The Border

The Border Slot Review

NOTE: Screenshots on this page were taken whilst we played this game for real money at Casumo Casino

Game Scorecard

How We Review Slot Games

We test and rate all slot games across 5 criteria, assigning a score out of 10 for each and an overall score that is an average of the 5. To build an accurate assessment of each game we gather information from the supplier and play in real play or demo mode. Find out more.

Overall Score

9.0

A stunning, cinematic journey to the heart of the badlands with relentless, epic gameplay that can deliver huge wins

Game Information

  • Name: The Border
  • Game Suppplier: Nolimit City
  • Release Date: September 2022
  • Theme: Action and Adventure, Adult
  • RTP: 96.17%, 94%, 92%
  • Variance: High
  • Maximum Win: 44,288x
  • Progressive Jackpot: No
  • Minimum Stake: £0.20
  • Reels: 6
  • Rows: 6
  • Paylines: Cluster Pays
  • Features: Avalanche Wins, Free Spins, Multipliers, xWays, xNudges, xBombs, xSplits, xClusters

About The Border

No Limit City’s latest journey into the darker corners of human existence via video slot takes us to The Border, a fictional zone between two countries that could very well have been inspired by the badlands between Mexico and the US, the location for Trump’s infamous and controversial wall.

And in typical NLC style, this is no weekend getaway. Indeed, there are no passports here. Instead, this studio explore the lives of the desperate hope-seekers looking to break through into the promised land by any means necessary and the nefarious characters exploiting their dreams. There are drug mules and drug lords on one side, and cops and heavily-armed soldiers on the other.

As we will find out, the gameplay itself is equally dangerous, ruthless and heart-stopping so prepare yourself for another NLC masterclass is pushing the boundaries! This time its Cluster Pays with Avalanche Wins, and a whole array of cell splits, bombs, multipliers and free spins.

The Border is live at the latest UK slot sites from 13th September 2022.

What We Liked

  • Cinematic theme and dark characters
  • Lots and lots of features!
  • Progressive multipliers in free spins
  • Splitting cells increase odds of big win
  • xBombs increase multiplier values

What We Didn't like

  • Complex gameplay hard to follow at first
  • Too high risk for some players

About The Developer

  • Name: Nolimit City
  • Established: 2016
  • UK License: Remote 052097-R-329532-005
  • Total Games: 50 +
  • Known For: Super high variance, super high maximum wins, adult themes, irreverent humour
  • Popular Slots: San Quentin xWays, Mental, Book of Shadows, Tombstone RIP

RTP and Variance 8/10

What is RTP?

RTP (Return to Player) refers to the amount a game will pay out in cash prizes expressed as a percentage of all the money wagered on that game. For example, a 96% RTP means a game will pay out £96 for every £100 wagered. This is an average number and will vary from one session to the next.  Read more here.

What is Variance?

Variance refers to how far a game will deviate from its RTP over time. High variance games deviate a lot and produce uneven win distributions and unexpected windfalls. Low variance games provide a more stable and even distribution of wins. Read more here.

As you would expect, NLC hold no punches back here, this is a highly volatile slot with big potential. Here is how the maths looks:

  • Like Tombstone RIP and San Quentin xWays before it, The Border is a high risk slot with a 10/10 volatility rating. Expect a rough, rough ride but the potential for massive payouts in the Coyote Spins round.
  • The top win is 44,288x in the game info sheet. That is less than Tombstone RIP (300,000x) or Mental (66,666x) but still highly competitive.
  • The RTP of The Border is 96.17%.
  • Bets start at 20p per spin.

The Border Symbol Payouts

Paytable 9/10

Coming out you from all angles in The Border are symbols represented by deadly animals, bad men, law breakers, victims and cops. And with plenty of splits, there is the potential to drive up some huge clusters and huge payouts.

Here is how the paytable looks:

  • The Border is a 6×6 grid slot with a Cluster Pays mechanic – you need to form clusters of five or more identical symbols, with Wilds thrown in to help you, to trigger a win.
  • There are 8 symbols in the paytable.
  • Three low payers are the scorpion, snakes and vultures.
  • The premiums are represented by five characters – the drug mule, the martial arts guy, the cop, the army guy and the drug baron loaded with bling.
  • 5 of a kind clusters earn you just 0.2x to 1x your stake.
  • When the maximum number of splits occurs you can land clusters in excess of 160 symbols with a 2,214 max win.

Gameplay & Features 10/10

The Border, like all good NLC slots is stacked with features so pay attention as we run through the gameplay.

Main Game Features

Avalanche Wins

 As a Cluster Pays game, The Border uses the Avalanche Wins mechanic. After any win, the winning symbols are removed from the grid and new ones drop in to replace them. If more wins occur, so the process repeats, until no more new clusters form.

