Hunting down a jackpot on the African savannah is the goal in Wild Run, a safari-themed video slot from NextGen Gaming. Played using a 5 reel, 243 ways to win game engine, the game offers added wilds and multipliers courtesy of the On A Roll re-spin feature as well as a free spins round where wild wins can rocket by 5x. Take to the grasslands from between 30p and £750 per spin.
They may not quite be world beaters when it comes to design but NextGen Gaming can usually be relied up to create a video slot that’s easy on the eye and ear – Wild Run is a case in point. Set against a grassland silhouette, the reels include heart, diamond, club and spade symbols alongside a range of wild animals.
The leopard and buffalo award up to 50 coins with the rhino paying up to 80. Next comes the elephant which will get you 2, 10 or 100 coins if you land 3, 4 or 5 on successive reels. Substituting for all other symbols, the lion is the game’s wild – land 3, 4 or 5 of these in combination and you’ll pocket 8, 80 or 800 coins.
After every winning spin, you’ll trigger the On A Roll feature – here you’ll be awarded a re-spin with wilds added to reels 1 and 5. If the wild is part of a winning combination, the payout is doubled and another re-spin follows with wilds added to reels 1, 2, 4 and 5. On the level 2 re-spin, all wild wins are trebled. Find a winner on the second re-spin and you’ll trigger the Free Games feature.
This is a free spins bonus where wilds are added to all 5 reels. If they form part of a winner, that payout is boosted by a 5x multiplier. You’ll notice 4 stars next to the reels – you’ll lose 1 of these following a winless free spin. The feature ends after a quartet of losers.
As its name suggests, this game is all about the wilds and the multipliers that accompany them. Without them, the payouts feel a little skinny. We managed to trigger the free spins round very regularly. Finding a big score from them proved as elusive as sighting a very rare wild animal.
In 1 instance, we managed to land just 4p from a full set of free spins! We’d put the variance in the middle. Expect a steady stream of smaller wins rather than anything especially spectacular. However, I have won just 250 times my stake from 1 free spin though!
Wild Run looks and sound excellent. We found the gameplay to be a little repetitive though and it didn’t match the excellence of the design. Getting on a good roll in the free spins and their multipliers is the key to success here. You may not manage to track down a really big beast of a jackpot but there’s pretty scenery to enjoy on the way. Alternatively, Cash Stampede by NextGen Gaming and White King by Playtech are better options.
