Dead Canary Slot Review

Dead Canary Slot RTP, Details and Wager Limits

The Dead Canary slot is initially played on 6 reels with 36 ways to win. Oddly, the screen is laid out 3x3x2x2x1x1 configuration. It appears diagonally which may cause some confusion. A few spins in demo mode will help.

An extra 3 rows can be unblocked to reward you with a 3x4x3x4x3x4 layout (1,728 ways to win). More details on this below in the Bonus Features section. Winning combinations are formed when 3, 4, 5 or 6 matching symbols appear on consecutive reels, starting from the leftmost reel.

Spin away in Dead Canary from 20p to £100 per spin. Below the reels, there is a Dollar sign button/icon. Press/click this to see all 25 available bet options. Non UK players have 2 more functions when playing the game. Firstly, there is an Autoplay feature which allows 10-1,000 autospins with single win and balance limits. Secondly, there is a Lightning Mode (button under main ‘Spin’ button) which quickens the spin speed.

The Dead Canary RTP is 96.02% with 61.8% coming in the base game and 34.22% from the bonus features. This is in line with the online slots average RTP rate of 96%. Be aware there are 94.12% and 92.11% RTP versions which may be offered at various slot sites in the UK. You can check this by going into the paytable at your chosen casino.

In terms of variance, Dead Canary is a high volatility slot. It is classed as extreme by Nolimit City (surprise, surprise), much like their other games. Winning combinations will occur every 3.8 spins on average as the hit frequency rate is 26.2%.

Lastly, the Dead Canary slot comes with 65,000 x bet max payouts. The max win probability is 1 in 7 million spins. Winning 100 x bet or high will occur every 903 spins on average and playing the free spins will happen every 197 spins (again, on average).

Theme – join an angry dwarf on his quest for true love

With a mining/love theme, the Dead Canary slot is the sequel to the Misery Mining slot. Nolimit City’s favourite angry dwarf has successfully found the perfect brew recipe for the perfect beer and now is on a quest for true love.

This journey will require tonnes of explosives, lots of treasure and lots of trusty old canaries to explore the dusty mines. Known as sentinel species, coal miners used canaries in coal mines as early-warning signals for toxic gases (i.e. carbon monoxide). These sensitive birds would become sick before miners. Depending on how the canaries reacted, it was then deemed safe/unsafe for miners to head down the mines.

Set deep underground in a dark and dingy rock chamber. At the bottom of the screen, you will see the Federal Beer Reserve. Dead Canary uses the same soundtrack found in Misery Mining but with a slightly higher tempo. Graphically, it’s intense and dark meaning the symbols (especially the canaries) stand out.

On the reels, you will see low value A, K, Q, J and 10 playing cards which are mounted on wooden slats. The higher value symbols include a grappling hook and rope, hip flask, compass, a rather menacing-looking rat and the angry dwarf himself. The angry dwarf is the most rewarding symbol with 1, 2, 4 or 7.5 x bet awarded for 3, 4, 5 or 6 in combination.

You have the xBomb Wilds which appears when the Wild Mining feature is triggered. Other symbols include Silver Cage and Gold Cage Canary scatters. During the Canary Spins, there are various special symbols. More information is available below.

Symbol	Payouts/Info
10	3, 4, 5 or 6 = 0.25, 0.4, 0.6 or 1 x bet
J	3, 4, 5 or 6 = 0.25, 0.4, 0.6 or 1 x bet
Q	3, 4, 5 or 6 = 0.25, 0.4, 0.6 or 1.25 x bet
K	3, 4, 5 or 6 = 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 or 1.25 x bet
A	3, 4, 5 or 6 = 0.3, 0.5, 0.8 or 1.5 x bet
Grappling Hook with Rope	3, 4, 5 or 6 = 0.4, 0.6, 1 or 2 x bet
Hip Flask	3, 4, 5 or 6 = 0.4, 0.6, 1.25 or 2 x bet
Compass	3, 4, 5 or 6 = 0.5, 0.75, 1.5 or 2.5 x bet
Rat	3, 4, 5 or 6 = 0.5, 0.75, 2 or 3.75 x bet
Dwarf	3, 4, 5 or 6 = 1, 2, 4 or 7.5 x bet
xBomb Wild	Substitutes, explodes + increases multiplier
Silver Cage Canary Scatter	3 Silver/Gold scatters trigger Canary Free Spins feature
Gold Cage Canary Scatter	3 Silver/Gold scatters trigger Canary Free Spins feature