NOTE: This feature becomes highly lucrative when combined with splits, bombs and multipliers!

xWays Symbols

Like Mystery Symbols these land and transform into instances of the same pay symbol. xWays may land as 2 full symbols or 4 split symbols. If more than on xWays lands, every instance will transform into the SAME symbol.

xSplits Symbols

These land on reels 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 and turn ALL symbols to the left into split symbols. xSplits also convert into Wilds at the same time.

Where more than one xSplit lands on the same row, the splits get a multiplier of up to 64x applied to them, where the value is based on the number of split symbols on the reels.

xNudge Cluster Wilds

Just like xNudge Wilds in games like Bushido Ways xNudge, where Wilds land as part of clusters, then the cluster will nudge up or down at the end of the spin. Every symbol it nudges over adds 1x to a multiplier to be applied to the win.

NOTE: If the cluster nudges over an existing multiplier, that value is also added to the wilds own multiplier.

AND … if the wild is split by an xSplit so the values of the multiplier values are carried over to each new wild.

xBomb Wilds

These explode when they land, removing all symbols in adjacent positions EXCEPT xNudges and scatters.

And … these trigger a 1x increase in the win multiplier for that spin. If the xBomb is split, then the multiplier goes up by the number of symbols the bomb splits into.

xClusters

These are only valid for FREE SPINS and occur when 2 or more Clusters are created on one spin. The win multiplier for the following avalanche now increases by 1x for each cluster. For example, two clusters would get you a 2x multiplier.

Free Spins Round

There are TWO free spins formats as follows:

MULE SPINS

  • 6 scatters triggers 10 Mule Spins.
  • Where an xWays symbol is part of a cluster win, it infects other symbols in the cluster that are on the SAME REEL before xSplit or xNudge activate. Essentially this brings up more splitting symbols and more win ways.

COYOTE SPINS

  • 7 scatters trigger 12 Coyote Spins.
  • You’ll also get 2 more free spins for every extra scatter in view.
  • Now …. where an xWays symbol is part of a cluster win, it infects EVERY OTHER symbol in the cluster regardless of which reel it is on, before xSplit or xNudge activate. This creates more win ways than the same event in Mule Spins.
  • Plus … xBombs multiplier values are carried over onto all other symbols that display an xMultiplier that haven’t exploded.
  • The total win multiplier is progressive and DOES NOT re-set between spins.

The Border Symbol Payouts

More Games Like The Border Slot

If you like this game, you should try these ones too:

Narcos by NetEnt – based on the NetEnt TV series of the life of Pablo Escobar, drug king pin in Colombia this slot is a little less volatile than The Border, but populated by equally shifty looking characters. Its max win is much lower – 1,506x but the theme and fun features including Walking Wilds, Free Spins and Multpliers, make it a worthwhile play.

San Quentin xWays by No Limit City – another crime-based slot from NLC is this epic prison-drama slot with a much higher top win of 150,000x. Look out for expanding reels, cell splitting, xWins and Jumping Wilds. Its typically high variance and stacked features and pulsating gameplay. You can read more here.

Where to Play The Border Slot – Further Recommendations

We also recommend playing The Border at these sites:

Kassu – another favourite from the Genesis Global group of sites is Kassu, home to over 1,000 slots including the full catalogue of games from No Limit City. They currently offer 300 free spins and up to £300 deposit bonus. Check our full review before signing up.

Play Grand Casino – this slot site is on the White Hat Gaming label. That means a huge slots selection taking in the full range of NLC games, plus Big Time Gaming and many more. You can sign up and deposit with Paypal and claim up to £1,000 bonuses on your first three deposits. Find out more here.

Our Verdict 9.0/10

The Border is another stone-cold classic from NLC, a studio who continue to do things that others don’t. They have a knack for creating cinematic slots whose narratives and themes go far deeper than anything you see from rivals. You’ll never see a plain old Irish luck slot from No Limit! And that is why we love them. The most similar game we can think of would be NetEnt’s Narcos, based on the TV series and also featuring drug runners, barons and cops.

But The Border is a different beast entirely to Narcos because here NLC have innovated again by taking their best features – xNudges, xWilds, Bombs and xSplits – and applying them to the classic Cluster Pays mechanic, pushing that style of slot into new places. Cluster Pays fans can now enjoy the same pulsating all-action gameplay that we’ve seen on payline games like True Grit Redemption and El Paso Gunfight.

As ever, the gameplay may feel a little complicated to begin with – there is a lot to take in – but just sit back and enjoy. xWays and xSplits are important to driving your wins – they will split many cells to increase the chances of hitting a winning cluster. But it’s really the free spins round where the top payouts can occur. In the Coyote Spins, with xWays infecting EVERY symbol in a cluster before xSplits or xNudges are activated, the chances of landing high value multipliers goes up significantly.

As with all high risk games, if you can see out the rocky times, this slot has potential to deliver some adrenaline-fuelled big win sequences where multipliers reach super-high levels. Remember, up to 44,288x is the top win!

But for balance, remember the games tagline too – ‘hope can only get you so far’! Good luck!