Promising software studio Gamzix rolled out Hot Love in February 2023 just in time for Saint Valentine’s Day and the release became an instant success among fans of the classic reel-spinning experience. The game is beyond simple in terms of design and gameplay as it uses a standard setup of 3 reels, 3 rows, and 5 paylines that are in play on every single spin.
Traditionalists looking for straightforward gameplay will immediately fall in love with this release. There are no overcomplicated features to distract purists from their main goal, namely landing three-of-a-kind on one of the five win lines. A Full Reel Multiplier is the only bonus feature this slot has to offer, although more audacious players have the option to gamble their winnings after each successful round. Other than that, Hot Love has low volatility and a theoretical return percentage of 96.20%.
| Hot Love Slot Summary | |
 Game Provider: Gamzix |
Release Date: 02.2023 |
| Game Type: Video Slot |
Theme(s): Classic style, Love theme |
| Reels: 3 |
Wild Symbols: No |
| Rows: 3 |
Scatters: No |
| Paylines: 5 fixed lines |
Free Spins: No |
| Payout/RTP: 96.20% |
Bonus Game: No |
| Volatility Level: Low |
Progressive Jackpot: No |
| Min Bet: 0.10 |
Autoplay: Yes |
| Max Bet: 25 |
Max Win: 750x |
Hot Love Theme
Hot Love is all about passion and romance, boasting a hot pink background interspersed with hearts. The reels shimmer with color as nicely rendered hearts, bells, stars, and glitzy fruits spin against an opaque dark backdrop that makes their symbols easily distinguishable. Above we have the game’s logo in bold pink letters outlined in gold. The graphics design is extremely simplistic, with no animations in the background whatsoever.
The glitzy symbols only come to life whenever they form a winning combination. This simplicity extends to the sound effects. There is no music playing in the background as you spin the reels. The only sounds players get to hear are the typical bells and whistles inherent to all classic fruit-themed slots. These are audible only when you land winning combos, however.
How Hot Love Compares to Other Slot Games
Slot developers are in the habit of dropping thematic games in time for all major celebrations and Valentine’s Day is no exception. This holiday has given rise to a slew of romance-themed releases like Love Joker by Play’n GO, which plays similarly to Gamzix’s Hot Love. The theoretical return of the two games coincides (96.20%).
However, Love Joker has more to offer in terms of bonus features and overall visual presentation. It has more animations and slicker graphics. The titular joker unlocks a respins feature, during which players must collect hearts for the chance to bag a prize of up to 1,000 times their bets. By contrast, Hot Love has a significantly lower maximum win exposure of 158 times the bet.
More Slots with a Love Theme
- Cupid’s Gift by Red Tiger Gaming (95.08% RTP)
- Love Joker by Play’n GO (96.20% RTP)
- Stacked Valentine Hearts (95.00% RTP)
- Power of Love by Yggdrasil (96.00% RTP)
Hot Love Symbols and Payouts
Players need three matching symbols on a win line to earn a payout. According to the developers, Hot Love has 16 regular symbols but we counted only 8 icons while scrutinizing the paytable. These are in fact double symbols as each one contains two identical items like two hearts, two cherries, two plums, two bells, and so on.
Hot Love pays from left to right whenever three matches occur horizontally or diagonally on one of the five paylines. The double bars are the lowest-paying symbols on the list, returning even money for combinations containing three of a kind. The lemons, oranges, cherries, and plums all yield the same payout of 8 times the bet. Next in line, we have the bells that pay 20 times your wager, followed by the silver stars (40x) and the hearts (150x).
| Hot Love Winning Combinations and Payouts | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Symbols | 3 Matches | ||
 Hearts |
150x | ||
 Stars |
40x | ||
 Bells |
20x | ||
 Plums |
8x | ||
 Cherries |
8x | ||
 Oranges |
8x | ||
 Lemons |
8x | ||
 Bars |
1x | ||
Bonus Features Overview
There are no wilds or scatters in this game to help players create more winning combinations. Their absence surprised us a little as many three-reel slots still feature wilds, despite lacking bonus games and free spins. One great example is Microgaming’s Couch Potato where the potato in question substitutes other symbols and boosts the winnings it helps create with a 5x multiplier. This is not the case in Hot Love where only regular symbols are in play. The only bonus feature spinners can anticipate in this Gamzix release is the Full Reel Multiplier. You can read more about it below.
Full Reels Multiplier Feature
Players can initiate the Full Reels Multiplier feature by filling the entire reel grid with matching symbols. The downside is that not all icons participate in this feature. Players must cover the reels in identical fruits, which gives them only four symbols to work with (lemons, cherries, oranges, and plums). The winnings generated on each of the five paylines are then doubled with a 2x multiplier.
Gamble Feature
Hot Love is equipped with a standard Gamble feature that becomes available to players after a winning round. They must tap or click the three cards positioned right below the Spin button to access Gamble mode and attempt to potentially double their profits from the last spin. Five cards will appear on the screen but only the first one is revealed. This is the virtual dealer’s card.
You must select one of the four hole cards and if your pick beats the dealer’s card, your last win will double and you can try again. Pulling out a card of a lower denomination will cost you your profits from the last round. It is also possible to push with the virtual dealer by drawing a card of the same denomination. During this feature, players will also benefit from a joker that beats all other cards in the deck.
Pros & Cons of Hot Love
- The game has a solid theoretical return of 96.20%.
- The low volatility helps preserve your bankroll for longer.
- Players can ‘gamble’ their winnings up to ten times.
- Only one bonus feature is available.
- The gameplay tends to become repetitive in the absence of bonus features.
- There are no wilds for substitution.
Hot Love Slot FAQs
- Is there a way to play Hot Love without hitting the spin button every couple of seconds?
- Yes, all you have to do is activate the Autoplay functionality by clicking or tapping the smaller ‘play’ button positioned right above the ‘spin’ button. Autoplay enables you to enjoy the game without manually hitting any buttons. Hot Spin gives you the opportunity to kick back, relax, and play 15, 50, or 100 rounds in succession.
- How can I speed up the pace of the gameplay?
- Players can accelerate the pace of the gameplay by activating the Turbo Mode functionality. You must press the small thunderbolt-shaped icon glued to the ‘spin’ button to turn on this feature. The thunderbolt turns green when activated and significantly reduces the waiting time between spins. Another way to speed up the gameplay is to open the settings and use the slider to adjust the tempo from a snail’s pace to very fast.
- What is the long-term theoretical return of the Gamble feature?
- We advise players not to overdo it with the Gamble feature because its long-term theoretical return is considerably lower than that of the main game. The average payback rate of this feature is a meager 86%, which is approximately ten percentage points lower than what the base game has to offer. It is important to specify that your chances of beating the virtual dealer vary depending on the value of their upcard. The lower the dealer’s card, the higher the probability of you outdrawing them.