Black holes, colossal monsters with gravity so strong that not even light can escape their grasp, lurk in the depths of space. When Evolution Gaming is on an acquisitions binge, it’s like having a black hole in the gaming sector. NetEnt (and, by extension, Red Tiger), Australian behemoth Big Time Gaming, and most recently, Nolimit City, are just some of the big-name developers that have found their way under its wing through three eye-popping transactions. Everyone engaged in such deals must be feeling fairly stoked. However, supposing they weren’t? What if, in the gambling world’s version of Meta Platforms, joining felt like…well, like shame? This seems to be the (ironic) basis of Nolimit City’s Walk of Shame, an online slot machine dedicated to the dreary mornings following a night of poor decision-making. It was a night that everyone would be better off forgetting quickly.
Walk of Shame is a humorous diversion, but it also looks to be a slot that is loaded with inside jokes about the gaming business. The most striking possibility is that the game’s character symbols actually represent real-world entities. Perhaps it would be best if names were not mentioned. A groovy dance track helps players get in the mood as they move from what appears to be a living room (complete with a blow-up sheep and suspiciously stained walls) to an outdoor setting (maybe a luxurious mansion after a transaction has been finalized). There’s a lot of space for conjecture in Walk of Shame, and that’s part of the fun in a slot that, at least initially, isn’t taking itself too seriously.
Walk of Shame, unusually for Nolimit City, is a medium-volatile game with a 96.04% RTP by default with lower models available. However, the RTP changes depending on whether or not you decide to purchase the bonuses. The normal NLC betting range is between twenty pence to one hundred pounds or euros.
The game takes place on a grid with five reels that is 3x4x4x4. Players have 768 ways to win at the base level, and that number can grow with x-splitting. The paytable consists of 8 standard payouts, and winning combinations are paid from left to right, beginning with the leftmost reel. Here we have four empty drinking cups representing the lows and four sketchy figures representing the highs (all of them are real people in the business, but we weren’t sure if we should use their real names). If you get five of a type, you’ll win the low pay of 1.1 to 1.25 times your wager, or the premium pay of 1.5 to 5 times your wager.
Confessional: Slot Machine Functions
When no standard wilds appear, Walk of Shame can substitute for them. A Loaded Wild is formed when four of the same high-pay symbol appear in a stack on reels 2 through 5. These wilds may be used in place of any other pay sign and increase your payout by a factor of four.
Confessional Walk
The Walk of Shame bonus is unlocked when a Loaded Wild appears on reels 3, 4, or 5 alongside a Mr. E symbol. When a Loaded Wild lands on reel 2 in Walk of Shame, the feature comes to a halt until the following spin.
Bonus Spins and Scatters
On the board, you’ll find both Invitation and Mr. E symbols, which act as scatters. One More!!! free spins are activated by landing 3 or 4 Invitation scatters, while All Nighter free spins are activated by landing 3 or 4 Invitation scatters with 1 Mr. E scatter. Mr. E acts as an xSplit and divides the row or reel when it lands in the main game. Other scatters are not divided by xSplits.
Each Loaded Wild that lands during the One More!!! free spins increases the win multiplier by one, and it does not reset until the promotion expires. The All Nighter feature is triggered when three Mr. E scatters appear, and it grants three more free games. Players receive an additional 1, 3, 5, or 7 free games if 1, 2, 3, or 4 Invitation Scatters appear.
In the All Nighter bonus round, the win multiplier is increased by one for every instantaneous hit of a Loaded Wild, and the Walk of Shame is a potential bonus feature. Now, Mr. E serves as an xSplit sign and stays on the first reel the entire time. The same multipliers apply: 1, 2, 3, or 4 Invitation Scatters result in 1, 3, 5, or 7 additional free games.
Uncapped Rewards
When the Nolimit Bonus is active, players can choose between three different bonus buy options:
Extra!!! – 69 times your wager, maximum RTP of 96.45%.
All Nighter: 314x your wager, maximum RTP 96.18 percent.
Drop in the bucket: 131 times your wager for a 75% chance at One More!!! and a 25% shot at All Nighter. Potential maximum return is 96.32%.
Slot Verdict Guilty Plea
Walk of Shame will appear to most players as simply another Nolimit City release, although an exceptionally bizarre one. But Walk of Shame is an extremely introspective release for Nolimit City, released in honor of the company’s partnership with Evolution Gaming and filled of inside jokes, puns, easter eggs, and the like. In fact, things grow so intense that you shouldn’t be too shocked if the plug is pulled on the game. To put it simply, the persons whose likenesses are used for the character symbols are genuine working professionals; if you’re familiar with the video game business and the companies that make games, you might be able to guess who they are (lol). The creator of the NLC (supposedly) may be heard saying “jävlar” at the conclusion of each episode, which translates to “bloody hell” or “f**k” in English.
The name “Walk of Shame” immediately drew up mental pictures of someone agreeing to go out for “just one drink” before heading home to finish getting ready for an important presentation at work the next day. The next thing they know, they’re walking home in the middle of the day with a splitting headache and no shoes after sleeping in a bush the night before by accident. It’s basically The Hangover but for slot machines, and it may also provide insight into, or at least a hilarious portrayal of, the studios’ responses to the Evolution takeover.
Walk of Shame isn’t one of the more daring slots from the developer, since it sticks to tried-and-true mechanics. It’s for the best, as the gameplay, which centers on full-reel wandering wilds and includes xSplit and win multiplication, is just as lighthearted as the concept. Even the maximum gain of 9,822 times the initial wager is not particularly impressive by Nolimit City standards.
One of the most shocking aspects about Walk of Shame was its medium volatility setting, given the film’s abundance of spectacular images and lower-than-usual potential. Is Nolimit City losing its edge as it ages, is it being reined in by its owners as it is forced upon a broader audience, or is this just another facetious addition? So many questions, and yet I get the impression that the response would be something like, “Yeah, we did the deal, but that ain’t gonna stop us.” Walk of Shame isn’t one of the developer’s best hold-the-phone games, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t entertaining. Nolimit City, the con artists of the iGaming world, would surely be the only ones to unveil such a slot.