Dead Canary Mobile

Released on the 20^th of December 2022, the Dead Canary slot has been optimised for mobile, tablet and desktop devices. Using HTML5 technology, smartphone players can play this mining game on iOS, Android and/or Windows mobiles. I would always recommend a laptop or PC though to get the full visual experience.

Dead Canary Bonus Features

The Dead Canary slot has 6 bonus features. With collapses which unblock rows for more ways to win and multipliers, the Wild Mining feature gives you xBomb Wilds which also increase the multiplier. Look out for xBomb Wilds that explode symbol in a pattern and increase the multiplier. It’s all about the Canary Free Spins feature though where you play with a 4x3x4x3x4x3x4 setup. With 3 free spins awarded, scatters collect prizes and have 3 lives. You need to unlock vaults which collect the prizes. However, there are lots of special symbols which can enhance your prizes as well as kill canaries which collects the prizes.

Collapse feature

Beginning with 36 ways to win on a 3x3x2x2x1x1 configuration, a winning combination triggers the Collapse feature. Winning symbols are removed and replaced by new symbols. As a result, 1 blocked row will open up after a win giving you more ways to win. This can also occur from the Wild Mining feature or xBomb explosion adjacent to the barrier.

Additionally, multipliers in the bottom positions are awarded whenever the barrier is removed and the symbol is destroyed or if the removed barrier reveals a scatter.

Wild Mining feature

The Wild Mining feature is triggered when you land 3, 4 or 5 matching symbols diagonally with no winning combination. Triggering symbols are removed to create an xBomb Wild in the middle positions of the alignment. 3, 4 or 5 symbols will award 1, 2 or 3 xBomb Wilds respectively.

The xBomb Wild(s) explode and increase the win multiplier by 1 for the next collapse. With all other symbols bar the xBomb Wild exploding, a scatter symbol will reappear in a random position if blown away.

xBomb Wild Multiplier feature

xBomb Wild symbols substitute for any symbol bar scatters. When the xBomb Wild lands, it triggers the xBomb Wild Multiplier feature. It explodes symbols in a cross pattern next to it and increases the win multiplier by 1 on the next collapse. Scatters and other xBomb Wilds won’t explode though. Finally, all xBomb Wilds will explode before the next collapse.

Canary Free Spins feature

The Canary Free Spins feature is activated when 3 Silver Cage and/or Gold Cage Canary scatters appear anywhere on the reels. Importantly, the reel configuration changes to 4x3x4x3x4x3x4 with the 4 vaults in the corners being locked.

These vaults collect coins and multipliers from 3 neighbouring positions and are opened up by Bomb explosions. When a vault in unlocked, everything collected will be awarded as a win at the end of the feature.

Beginning with 3 free spins, you will notice the triggering scatter symbols start with a 1 x bet prize. They can collect coins, multipliers, upgrades, the rat and the dwarf enhancers. The 2 scatters collect differently though:

• Silver Cage Canary Scatter: collects in an x-shape 1 position from itself
• Golden Cage Canary Scatter: collects in an x-shape from the entire row

Now, the triggering scatter symbols begin with 3 hit points and the collected wins are only awarded/won if the canaries die. This occurs when the scatter loses all 3 hit points with xBomb Wilds and gas enhancers removing 1 hit point. The canary then respawns in its cage with 3 hit points. Additionally, look out for the following enhancer symbols which have the following functions:

