Nitrous Oxide (N2O) is one of the most talked about elements of racing.
Nitro (or NOS) as it is commonly referred to, is likely most familiar to people through video racing games. When activated with the press of the nitro boost button, the vehicle will suddenly receive a massive burst of acceleration. Back in the real world, it's very much the same, only a little more science is involved.
When nitro is injected into the intake manifold of an engine, it releases oxygen, which allows for more fuel to be burned. More oxygen therefore increases power temporarily and the use of nitro is something very commonly seen in drag racing, when drivers gain that burst of acceleration. Because of the thrills that nitro brings, it's an element that has also worked its way into online casino games.
Nitro Thrills at Online Casinos
Everything that nitro symbolises - that extra thrilling speed out of nowhere, the dynamic burst of adrenaline and excitement, translates over very well into the casino arena. Slots play is naturally designed to be thrilling and engaging.
Today's top operators, like those listed at https://legalcasino.uk/minimum-deposit/ allow you to deposit small amounts like £1 to try out different games, including those that have a touch of the nitro about them.
The presence of nitro on slot machines is really all down to the theme. Nitro symbols of course would not work particularly well on a game that has a sedate, relaxed beach vibe about it. It therefore only appears in context, which means that it fits in with racing games like the following:
Nitropolis
Game developer ELK Studios has a series of games called Nitropolis, featuring animal characters in a tough, post-apocalyptic, dystopian kind of world. All the games in the series look amazing, and tend to be loud and chaotic, so it's a platform where Nitro fits very nicely.
The game's expanding symbol is called Nitro Reels which, in the original game in the series, can produce up to 85,155,840 ways of winning. The Nitropolis range of games is extensive, from the Nitropolis 1-5 numbered versions, to Gritty Kitty, Dirty Dawgs and Nitropolis TV.
The range is well-known for having high volatility, which means that they have the potential for larger, less frequent payouts. It is the biggest example of nitro being used as an overall theme in online slots.
Hot Rod Racers Slot
The Hot Rod Racers slot from Relax Gaming features pimped-up cars, ready to tear it up on the road. It's a loud, fast-paced type of game accompanied by thumping rock music and some cool car-themed graphics, albeit leaning towards retro, and comes with a top prize of 25,000x.
Hot Rod Racers features a nitro symbol as the wild. Nitro Wilds will appear on reels 1 and 5, while across the other reels they appear as scatter symbols. Enough of these will deliver Super Free Spins, which includes up to x5 multipliers throughout the round.
RacinGO Wild Slot
This title from FBM Gaming has a tremendous 50 paylines and there is a multiplier in the game that hits as much as 30x the stake. Racing GO Wild has a cool California racing vibe about it and among the symbols, depicted with colourful graphics, is a big nitro-boosted car. The re-triggering of free spins from the scatter symbols adds to the expansion and engagement of the game.
Street Racer
Nitro is incorporated into the Street Race slot by Pragmatic Play very well, and it's a great-looking game overall. In a bonus round, you get to pick a driver, each of which has a certain amount of free spins and volatility level attached. Once the driver is selected, a nitro metre and a lap counter appear.
If three nitro cans are picked up, then you can progress to the next bonus lap where more free spins and bigger wins can be triggered. This is a great implementation of nitro, because enough of it will send your driver past another with a burst of speed, while turning their symbols into yours.
High Octane Action
There are plenty more examples of nitro being used to boost gameplay within online slots. Given that the racing theme for games is already huge, the feature of a nitro boost, whether that's for multipliers, free spins or jackpot symbols, is very common. It can also be found as a special symbol and in non-racing themed slots, such as the aforementioned Nitropolis.
After all, nitro is all about speed and power, and that is where it shines predominantly as a bonus symbol on slots, meaning that they are used for everything from multipliers to scatters and high-value symbols. In addition, all these slots with Nitro, from Nitropolis to Street Racer, have an RTP slightly higher than 96% and medium or high volatility. That means they offer an above-average return to player percentage while favouring rare but significant payouts over frequent small wins. In a way, the Nitro theme suits them - pushing them to unleash big rewards when they finally hit.
