Hot Safari Slot Review
Hot Safari is a low-volatility slot pretending to be a big-game hunt. The screen is drenched in sunset orange, a low sun smearing the sky above a blurred band of dry grassland, and the reels sit in a heavy gold-lacquered frame, but the savanna is calmer than it looks: the real action has been pushed to a narrow tower at the right edge, a sixth reel that hands out multipliers and extra wilds on every spin. It’s the one slot where the game beside the game matters more than the game.
From Pragmatic Play, it runs a 5×3 grid with 25 paylines, an RTP of 96.17%, and low volatility. The top award is 100,000x the bet per line, landed by five wilds on the centre line with a 10x multiplier from that sixth reel. Stakes run from 0.25 to 250.00 per spin. If the savanna appeals, Pragmatic have also turned the heat on Hot Fiesta and Great Rhino.
Base Game & Features
All symbols pay from left to right on selected paylines, and scatters pay in any position. Wins are multiplied by the bet per line. It’s a classic five-reel setup in every respect except one: that sixth reel on the right, which spins its own ladder of multiplier values alongside the main grid and applies whatever it lands to all line wins for that spin.
The plus and minus buttons open the bet menu, where you set the coins per line and the coin value. The menu shows the number of lines available and the current total bet in both coins and cash.
Spin speed cycles between normal, quick and turbo. Autoplay is on hand for longer runs, and the credit and bet labels toggle between coins view and cash view. The settings menu handles the intro screen, ambient sound and sound effects, and the game history page sits one click away.
Symbols and Pays
The animals carry the money here, with the elephant out in front and the card royals bringing up the rear. Values are multiples of the total bet.
- Elephant: 3 pays 1x, 4 pays 2x, 5 pays 16x
- Rhino: 3 pays 0.8x, 4 pays 1.6x, 5 pays 10x
- Zebra: 3 pays 0.6x, 4 pays 1.2x, 5 pays 8x
- Goat: 3 pays 0.4x, 4 pays 1x, 5 pays 6x
- Meerkat: 3 pays 0.4x, 4 pays 1x, 5 pays 4x
- A: 3 pays 0.2x, 4 pays 0.8x, 5 pays 3x
- K: 3 pays 0.2x, 4 pays 0.6x, 5 pays 2x
- Q: 3 pays 0.16x, 4 pays 0.6x, 5 pays 1.6x
- J: 3 pays 0.12x, 4 pays 0.6x, 5 pays 1.2x
- 10: 3 pays 0.12x, 4 pays 0.4x, 5 pays 1x
The Lion Wild
The lion is the wild and it’s the joint richest symbol on the grid, matching the elephant line for line. It substitutes for everything except the scatter, and when it lands in the centre position of any reel it expands to fill all three positions. Expanding wilds are active in the base game, the free spins round and the Super Wild feature alike.
The Sixth Reel
Every spin, the tower lands somewhere on its ladder and that value multiplies any line win. A low rung on a modest line win doesn’t change your day; the top of the ladder stacked on a full screen of lions very much does. It’s the one part of the game that’s always in play, on every single spin.
Super Wild Bonus
When a Super Wild symbol falls on the sixth reel, one wild is added to each of the five main reels in random positions. Any of those that lands in a centre position expands to fill its whole reel. The feature can trigger during the free spins round too, dropping extra wilds onto the grid while your free games run.
A screen raining lions is where this game’s biggest ordinary wins live. Five expanded wilds at once is the dream scenario, and every one of the resulting line wins picks up whatever the multiplier tower is showing.
Top Award
The top combination is five wild symbols aligned on the centre line with a 10x multiplier on the sixth reel, worth 100,000x the bet per line. It’s the kind of line that exists in the rules and almost nowhere else, but it’s there. Since the lion expands from the centre row, that line of five is exactly where the game wants its wilds to sit.
Hot Safari Free Spins & Bonuses
Three or more baboon scatters anywhere on the reels trigger the free spins round, paying 1x the total bet on the way in and awarding 10 free spins. The scatter pays in any position, so it doesn’t need to line up.
The round itself is the base game with the volume up. Free spins wins are added to the payline win and multiplied by the bet per line, and the sixth reel keeps spinning its multiplier ladder throughout.
Because the expanding wilds stay live during the round, a retrigger isn’t just more spins; it’s more chances for the Super Wild to stack expanded lions across all five reels at once. When that lines up with a big ladder value, a single free spin can pay several ways at once, each one multiplied by the same figure from the tower.
Retriggers are unlimited. More scatters during the round award more free spins, with no ceiling on how far a single bonus can run. Combined with a ladder that can hit its top value on any given spin, a long round is where the game’s real ceiling sits.
Our Honest Verdict
Overall Rating: 7.7/10
This is a gentle hour on the veldt, and that’s its charm. Wins arrive often, most of them small, and the reason to pick it over the herd of louder savanna slots is that sixth reel: because it spins on every single spin, there’s no dead time, no stretch where nothing can happen. Even a losing spin lands a number on the ladder.
The best thing here is a bonus round that refuses to end. Unlimited retriggers with the Super Wild still armed means a good round keeps compounding, and the ladder gives every win in it a second gear. The letdown is the paytable beneath the animals: five royals pay so little that most line wins barely register before the multiplier touches them.
For anyone who wants steady spins and a long evening rather than a knife fight with a high-variance beast, this savanna at sundown is good company. Chase-the-jackpot hunters will find the pace too tame. For everyone else, the sun here sets slowly and pleasantly.
Hot Safari FAQs
-
What is the RTP of Hot Safari?
96.17%. That’s the total expected return, sitting just above the usual benchmark for an online slot. -
Is Hot Safari high volatility?
No, it’s a low volatility slot. Wins tend to come steadily in smaller amounts rather than in rare, large bursts. -
How do you trigger free spins in Hot Safari?
Hit three or more baboon scatter symbols anywhere on the reels. Scatters pay in any position and award 10 free spins, with more available through unlimited retriggers during the round. -
What does the sixth reel do in Hot Safari?
It’s a multiplier and feature reel. Every spin it lands a multiplier value that applies to all line wins, and it can also drop a Super Wild symbol that adds a wild to each of the five main reels. -
Can free spins retrigger in Hot Safari?
Yes, with no limit. Landing more scatters during the round awards additional free spins on top of what’s left, so a single bonus can keep running. -
How many paylines does Hot Safari have?
25 fixed paylines on a 5×3 grid, with all symbols paying from left to right and scatters paying in any position. -
What are the betting limits on Hot Safari?
Bets start at 0.25 and go up to 250.00 per spin, set through the bet menu using coins per line and coin value. -
How does the lion wild work in Hot Safari?
The lion substitutes for every symbol except the scatter. If it lands in the centre position of any reel it expands to fill all three positions, and that expansion works in the base game, the free spins round and the Super Wild feature.