Enhancer Symbol	Function
Poo	Comes with 1 x bet value which is added to adjacent scatters or vaults.
Coin	When collected, the coin’s value (1-100 x bet) is added to the scatter symbol that collected it.
Bomb	Explodes and affects adjacent positions in an x-shape. It removes 1 hit point from scatters and opens up vaults. They also reset number of free spins to 3.
Multiplier	Will double or triple the collected value of scatters and vaults.
Gas	Affects all adjacent canaries and reduces scatter symbol hit points by 1.
Dwarf	Can be picked up by 1 scatter and adds 1 hit point to affected scatter. When collected, the scatter becomes a persistent collector and collects on each free spin from all other scatters until the dwarf dies. When it dies, a canary respawns. Finally, the dwarf collects in the shape of the bird it transformed from.
Rat	Can be picked up by 1 scatter and adds 1 hit point to affect scatter. When collected, it becomes a persistent payer and shares its collected value to all other scatters for each free spin until the rat dies. When the rat dies, a canary respawns. It also collects in the shape of the bird it transformed from.
Upgrade	Upgrades Silver Cage Canary scatters to Golden Cage Canary scatters and adds 1 hit point to the affect scatters.

When you run out of free spins, unlocked vaults are added to the canary values and awarded as your total win. This cannot exceed 65,000 x your total bet. The max win is known as Happy Wife, Happy Life.

xBet feature

Used in other Nolimit City slot games including Serial and Pearl Harbor, there is an optional xBet feature. For an extra 40% more per spin, you are guaranteed a scatter symbol and the first barrier to be unlocked (giving you more ways to win). If used, the minimum and maximum bet will range from 28p to £140 per spin. Using the xBet feature will see the RTP increase to 96.33%.

Nolimit Bonus feature

Lastly, the Dead Canary slot has the option of the Nolimit Bonus feature. Available only to non UK players, buy your way into the Canary Free Spins feature. There are 3 options with the RTP increasing too:

Dead Canary Review Summary – innovative, explosive action from Nolimit City

The Dead Canary slot may be a follow-up to Misery Mining but it’s been changed extensively. For starters, the unusual reel configuration sees the reels tilted which adds a whole different perspective to proceedings. The way how symbols fall into the empty and new positions creates a brand new experience not seen before.

Dead Canary remains true to its predecessor visually and in the base game. Barriers are opened by landing winning combinations, xBomb Wilds or the Wild Mining feature. The multiplier can also increase from xBomb Wilds and by removing the barrier in the bottom positions. The base game is more action-packed than I thought though.

Now, the Canary Free Spins feature is still a 3, 2, 1 collect game but different to Misery Mining. The key is to unlock vaults but you need those vaults to collect plenty of prizes before you do so. Bombs will open up vaults and reset the free spins tally to 3 but they also kill the canaries.

Hope that you can build up the canary scatters substantially before they are taken out. If you don’t kill the canaries and you run out of free spins, their prizes will be lost. It’s a little like the Mad Race Random feature in Push Gaming’s Mad Cars slot.

I found the most lucrative enhancer symbols to be the Multiplier, Rat and Dwarf. The Multiplier can double or triple values of scatters and vaults which is pretty self-explanatory. Importantly, the Dwarf collects from all scatters with the Rat adding its value to all scatters on each free spin.

I must add that the win potential in the Canary Free Spins feature varies depending on where the scatters are placed once in the feature. It can be incredibly frustrating if you manage to build up the canary scatters to a decent level and they are not collected by a vault. Extremely volatile, expect some tough and dark times.

With 65,000 x bet max wins up for grabs, it’s lower than the 70,000 x bet found in Misery Mining. However, the max win probability is 1 in 7 million spins as opposed to 1 in 60 million spins. A good trade-off if you ask me. If you do achieve the max win (Happy Wife, Happy Life), you will see him enjoying a beer with his wife (who looks like a grown-up version of Ariel the Little Mermaid) and child.

In summary, the Dead Canary slot offers something new and distinct. It still remains true to Misery Mining but has innovative gameplay giving it a unique feel. If you fancy getting down and dirty in mineshafts by blowing up canaries and rats, Dead Canary is well worth going of a quest for true love for.