Wildlife Riches

Created by Mascot Gaming, Wildlife Riches is a new game that introduces players to an outdoor environment in which various aggressive animals live. Players can find wins in the standard way among the scary bears and ferocious mountain lions, matching symbols in patterns from left to right. We would say if you are looking for something with a very polished look, this might not be the slot for you as the visuals feel slightly off and disjointed. Mechanically, this is a five-reel, four-row game with 1,024 pay lines available to play on. The RTP here is 95.4%, and the volatility is rated at the higher end of the spectrum. This game is available on laptop, tablet, and mobile platforms.

Wildlife Riches Overview

The features of this game start with the deer wilds. These icons can substitute for any other regular icons on the board to help score more wins. Also, as a consequence of their landing on the board, the walking wilds feature will trigger. This means the wilds on the board will move one position right with each spin until they fall off the board. The main feature here, however, is the bonus game, which takes the form of a hold-and-win-type game triggered by filling the bonus meter on the left-hand side of the reels by scoring wins. This special hold-and-win game also includes a multiplier bonus and a range of upgrade symbols. All features will be explained in more detail later on in the review.

Wildlife Riches Theme and Symbols

The theme for this free slot game is wild animals or, more specifically, wild animals of North America. Indeed, this wide selection of beasts and creatures includes animals such as the grey wolf, brown bear, mountain lion, and fox. Many slot game designers these days seem to be obsessed with this part of the world and the exciting wildlife that they have there. Why studios keep coming back to the US rather than, say, Australia or China is a mystery. Still, there is no doubt that this group of animals is very visually arresting, even if they have been portrayed in nearly every other new slot game this year.

The background for this game is a kind of canyon environment. To the left and right of the screen are tall towers of rock that look like they are supporting a much larger structure or perhaps just form part of a gorge. It is difficult to tell because of the zoomed-in presentation of the backdrop. On the canyon floor where the playing board is located is a thick carpet of green vegetation living off the surviving stream that still flows through this massive carving in the rock. In many ways, this setting feels like it could, in fact, be the base of the Grand Canyon. The playing board is a wooden construction with a grey/blue interior.

The symbols are split into low-paying, high-paying, and special symbols. The low-paying icons are the 10, J, Q, K, and A in playing card royals. The A is the most valuable of these, worth 3.6x your stake for the top combination. The more valuable icons, however, are the lynx, fox, bear, and wolf. The wolf is unique as it pays out for just two in combination and is the most valuable, paying out at 40x the stake for the top combination. The specials for this game are the deer wilds and the various modifiers icons you will see in the bonus game.

Game Play

Wildlife Riches is played on a 5-reel, 4-row machine with 1,024 fixed pay lines. To win combinations, players must land three or more matching symbols on pay lines moving from left to right, starting from the leftmost reel. The betting range for Wildlife Riches is 25p to £5 per spin. To adjust their bet levels, players can toggle their stakes up and down using the tool located at the bottom left-hand side of the screen.

Further information, including a short tutorial and a display of the paytable, can be found via the menu button in the right-hand corner of the screen. The spin and auto spin buttons are located in the centre of the screen. Volatility for this slot is rated in the high range. The return to player percentage for Wildlife Riches is 95.4%, which is below average. The biggest payout that players can win on one spin has not been disclosed by the provider.

Wildlife Riches Features

The first feature included in this game is the wild bonus. Deer wilds can appear during the base and bonus games. When they do, they can substitute for any other regular icons helping to score more wins. In addition, they will trigger the walking wilds feature, meaning the wilds on the board move one position right for every spin until they fall off the reels.

The next feature is the hold the win bonus. This bonus game concerns the bonus meter to the left of the screen. It has ten steps on it which you will fill by registering wins. Fill the meter, and the bonus game will be triggered. Every time you land a new symbol in the bonus game, the meter will be topped up, and your re-spins are reset. In this new game, there are a set of new symbols. These include Multiplier symbols that improve your bet multiplier, Super Multiplier symbols that improve your bet multiplier significantly and Giant Multiplier symbols that boost your bet multiplier by the most. There are also upgrade symbols which increase the maximum number of re-spins you can have at one time. You will keep re-spinning the board until you run out of re-spins or fill the entire matrix with symbols. At this point, the game will calculate the value of the symbols collected, apply any boosts from multiplier symbols and pay out a lump sum from the bonus.

Conclusion

Although not the best-looking game, this slot offers a varied and interesting gaming experience. This is due mainly to the exciting features, which are a little different from the stock set-up you might see in a game like this. Payout-wise, though, things aren’t quite as exciting as the RTP is low, the volatility is high, and the top win isn’t even disclosed. All in all, better games are out there, and definitely, ones that will see an improved investment return. You can also try Hot Spin Deluxe from our demo slot collection.