Better Wilds Power Play

Better Wilds Power Play Slot Review

Concentric rings of blue and violet light churn behind the reel frame like a portal with somewhere better to be, cyan sparkles scattered across an indigo void that never resolves into an actual place. It’s a lot of glow for a cabinet that barely changes anything underneath. Better Wilds Power Play asks you to run the original Better Wilds again, on worse maths, in the hope that the name on the wrapper – and one very good walking wild – carry it.

The studio behind it is Playtech, a supplier whose range runs from Buffalo Blitz to Fire Blaze: Jinns Moon, and this release sits in the arcade corner of that catalogue. It’s a follow-up to Better Wilds, a neon cabinet we’ve already spent time with. The Power Play variant runs on a 5×4 grid with 25 paylines, high volatility and an RTP of 93.39%, a couple of points tighter than its predecessor.

The Base Game and Its Symbols

The grid is a familiar arrangement: five reels, four rows, 25 fixed paylines. All wins pay left to right and are multiplied by the line bet, which works out as the total bet divided by 25. Only the highest win pays on each line. That’s the whole of the arithmetic.

The symbol set is pure classic cabinet: the 7, the bell, three tiers of BAR, cherries and royals. Both wilds sit at the top of the ladder alongside the 7. The wild substitutes for everything except the Special Wild, and nothing else in the symbol set carries a rule of its own.

The full pays, as multiples of the line bet:

• 7 – 5x for two, 25x for three, 200x for four, 500x for five
• Bell – 5x for two, 15x for three, 100x for four, 250x for five
• Purple BAR – 10x for three, 75x for four, 200x for five
• Blue BAR – 10x for three, 50x for four, 150x for five
• Orange BAR – 10x for three, 40x for four, 125x for five
• Cherry – 5x for three, 25x for four, 100x for five
• A / K – 5x for three, 20x for four, 75x for five
• Q – 5x for three, 15x for four, 50x for five
• Wild / Special Wild – 5x for two, 25x for three, 250x for four, 500x for five

The wilds edge the 7 for four of a kind, paying 250x where the 7 pays 200x, and the two symbols match at the top of the ladder for five. Solid, unspectacular, exactly what a cabinet like this should pay.

While the reels spin, the backdrop does the heavy lifting visually. The reel area sits inside a glowing blue oval halo that brightens at its edges, and magenta light streaks sweep diagonally across the lower corner of the screen. It’s polished, glossy work, and it gives an otherwise standard fruit machine a sense of occasion it hasn’t paid for in mechanics.

Special Wild Respins

The Special Wild is a green gem that can only land on reels three, four or five. It substitutes for all other symbols, and the moment it appears it triggers the Wild Respins. From there it walks: one position to the left on every respin, until it moves clean off the reels and the feature ends.

The walk has a second act. From its second move onward the Special Wild also expands by one position, either up or down, so it grows as it travels. A run that starts as a single tile can finish as a two-high wild grinding across three reels of paylines.

More than one Special Wild can arrive at once, and each additional one triggers its own respins. Because a Special Wild entering on reel five has to cross four reels before it exits, a long run gives the expanded wild several respins over the middle of the grid, where it can stack up line wins respin after respin. That’s the feature, start to finish: arrive, walk, expand, leave.

The Special Wild is the one reason the base game has a pulse, and it’s a well-built version of the walking-wild idea. Late expansion means a run gets stronger the longer it survives rather than running out of steam, and the respins it awards are the only departure from straight spin-after-spin play.

The Powerplay Modes

The title’s headline addition is the Powerplay system. Three modes carry the name – Mega Powerplay, Peak Powerplay and Mini Powerplay – and all three sit in the menu marked as unavailable, with nothing else attached to them. The fourth feature, the Special Wild Respins, is the one that’s actually live.

So the Powerplay modes exist as locked menu entries and little more can be said about them. The name promises an escalation the cabinet doesn’t spell out, and a slot whose title mechanic stays behind glass has a presentation problem more than a design one. What’s playable is the fruit cabinet and the walking wild underneath it, and both of those were already in the original.

Our Honest Verdict

Overall Rating: 6.1/10

Time with this one is spent watching the reels for a green gem and enjoying the light show while nothing much happens. That’s the honest shape of it, and it’s a better time than it sounds: the walking wild is the strongest version of the idea around, growing as it travels and chaining into extra respins when a second one shows up mid-run.

Everything around that wild is the problem. The Powerplay modes that give the game its name sit locked in the menu with no rules attached, so the supposed upgrade over the original never materialises, and the RTP drops a couple of points besides. You’re being asked to pay more, in effect, for the same machine.

This suits players who enjoy a patient, one-feature cabinet and already liked the original’s single trick. Anyone comparing the two on returns will find the original does the same job for better odds. The rings here still glow beautifully – it’s just a pricier spot to stand and admire them.

Better Wilds Power Play FAQs

• What is the RTP of Better Wilds Power Play?

  Better Wilds Power Play runs at an RTP of 93.39%, which sits a couple of points below the original Better Wilds.
• Is Better Wilds Power Play high volatility?

  Yes. Better Wilds Power Play is a high volatility slot, so wins tend to be less frequent but potentially larger when the Special Wild respins chain up.
• How many paylines does Better Wilds Power Play have?

  The game has 25 fixed paylines. All wins pay left to right, are multiplied by the line bet (total bet divided by 25), and only the highest win pays on each line.
• What is the grid size of Better Wilds Power Play?

  Better Wilds Power Play uses a 5×4 grid: five reels and four rows, with the Special Wild restricted to reels three, four and five.
• How does the Special Wild Respins feature work?

  When the green gem Special Wild lands on reels 3, 4 or 5, it awards respins and shifts one position left on each one until it walks off the grid. From its second move it also expands up or down by one position, and any further Special Wilds award further respins.
• What do the Powerplay modes do in Better Wilds Power Play?

  The Mega, Peak and Mini Powerplay modes sit in the game’s menu marked as unavailable, and no rules are attached to them. The Special Wild Respins are the game’s live feature.
• What is the top-paying symbol in Better Wilds Power Play?

  The wild and the Special Wild pay the most, returning 500x the line bet for five of a kind and 250x for four, with the 7 just behind them at 500x and 200x respectively.
• Who makes Better Wilds Power Play?

  Better Wilds Power Play is made by Playtech, one of the industry’s largest suppliers, whose range also includes Buffalo Blitz and the Fire Blaze series.
• When is Better Wilds Power Play released?

  Better Wilds Power Play’s release date is 2 May 2021.