Wet and Wild Beavers Slot Review
Wet and Wild Beavers A-Maze-Cades from Gaming Corps introduces somewhat of a new era from the provider, who in some ways marks Wet and Wild Beavers as the hallmark of their new era to create innovative titles. Of course, there is plenty in their catalogue already that players enjoy, but nothing quite as different as Wet and Wild Beavers.
It’s reminiscent in ways of Finn and the Swirly Spin, a game that many in the industry will know enjoyed ample success over the years, and still probably does to those it made an impression with.
Can Wet and Wild Beavers leave a lasting impression? In our latest slot review we’ll check out the A-Maze-Cades mechanic for the first time to see if it’s sink or swim.
Base Game & Features
Wet and Wild Beavers features a winding grid of 5 reels and 5 rows, using a new technique known as A-Maze-Cades. Wins occur when 3-5 matching symbols land from the leftmost reel, with the highest-paying producing wins between 0.5x and 5x your bet. Wilds substitute for all winning symbols.
The A-Maze-Cades mechanic is an extension of the Cascading Reels feature. After a win is formulated, said symbols are removed from play. Existing symbols follow the path and move through the grid, heading towards the exit position. New symbols will drop from the rightmost reel and onto the grid.
Wet and Wild Beavers offers a theoretical RTP between 96.07% and 96.02%, as well as a High Volatility rating, and a max win cap of 10,000x your bet. When Hot Bet is active, the RTP jumps to 96.15%. Utilising the Bonus Buy options alters the RTP to 96.23%-96.31%.
Beaver Symbols
Beaver symbols act as Wilds, substituting for all winning combinations. When part of a win, Beaver symbols are collected and removed from the grid when they land in the Exit position.
When a Beaver symbol is collected, its respective feature is enabled at the end of the spin. The 3 Beaver features are as follows:
- Dynamite Blast: Triggers when the Red Beaver is collected. Once active, up to 3 Dynamite symbols are added to the grid. All symbols adjacent to a Dynamite symbol will be eliminated (except Beavers). The dynamite symbol transforms into a Wild.
- X-treme Cut: Triggers when the Blue Beaver is collected. Once active, all symbols within the X-shaped pattern on the grid are eliminated. In addition, up to 5 Wilds may be added to the grid.
- Combo Clear: Triggers when the Yellow Beaver is collected. Once active, up to 3 special symbols are selected. All instances of special symbols are eliminated from the grid. In addition, up to 5 Wilds may be added to the grid.
Second Chance
When no more wins form on the reels, the Second Chance feature triggers, causing a Beaver symbol to appear on the first reel. All symbols between the Beaver symbol and the Exit position are eliminated, causing the Beaver symbol to be collected.
Log Symbols
Log symbols do not contribute towards winning combinations and are removed from the grid when they land in the Exit position. Collecting a log symbol advances the Win Multiplier meter.
Win Multiplier
To the left of the grid is a progressive Win Multiplier Meter, starting at x1. This is activated at the end of a spin when more wins are present. Collecting Log or Beaver symbols advances the Multiplier meter. Filling the meter advances the Win Multiplier to the next level.
The upgrade levels available are x2, x3, x4, x5, and x10. At the end of a round, the Win Multiplier resets to x1. In Free Spins, the Win Multiplier is persistent.
Exit Position
The exit position explicitly refers to the grid’s bottom left cell position. Beaver and Log symbols are always collected when they land in this position. After a win is created, all symbols other than Beaver and Log symbols that are collected will advance the Win Multiplier meter.
Dam Flood Feature
The Dam Flood feature may activate when no more wins are created. Once active, a number of Wild symbols are added to the grid.
Bonus Buy
- Hot Bet: Triples your chances of triggering Free Spins with a guaranteed Beaver symbol in the middle (2x your bet)
- Free Spins: Triggers the Free Spins round in the next spin (80x your bet)
- Super Free Spins: Triggers an upgraded Free Spins round in the next spin (140x your bet)
Free Spins
Collecting all 3 Beaver symbols in any base game spin triggers the Free Spins round, awarding 4 Free Spins. Upon entry, players can participate in a special Gamble Wheel, for a chance to win +2 Free Spins.
In Free Spins, collecting all 3 Beaver symbols will award +4 Free Spins and a +x1 Multiplier increase for all Beaver Multipliers. The win multiplier of all Beaver symbols is applied to all wins they are a part of.
If multiple Beaver symbols are part of the same win, their Win Multiplier is only applied once, up to a maximum of x10. The number of Free Spins allowed per round is 15.
Super Free Spins
The Super Free Spins round awards 6 Free Spins. This round guarantees a Beaver symbol to land in the middle reel at the start of each spin.
Our Verdict
Wet and Wild Beavers was amusing in name to us when we first looked at it and through a fair amount of testing it out we’re pleased to say that it’s just as amusing to play. It has elements of Finn and the Swirly Spin, a NetEnt game that required consecutive wins in order to get the key to the middle of the reels. Wet and Wild Beavers isn’t quite the same, but you can see the inspiration. Seeing something different is always welcome – some rest on the laurels of familiarity with your standard features, and we think it’s praiseworthy when providers try something new, even if straying from the status quo is riskier.
We’re particularly fond of the Hot Bet Feature, which increases your chance to land the feature in quite a meaningful way. Ante bet options aren’t new, yet players are left to trust in the maths that they’re actually receiving a heightened chance of landing free spins with it active. The advantage of enabling the Hot Bet in Wet and Wild Beavers is very evident with a Beaver Symbol spawning in the middle instead of the top right.
There are plenty of moments of anticipation in Wet and Wild Beavers, and wins seem quite frequent, especially with the Hot Bet. The base game is by no means boring, and the Free Spins can be quite lengthy should you be lucky enough to see the Beavers to the end for extra spins and increasing multipliers.
Statistically, Wet and Wild Beavers looks great with up to 10,000x the bet as a maximum win. Time will tell if it’s a realistically achievable figure, but there is no doubt that it can and will perform quite well. The RTP values here are quite acceptable, with 96.07% as a standard, increasing to 96.15% with Hot Bet. UK online casinos are more likely to see the 94% variants, while the poor souls in Germany will have to make do with 89%.
Overall, we think Wet and Wild Beavers is a commendable offering from Gaming Corps, a studio that we know has the ambition to create more interesting titles like this one. Wet and Wild Beavers A-Maze-Cades is certainly a step in the right direction if their goal is to be inventive.