The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead Overview

If you haven't seen The Walking Dead, fear not, as it shouldn't make much difference to your appreciation of this slot. However, if you require a quick precis, we would be more than happy to provide one. Basically, the concept is that the main character entered a coma and, after waking up, discovers that he is now in a world resembling a Zombie Apocalypse. He doesn't know what happened but must concentrate on finding allies and making his bid for survival in a world now completely alien to him. Created by Playtech, this is a fun adaption of the TV series into a riveting video slot machine.

The bonuses included in this game are split into two categories: the tower feature and the free spins feature. To activate the Tower Feature, players must land six or more coin symbols on the board at once. These triggering coins will then stick to their positions, and the player is then awarded three re-spins.

This is basically a hold and win bonus with a few more levels that can eventually land the player an exciting range of jackpots. On the other hand, the free spins round is triggered by landing three or more scatters on the reels simultaneously. Do this, and a bonus wheel will appear with five free spins variations. The one that the wheel lands on you will then go on to play. All features will be explained in greater detail later in the review.

Theme and Symbols

The theme for this slot is, as the title suggests, the once-popular TV series The Walking Dead. Indeed, this terrifying slot game is inspired by the dangerous adventures of Sheriff Deputy Rick Grimes and his quest to find his family whilst also trying not to be eaten to death by ravenous zombies. As the show progresses, it becomes more political and cerebral, as new relationships are formed and destroyed between the surviving members of the non-zombified. From a slot adaption point of view, this is a great theme as it's nice and clear, it is visceral and already has an inbuilt audience who enjoyed the show and will probably enjoy the game.

The background for this game is the post-apocalyptic wasteland that the survivors now find themselves in. This means a dark and terrifying forest choked with barbed wire, improvised weapons and small fires of burning flesh. As this is a horror series, everything in the image is designed to evoke fear. The majority of the series takes place in these desolate and hostile places that resemble Cormac McCarthy's The Road – a similar post-apocalyptic nightmare setting.

The playing window has been made out of a solid piece of rusty iron covered in razor wire. Its look is perfect for the theme.
The Walking Dead slot game symbols are split into high-value, low-value, and special symbols. The low-value symbols are the J, Q, K and A in playing card royals, each decorated with a weapon used to protect characters from zombies. The most valuable is the A, paying out at 1.5x the stake. On the other hand, the higher paying symbols are the various characters starting with Negan, then Michonne, followed by Daryl, Carol, and finally Rick Grimes. Grimes pays out at 3x the stake for the top combination. The specials comprise the hand wild, the shield scatters, the coin, the key coin, the biohazard sign, and the wild walkers' reel.

Game Play

The Walking Dead is played on a 5-reel, 3-row machine with 50 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 The Walking Dead is 10p to £500 per spin. To adjust their bet levels, players can toggle their stake 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 medium range. The return to player percentage for The Walking Dead is 95.73%, which is below average. The biggest payout that players can win on one spin is 2,198x your stake.

Features

The first feature in this game is the tower feature, triggered when players land six or more of the coin symbols on the reels at the same time. These triggering coins are then frozen to their positions, and the game grants players three re-spins. Each position on the board is unlocked independently. If new coins fall onto the board during your re-spins, then they too will become stuck, and your re-spin total will be reset to three.

To unlock additional rows during this bonus, you have to collect two coin symbols with the key on them. The value of unlocked coins is also multiplied depending on the reel on which they are. Re-spins continue until you have exhausted your re-spins or when the board becomes full of icons. You can also win one of four jackpot amounts via this bonus by landing biohazard coins. The colour of the biohazard coin that you land determines the jackpot size. The largest jackpot available is the grand jackpot at 1,000x the stake.

The second feature in this game is the free spins round. This bonus is triggered when players land three or more of the shield scatters on the reels at the same time. Landing more scatters to trigger the bonus means a bigger initial payout. You will then be granted six free spins. However, the conditions for these spins depend on which variation is selected from a bonus wheel. There are five different variations. These are explained below:

The first variation is the Horde free spins. Each wild and coin that land on reels 2, 3 and 4 in this variation will expand to fill the reel.

The next one is called the Saviours spins. In this variation, each wild and coin landing on the central three reels will receive a random multiplier, helping boost the size of wins.
Next is the Alexandria free spins. When a full stack of coins land on the reels, a re-spin mechanic will begin. These free spins counters are then frozen, with the stack shifting one position to the left with every re-spin. The bonus ends when the stack falls off the reels.

The Whisperers free spins make three reels appear as special reels with different graphics. These reels only contain wilds or coins.
Finally, there are the wild walkers' spins. When a stack of wilds lands anywhere, they will become wild walkers, and re-spins will start. This stack of wilds will then shift along the reel set like the other bonus to help score more frequent wins.

Conclusion

The Walking Dead wasn't for everyone. However, if you enjoyed this horror/survivor series, you'll no doubt enjoy its slot variation. Despite the fancy graphics and exciting and varied features, this slot doesn't have a great payout potential. With this in mind, make sure that you really want to play this game for the thrills, as the financial rewards won't be quite as enticing as other slots by this designer.