Introduction to Through the Fire
Through the Fire is a casino slot from NowNow Gaming, shrouded in gory mystery revolving around an ancient beast terrorizing people whenever the sun hides behind the horizon. It emerges from the deep, damp jungle in its werewolf-like form to satisfy its craving for blood and suffering of innocent townsfolk. Luckily, there are some individuals with enough bravery in their hearts to face the monster and put a stop to its murderous spree. Join the Man and the Lady, a duo of self-proclaimed hunters who don't flinch at the idea of stepping into the predator's domain. Regardless of who emerges victorious from this dark skirmish, you're the one who'll be reaping the rewards in the form of powerful multipliers and respins with Sticky Wilds that may lead to a max win of 10,000x the bet.
The Man and the Lady have been honing their skills for quite some time to be able to feel confident when facing the beast, so if you need to practice a bit more before the real showdown, try the demo mode at the top of the page.
Theme, Gameplay & Payouts
Through the Fire is a video slot from NowNow Gaming with 5 reels, 5 rows, and 19 paylines. You can choose their stake from a range of options, starting from a Min.bet of 0.10 up to a Max.bet of 100. The game offers a default RTP of 96.26%, which is in line with industry standards. However, an alternative variant with a lower RTP of 94.26% has also been released, so be sure to check your version before playing. The mathematical profile comes with medium-high volatility, which focuses on less frequent but more sizable wins, and a top prize capped at 10,000x the bet. You will experience the base hit frequency of 29.18%.
The main scene in Through the Fire is soaked with an ominous atmosphere, delivered through a grim environment and a fast-paced, unsettling horror soundtrack. Next to the grid, you'll see the target of the hunt, a despicable beast resembling a werewolf, but one that hasn't fully transformed and still bears marks of a human. It will try to scare you away with menacing snarling and by brandishing its blood-spattered dagger. The surrounding area is enveloped in a greenish mist, but certain elements are visible through it, like some jungle vegetation and tombstones crowned with crosses, which point to some forgotten cemetery deep in the wilderness. If you're ready to dive into this sinister, horror setting, you can launch the game on any modern device, whether you're using a desktop, a smartphone, or a tablet.
The paytable comprises two sets of regular symbols, which award payouts whenever you manage to land between 3 and 5 matching instances on active paylines. All qualifying sequences must also utilize adjacent reels, starting from the leftmost one. Among the low-paying ones, you'll see classic numbers and letters from playing cards, including 10, J, Q, K, and A, awarding from 1x to 2.5x the bet for a set of 5 on a payline. High-paying symbols consist of images depicting a chalice, a bottle of perfume, an ornate cross, the Lady, and the Man, which bring payouts ranging from 5x to 25x the bet for a 5-of-a-kind combination. Wilds and Scatters are represented by the wolf monster itself, although in different poses, while the Battle Symbol takes the form of a grey, stone tile with the game's logo embedded into it.
Special Features & Slot Mechanics
What is the max win in the slot Through the Fire?
You can win up to 10,000x the bet.
What features are available in the slot Through the Fire?
The features are Wild Wolf Battle, Inferno Hunt Bonus, and Feature Buy.
Wild Wolf Battle
The Battle Symbol triggers the Wild Wolf Battle feature whenever it lands on the grid together with the Lady or Man symbols. Each instance will display its individual clash between the character and the monster, ending in one of two ways. Either the Wolf loses, and the character symbol stays in its original form, or the Wolf wins, in which case the symbol transforms into a Sticky Wild. Additionally, it may receive a multiplier from a specific range, depending on which symbol the transformation originated from.
Man Symbol = x1, x2, x3, x4, x5, x7, x10, x20, x25, x30, x40, x50, x75, x100, or x500.
Lady Symbol = x1, x2, x3, x4, x5, x7, x10, x20, x25, x30, x40, or x50.
Any awarded multipliers are first collected from Wilds into the meter before payouts are awarded. A respin is awarded, during which Wilds remain sticky, and any new Lady or Man symbols landing will trigger more fights and potentially more Wilds. All wins are multiplied by the current value of the total multiplier. Once respins are over, all Wilds are cleared from the grid, and the multiplier resets to x1.
Inferno Hunt Bonus
Landing 3, 4, or 5 Scatters anywhere on the grid at the same time activates 10, 15, or 20 free spins, respectively. Wild Wolf Battles function identically as in the base game, but the total multiplier meter will become persistent throughout the entire round. That means it can be increased indefinitely as long as free spins continue. There are no Scatters present in this round, meaning that it cannot be retriggered with more spins.
Feature Buy
If tracking the beast around the dark jungle seems like a tedious activity, you can always make use of several Feature Buy options to speed things up and arrive at the final showdown quicker.
3x = Bonushunt Featurespins with a 5-times higher chance to trigger the bonus round.
50x = Wolf Battle Featurespins, guaranteeing the Battle Symbol to land along with at least one Man or Lady.
100x = Inferno Hunt Bonus with 10, 15, or 20 free spins.
Final Thoughts on Through the Fire
Games with some type of mini-skirmishes occurring inside special symbols tend to be quite attractive right out of the gate, thanks to the additional dynamism and more action overall pouring from the grid. We've seen excellent examples of this format in productions from Hacksaw Gaming, like Wanted Dead or a Wild and its VS symbols, as well as the old-school 'Vikings Go...' saga by Yggdrasil, with titles like Vikings Go Wild or Vikings Go To Hell. Through the Fire seems to be largely inspired by the latter, since no expansions are occurring, and the result of the fight determines if the symbol becomes a Sticky Wild or not. However, there are multipliers thrown on top of them, making the mechanism also relate to the Hacksaw's production. What's been done differently is that those multipliers do not apply only to payline combinations that include the Wild, but they are added to the total meter instead to boost any payouts generated on that spin. Furthermore, if you manage to convert more symbols into Sticky Wilds during the awarded respin and those symbols also generate more multipliers, the meter will keep growing and enhancing all wins during the sequence. During free spins, the feature turns persistent, maintaining its value between spins, allowing for unlimited growth as long as the bonus goes on. It's definitely not the most elaborate configuration we've seen from the OpenRGS studios, but it's undeniably potent.
Regarding visuals, Through the Fire is a relatively average-looking horror slot. Nothing particularly impressed us during testing, but it was not an eyesore, either. Pacing of the respins felt a tad too high, often not allowing us to fully digest what has happened on the grid. Also, the logic of rooting for the monster to defeat the Man or the Lady came across as somewhat inverted, but not every tale must have a happy ending after all. Lastly, we couldn't notice any fire, which we thought would be the leading element of the theme given the title, perhaps in the form of some flamethrower wielded by the heroes. It would undoubtedly make those fights occurring inside the symbols more flashy. Sadly, there was none of that, and the mini-battles felt rather underwhelming. Other than those shortcomings, the game is well put together and functional, but doesn't particularly stand out against other competitors' titles in the genre.
Through the Fire offers a relatively average experience, both on the audiovisual and technical side, operating on a generic horror theme and a solitary yet potentially rewarding feature.
