Deadwood Slot (Nolimit City): Overview

The American Wild West has launched the careers of countless actors and filled the pockets of many writers. It has fueled childhood games and been celebrated in an endless stream of country songs. Stories of outlaws and icons, gold rushes and drifters have been so romanticized that they’re recognized worldwide. Beyond NetEnt and their legendary Dead or Alive slot, few studios have tackled this period with the same energy and flair as Nolimit City did with their 2019 breakout hit Tombstone.

Deadwood picks up where Tombstone ended, and as you’d expect from a sequel, it’s larger, louder, and more polished. The 5 reels have been extended to fit one additional symbol per reel, which effectively creates 576 ways to win on the 3-4-4-4-3 format, compared to 108 in the original. Volatility is still sky-high, but the hit frequency has been increased, so the gameplay should feel a touch more even overall.

Even though the RTP has dipped slightly, it still remains comfortably above the line at 96.03%. On top of that, the RTP is weighted differently this time around, which makes the experience feel like a different animal. In Tombstone, 2/3 of the RTP is tied to the features, whereas in Deadwood it’s reversed. Put simply: more returns come from the base game, which aligns with the higher hit frequency.

Now that the numbers are covered, it’s worth turning to the presentation. Starting up Deadwood is unlikely to let anyone down—especially players who enjoyed the original. Seeing both titles side by side really shows how far this small studio progressed in just a year. The cartoon-like vibe of Tombstone is gone. Instead, Deadwood delivers a grimmer, darker, more grown-up look. It treads familiar territory, but the shift in tone is substantial.

The action unfolds on the dusty main street of Deadwood, a remote Western town, with a calm soundtrack humming away in the background. The reels sit inside a metal casing, while the symbols are displayed on planks of oak wood.

With stakes ranging from 10 c/p up to €/$100 per spin, the game includes 10 standard symbols. The low-value set consists of worn metallic 10 to A royals riddled with bullet holes, paying from 1x to 1.25x for five of a kind. The higher-paying symbols are double barrel shotguns, Deadwood whiskey bottles, money safes, gold watches, and gold bars. Gold bars pay the most, awarding 3.75 times your stake for five across a full payline.

Deadwood Slot (Nolimit City): Features

If you’ve played the original, you’ll recognize parts of the base game feature set. The most common mechanic is the Hunter Wild, a fully stacked wild that can land on the three middle reels. When it appears only partially, the xNudge feature pushes it into place to cover the entire reel, while also boosting a win multiplier by x1 for every nudge. Even better, when multiple wilds are present, their multipliers combine—so 2x and 2x becomes 4x, for instance.

In the first game, a sheriff and Marshall badge on the first and last reels triggers the Justice Spins. In this version, a sheriff badge landing on reels 1 and 5 in the base game starts the Shoot Out feature. Once active, any low-paying symbols showing on the three central reels are converted into wilds.

Deadwood includes two separate Free Spins modes. Landing 3 buffalo skulls anywhere on the screen lets you choose between 8 Gunslinger Spins or 8 Hunter Spins. Here’s how they work:

Gunslinger Spins (high risk, high potential) – any Hunter Wild that lands triggers an unlimited win multiplier that stays active for the entire feature. Each nudge of the Hunter Wild increases the win multiplier by x1 and it never resets. You also gain an extra spin whenever a sheriff badge appears on reel 1 or 5. If both sheriff badges land at the same time, the feature upgrades to Shoot Out Gunslinger Spins, with the sheriff badges locked in place. More on that below.

Hunter Spins (less volatile option) – In this mode, at least 1 Hunter Wild is guaranteed to land on every spin (and it resets between spins). Aside from that, the sheriff badge rules function exactly the same as in Gunslinger Spins. That means this mode can also be upgraded to Shoot Out Gunslinger Spins.

The main attraction—and the route to the biggest payouts—is the Shoot Out Free Spins feature. It can be triggered either by landing 2 sheriff badge symbols + 3 scatters in the base game, or by landing 2 sheriff badges during either of the two free spins modes. If it starts from the base game, you can choose between 10 Shoot Out Gunslinger Spins or 10 Shoot Out Hunter Spins.

In this mode, the sheriff badges stay locked while triggering the Shoot Out feature on every spin, turning all low-value symbols that appear on the three middle reels into wilds.

Lastly, if you’d rather not wait for the bonus to arrive naturally, you can use the feature buy option. The cost varies by feature, with Shoot Out Free Spins being the priciest at a hefty 750x. At that level, it’s sure to spark debate. The price can look outrageous at first glance, but given how powerful the feature is, many players will consider the risk worthwhile. On top of that, purchasing the feature provides a small edge by raising RTP by up to 0.10%. If you prefer the cheaper buy, the standard free spins option costs 71x.

Deadwood Slot (Nolimit City): Verdict

As shown, Deadwood holds its own when placed next to Tombstone. It shares a few surface-level similarities—especially in the base game mechanics—but in reality, Deadwood plays like a different title in almost every way. For starters, the base game can feel more lenient thanks to the improved hit frequency and the larger share of RTP outside the bonus. It’s also a more action-packed slot overall, with features showing up more often, even if landing the bonus itself can still be tricky, as it appears to trigger at roughly 1 in 200 spins on average.

Interestingly, the maximum win potential hasn’t shifted much. At 13,950 times your stake, it isn’t a huge leap from the 11,456x available in the original. While NetEnt went all-in with Dead or Alive 2 by pushing the top win from 10,000x to 111,111x, Nolimit City chose a more restrained path. That said, it’s also far tougher for smaller studios to get operators on board with extremely high win caps when they can’t offer a way to restrict the maximum bet.

All things considered, Deadwood is a superb slot that meets most of what we hoped for. The biggest improvement is clearly the visuals, but it’s equally good to see the developer avoid simply copying the old math model. By taking a new direction, the result is a more distinctive and engaging experience. In its current form, Deadwood is a strong alternative to Tombstone, rather than an outright replacement.

Don’t Miss

Nolimit City also released a third entry in their Western-themed slot line called El Paso Gunfight xNudge. It includes a broad selection of feature buy options and offers potential of over 40,000 times your stake.