multiplier between x5 and x9,999. The multiplier value reflects the symbol count for that reel.
Enhancer Cells
Enhancer Cells are located at the bottom of reels 2, 3, and 4. The more Fire Frames that appear in view, the more Enhancer Cells are activated:
- 4 Fire Frames activate the Enhancer Cell on reel 2
- 6 Fire Frames activate the Enhancer Cell on reels 2 and 4
- 8 Fire Frames activate all Enhancer Cells across reels 2, 3, and 4
A Fire Reel is classified as 2 or 3 Fire Frames for the Enhancer Reel activation, depending on the size of the reel it appears on. Each Enhancer Cell reveals one of the following Modifiers:
- Wild: A regular Wild, substituting for all high and low-paying symbols
- xSplit: Guarantees to split 1 symbol on each of the reels, doubling the number of symbol instances. After this, it splits itself into 2 Wilds.
- xNudge Wild: Guarantees to nudge until fully visible on the reels. For each step, the Win Multiplier increases by +x1. Multiple xNudge Wilds will have their values added together. When an xNudge Wild is split, the Win Multiplier increases by +x1.
- Patient Symbol: Reveals 1 of 5 high-paying (patient) symbols
- xWays: Reveals 3 symbols of the same type and expands the reel(s) height. If more than 1 xWays symbol is present, they will automatically reveal the same high or low-paying symbol type.
xHole
xHole symbols activate when it lands within a Fire Frame or Reel on the second position of the third reel. Only high-paying, low-paying, and Wild symbols are drawn from the main reels which are then scattered to random positions and multiplied by x2, x4, or x8.
If an xNudge Wild occurs, it will only modify its Win Multiplier. After the xHole is complete, it will transform into a regular Wild symbol. Winning symbols before the activation of the xHole will return to the same position.
If an xHole symbol appears outside a Fire Frame or Reel, it will not activate. Each Dead Patient Multiplier will not be applied after the xHole function.
xMental
The xMental symbol activates when it appears within a Fire Frame or Reel across the reel area. This triggers +1 Respin with the following features:
- All reel positions will receive Fire Frames.
- Enhancer Cells will reveal xWays, xNudge Wilds, or xSplit symbols.
- Increased possibility of triggering an xHole function.
If an xMental symbol appears outside a Fire Frame or Reel, it will not activate. If an active xMental symbol lands during the Free Spins trigger, it will not trigger.
Mental Transform
Landing a Disembodied Scatter on reels 2 or 4 in the base game triggers the Mental Transform Feature. Once active, the Disembodied Scatter transforms into an xWays, xSplit, Dead Patient, Wild, or High-paying (patient) symbol.
xBet & Bonus Buy
- xBet: Guarantees a Cognitive Scatter on reel 1 (1.4x your bet)
- 13: Guarantees Fire Frames on all reel positions (6x your bet)
- xHole: Guarantees the xHole function (99x your bet)
- xMental: Guarantees the xMental function (3,200x your bet)
- Bloodletting Spins: 100x your bet
- Surgery Spins: 250x your bet
- Experimental Spins: 1,800x your bet
- (50%) Bloodletting – (40%) Surgery – (10%) Experimental: 330x your bet
God Mode
Chase the max win cap of 99,999x your bet by landing an xGod symbol on each reel for a total cost of 6,666x your bet.
Free Spins
Cognitive Scatters appear only on reels 1, 3, and 5 in the base game. Alternatively, Disembodied Scatters can only appear on reels 2 and 4 in the base game. Scatter symbol combinations include:
- 3 Cognitive Scatters: Trigger 8 Bloodletting Spins
- 3 Cognitive Scatters + 1 Disembodied Scatter: Triggers 9 Surgery Spins
- 3 Cognitive Scatters + 2 Disembodied Scatters: Trigger 10 Experimental Spins
Each Scatter symbol to appear within a Fire Frame and Fire Reel awards an additional +1 and +2 Free Spins respectively.
Bloodletting Spins
In this round, Fire Frames and Reels remain sticky throughout the entire feature. Landing 1 or 2 Disembodied Scatters will automatically upgrade the remaining spins to Experimental Spins, awarding +1 and +2 Free Spins respectively.
Surgery Spins
In addition to Bloodletting features, Disembodied Scatters remain sticky and trigger the Mental Transform feature with each spin.
The highest Multiplier from each Dead Patient is collected, along with its ‘Count’. Each count signifies the number of a particular high-paying (patient) symbol revealed. For example, if 3 patient symbols are revealed with Multipliers of x5, x10, and x15 respectively, the patient would get collected with a Multiplier of x15 and a count of 3.
Once collected, the Dead Multiplier is transferred to their respective Patient symbol based on the count when a newly collected Patient symbol appears on the reels. For example, if 1 patient symbol has a Multiplier of x15 and a count of 3, the first three instances of that patient symbol will receive a Multiplier of x15.
Each time a Dead Multiplier is transferred to another Patient symbol, the ‘Count’ decreases by -1. Please note, that Dead multipliers do not transfer to a symbol revealed from a Dead Patient symbol. Landing +1 additional Disembodied Scatter upgrades the remaining spins to Experimental Spins, awarding +1 Free Spin.
Experimental Spins
In addition to the Surgery Spins features, both Disembodied Scatters remain sticky and trigger the Mental Transform Feature per each spin. The Dead Multiplier for all high-paying (patient) symbols does not increment after its transfer to another patient symbol. Instead, it will continue to build up with the new Dead Patient symbol revealing.
Our Verdict
Mental 2 is the thrill ride we hoped it would be with a perfect harmony of horror and excitement. Its terrifying visuals aren’t for the faint of heart, and its volatility is off the charts. With a win potential of 99,999x, it is a 1/3 more capable than its predecessor, and at least 3 times as twisted.
It really is a brutal slot, but this is the kind of slot that Nolimit City excel at. You don’t go to their slots for a boost in your balance, you go there thinking of a triumphant huge win, knowing that it’s more capable than most other games in the market. Only slots from Nolimit City’s own catalogue and a handful of other games elsewhere can top it, but none come close if you’re looking for that element of horror that so few explore.
We were particularly happy to see the xHole feature return once more. It’s something Nolimit have only used once, but it proved to be extremely effective in the hedonistic Kenneth Must Die. This, as well as some returning features, make it an absolute joy to play, or a nightmare for those with a sensitive soul.
Mental 2 is truly a sequel worth playing. Nolimit City generally break the mould as far as sequels go. Where many get worse, they get better.