In the old days, the most dangerous civilian occupation was that of a miner. The shafts of coal mines were filled with toxic gases that were impossible for humans to sense until it was too late. In 1896, a Scottish doctor came up with a solution to the problem: the miners were given a caged canary bird. When the bird chirped as usual, it meant that all was well and the journey could continue as normal. If, on the other hand, the bird was mooning, it was a sign that there was so much carbon monoxide in the air that it was time to go home.

In Nolimit City’s Dead Canary slot, released in December 2022, this idea is turned on its head, with canary birds whistling gas and dynamite to bring home the winnings. The layout of the slot may not have been honed in dozens of sweaty meetings, but the relatively unambiguous interpretation is that of a lone prospector and his bird friend. There are already dozens of mining-themed slot games, but Dead Canary stands out from the rest with its unusual slanted grid.

How to play and stakes

The game uses a 6-reel slanted grid, which increases in size from 3-3-2-2-1-1 to 3-4-3-4-3-4 as spots open up. A minimum of three symbols on consecutive reels are required to win, starting with the first reel. The slanted layout can be (perhaps even deliberately?) a little tricky to grasp at first and may take a few plays to get used to.

More rows open up behind obstacles as the game gains wins, or when the xBomb symbol explodes or the Wild Mining feature activates. The multipliers at the bottom are triggered when obstacles are removed and the symbol is destroyed, or if a Scatter symbol is revealed behind an obstacle.

The minimum bet in the game is 20 cents and the maximum is casino specific, up to €100. Volatility is high in this game too. The payout percentage is up to 96.02% and varies from site to site. Players should therefore check the RTP directly with the site in question in the game’s details and not rely on the word of the provider or external sites.

Symbols and special features

The game features ten basic symbols, divided into two groups. The biggest wins are awarded by the old man, the rat, the compass, the pocket mum type tube and the rope. Smaller wins come from playing card symbols ranging from aces to tens.

The Wild Mining feature is triggered in the base game when three or more of the same symbols appear in a row in a slash and there is no winning combination. In this case, the middle symbols in the row are substituted by the dynamite Wild. Wild explosions increase the win multiplier by one for the next explosion. All other symbols explode except the xBomb symbol. If the scatter canary bird explodes, it will be sucked back to a random spot on the next collapse.

Scattered Bomb symbols can appear anywhere on the reels. The birds will stick to the spot and stay there until the Canary Freespins free spins. There are two types of scatter symbols: the canary bird in a gold or silver cage. When three Scatters of either type appear, the Canary Freespins are triggered.

The xBomb Wild symbol can substitute for any symbol except the Scatter symbol. xBomb explodes the symbols around it and increases the payout by one for the next explosion.

The game also has a new feature called xBet. This means that for an additional 40%, the player can buy the Scatter symbol on the grid, as well as the first barrier opening. However, the feature does not guarantee any wins.

Dead Canary free spins

Landing three or more Scatter Canary symbols will therefore qualify the player for the long coveted Canary Free Spins. This bonus game takes place in a 4-3-4-3-3-4-3-4 grid with four locked vaults in the corners. These vaults are unlocked in xBomb explosions. If canaries are found in the vaults, they will be placed on the reels in random positions and you will get three extra spins.

Scatter symbol multipliers start at 1, with the silver scatter collecting wins in X form around its immediate vicinity, while the gold scatter collects wins in X form across the entire row.

All coin values are multiplied by the active bet. Scatters and Vaults stop collecting either at the end of the bonus game or when the multiplier has risen to 65,000.

Scattered canary birds initially have three life points, and collected wins are only awarded if the birds die. The XBombs symbol and the gas will remove one life point from the birds. When the bird dies, it returns to its cage.

There is also a whole range of special symbols that appear during the free spins:

• Coins – the value is added as a multiplier to the scatter.
• Odds – double or triple the value of the scatter.
• Dynamite stick – explodes and affects symbols in an X shape.
• Explosions remove one life point from the bird and open vaults. The bomb also starts three free spins from the beginning.
• Beer mug – upgrades silver scatters to gold scatters and adds one life point to them.
• Gas Barrel – deducts one life point from its adjacent scatter symbols.
• Dwarf – a dwarf symbol can collect one scatter symbol. When collected, the dwarf will collect from all other scatter symbols until the dwarf dies. When the dwarf dies, the bird returns to its cage. The collection takes the form of the bird from which the dwarf was transformed.
• The rat – rat symbol can be collected by one scatter symbol. The rat shares its value with all other scatters on each spin until it dies. When the rat dies, the bird returns to its cage. The collection takes the form of the bird from which the rat transformed.

Layout and gameplay

Dead Canary may not be the most visually stunning of the Nolimit City games. The slanted game grid is, in a word, confusing. The layout is relatively bright compared to a game like Fire in the Hole. If you compare the two mining-themed games, Dead Canary is the grizzly that gets left as a wallflower at the family party. Nolimit City lacks the bold experimentation that many other games have shown, and the elusive gameplay doesn’t enhance the experience.

However, let’s use our play money to see what kind of payouts you can get from this high volatility slot.

At a stake of €1, it seems that there’s not much to be gained from the basic game. After a few dozen spins, the best single balance is €2. Scatters appear infrequently, at most one at a time, and a minimum of three are of course required for the juicy free spins.So let’s go for the buy one, get 500 play money to burn on Golden Canary Freespins. That’s two silver birds and one gold bird.

The birds accumulate multipliers and the player waits impatiently for the bombs to explode to bring the bird multipliers to the total pot. The birds bubble up at a relatively respectable rate. Sometimes the gas barrels and bombs hit too far away from the birds, so that the birds’ life points are not used up. The total pot is 27x for a long time, then gradually rises to 87x.

Verdict

There are no top symbols, such as the rat or the dwarf, on the land in the hug. But there will be a rat! And a dwarf right behind! But too late, because the odds don’t have time to add up to the total pot, as both symbols have to explode first. The €500 ends up being €223. The provider tries again a couple of times, but the results are just as poor.

However, Youtube can tell you that the game has been played worldwide on at least a couple of occasions, with winnings of up to 60 000 times. One wonders if there are any at all in the 94.12% RTP and below.

If you’re looking for a visual challenge to your experience in the form of a confusing game grid and enjoy watching innocent birds get blown up, this slot is for you. It’s definitely one of the producer’s best slot games!

Check also:

• Asgardian Fire
• Tucanito