The Wild Gang

Review The Wild Gang

This one is particularly interesting to all western enthusiasts amongst us. This game introduces players in New Zealand to a gang of four wild symbols, each performing the same feature but capable of generating significant multipliers during the two free spins features. If the idea of dramatically swinging open saloon doors to establish dominance appeals to you, then The Wild Gang might just turn out as the best pokie for you. Whilst The Wild Gang didn’t immediately wow us from the very first moment we launched it on our smartphone, it does set a rugged and typical wild west atmosphere. In our review, we’ll delve into the ins & outs to ensure you’re prepared for all the excitement you’re anticipating.

How to Play

The Wild Gang works with a 3-4-4-4-4-3 playing field which is why it has a somewhat different touch to the gameplay in comparison with other games. Very important of course is the bet size which can be adapted to somewhere between $0.20 and $240 which makes it a perfect game for high rollers. If you’re curious to find out more about the game, here is how to play The Wild Gang by Pragmatic Play.

• Restrict yourself to licensed casinos. The best way to do this is to choose one of our ecommended online casinos in New Zealand. All of these platforms have been tested and analysed.
• Register and get some extra rewards by claiming your welcome bonus.
• Go to the lobby and look up The Wild Gang game.
• You can make your first spin via either the regular spin button or the autoplay button. We suggest making limited use of the autoplay button.
• Play responsibly. Set limits such as deposit, time, and loss limits. This is particularly important for players who feel less comfortable about their gambling behaviour.

Symbol Wins

Visually speaking, this game is best described as a pokie that had a comic-book look and feel. If you turn on the sound you’ll also hear the horses which we find well found as well. Don’t expect too much as this is a title that is released by the overly productive Pragmatic Play team, but still, we’re sure that players from New Zealand and beyond will enjoy it. As for the symbols that you’ll come across on the reels, there are standard symbols such as the A, K, Q and J royals. All of these have a wild west touch to it. Of course, there are other wild related symbols as well which is why you’ll come across cowboy boots, whiskey, knives, pistols and of course, sheriff badges. The sheriff’s badge is the game’s most valuable symbols representing a payout of 0.75, 1.5, 2.5 or 7. 5x the bet for 3, 4, 5 or 6 symbols across a payline. Also, there are 4 wild and scatters that can land on the reels 2, 3, 4 and 5. In the base game, when they land on the reels 2 or 3, they behave as wilds as well. This is why they’ll substitute for all symbols. If 3 or 4 appear on a base game spin, they function as scatters. There are also Mystery symbols. Here is more information:

Bonus Features

The Wild Gang pokie comes with a total of 5 fun bonus features. This includes mystery symbols and multiplier wilds, but the game’s main focus is on the 2 free spins features where you get multipliers on wilds for the first and second landings. Wilds are collected in a metre which applies to all wins. There is also a bonus buy feature that is available to players from New Zealand. Here is more about the different bonus features:

Mystery Symbol Feature

The Mystery Symbol feature gets triggered when the Mystery symbol appears on the reel.  All instances of the mystery symbol will transform into the same symbol, the Wilds/Scatters excepted.

Wild Multiplier Feature

With 4 wild symbols landing on the reels 2, 3, 4 and 5, they come with random multipliers of 2x, 3x or 4x. If multiple wilds appear during a win, the multiplier values multiply. Landing a 4x wild on 2 of the middle reels, awards a 16x multiplier.

Free Spins Features

There are 2 different free spins features in this game. These features get activated when landing 3 or 4 Wild/Scatter symbols. This can be done anywhere on the reels. When this happens, 3 scatters will award the Wanted Free Spins whereas 4 of them trigger the Dead or Alive Free Spins. Here is what they offer:

• Wanted Free Spins: in this case, 8 free spins are awarded. Wild/Scatter symbols are only wild and won’t become scatters. The first time they’ll come with a 2x multiplier, the second time this means they’ll get a 3x multiplier. The multiplier is removed from the grid the third time this happens.
• Dead or Alive Free Spins: coming with 4,096 ways to win, 8 FS are awarded. The first time the wild lands, a 2x multiplier will be awarded. During the second time, this will be a multiplier of 4x. No multiplier on the third time when this happens.

Also, all wild multipliers are collected in a metre which is something to follow closely.  These are then carried over for the duration of the bonus feature. The multiplier in the metre starts 1x after which it’s multiplied by any multiplier that lands. This happens to the total win of all free spins. When all 4 wilds have landed once or more, 2 additional free spins are awarded. This can happen twice which stands for 4 extra free spins.

Bonus Buy Feature

Players in New Zealand have the option of the Buy Free Spins feature. Be aware that you’ll need some extra budget as this will cost some extra credits:

• Wanted Free Spins feature: 80x the total bet.
  • RTP: 96.04%.
• Dead or Alive Free Spins feature: 200x the total stake.
  • RTP: 96.04%.

Payout Metrics

As for the RTP, The Wild Gang RTP rate is set at 96.02% which is about standard for this provider. This is a very reasonable, average percentage, so no complaints here. As this is a game with ranging RTP, Pragmatic Play has also come up with two other versions of 95.03% and 94.03%. You can check with your casino and see what applies. This is done via the game’s Paytable. Coming with a high volatility level (5 out of 5), the hit frequency rate is 1 in 3 spins which means that winning combinations occur every one in free spins, on average that is. Access to the Free Spins feature is earned once in every 253 spins. Furthermore, the Wild Gang pokie game pays out up to 10,000x bet max wins. The max win probability is labelled as 1 in 11,792,500 spins by this provider that tends to be very open about the stats. Bigger wins are expected during the free spins which is thanks to the increasing multiplier in both free spins features.

Summary

The traditional portrayal of a dusty Wild West town (including the soundtrack) initially led us to expect yet another ordinary, not so special, release from Pragmatic Play. Given their frequent game releases that have started to lack originality, we’re accustomed to seeing mere fillers. The Wild Gang pokie somehow managed to impress us whilst we made our spins. Whilst we have to say that the base game isn’t particularly thrilling, it does offer multiplier wilds that can trigger bonus rounds. Although it does require quite some spins to be successful, the new multiplier system in the bonus round is a good addition. Initial multiplier wilds can actually lead to significant payouts, but a lot of one’s progress depends on the win multiplier that can go up to 4096x. The Wild Gang game may not be everyone’s cup of tea as the number of Kiwis that’s getting tired of Pragmatic Play has been on the rise, but it has the potential to be a rewarding experience for patient players. We therefore recommend everyone to test the game in the free demo.