Wild Wild Riches Returns Slot Review
Pragmatic Play returns us to the Irish countryside for a chance to win the golden pot at the end of the rainbow, in Wild Wild Riches Returns!
It’s been a while since we found ourselves deep within the heart of an Irish-themed slot, and what better way to return to such a warming atmosphere than the third instalment of a popular Pragmatic Play series.
Hop, skip, & jump into the blissful world of Wild Wild Riches Returns, as part of an ongoing slot series. The original Wild Wild Riches first came to light in 2020, after a long run-in with Irish slots. We couldn’t have envisioned, at the time, that it would soon become a highly sought-after series from Pragmatic Play.
To cover all ground, Pragmatic Play decided that the second release should embody one of the most popular game mechanics within the iGaming industry. Big Time Gaming’s famous Megaways mechanic has found its way into hundreds, if not thousands, of games since its first debut, including Wild Wild Riches Megaways.
The Megaways mechanic is a mechanic that is hard to forget about, so it made a great impression in the sequel to Wild Wild Riches, but what can we expect to see in the trilogy? With a fixed RTP of 96.50% and a medium volatility score, this game can produce wins worth up to 10,000x your bet.
Continue reading our full Wild Wild Riches Returns slot review for further insights into gameplay, mechanics, features, and our honest opinion & rating…
Base Game & Features
Wild Wild Riches Returns is the latest instalment of the ‘Wild Wild’ series of games, consisting of 5 reels, a 3-4-4-4-3 row format, and 576 ways to win. Paytable symbols outline winning combinations when 3, 4, or 5 identical symbols land on adjacent reels, starting from reel 1.
The highest-paying symbol falls to the Chest, followed by Horseshoes, Boots, Mushrooms, Pipes, Spades, Hearts, Clubs, & Diamonds. Once a winning combination has been revealed on the reels, a fixed payout between 0.08x and 8x your bet is awarded.
Furthermore, Double Wild symbols appear only on reels 1 & 5 throughout spins, substituting for all symbols except Scatter & Money symbols when completing a winning combination. Wild symbols carry a random Multiplier of x1 or x2, which applies to all wins they are a part of.
Money Collect Feature
During gameplay, Money symbols with a random value between 1x and 10x your bet can appear on reels 1-5. Additionally, they may also reveal 1 of 6 Jackpot Prizes: Mini (25x), Minor (25x), Major (50x), Mega (100x), Grand (1,000x), or Emerald (10,000x). Please note that Emerald Money symbols can only appear on reel 5.
The Money Collect Feature activates when a Double Wild symbol appears on reels 1 and/or 5 in the base game, followed by at least 1 Money symbol. Once this happens, the available Double Wilds will collect the value of all visible Money symbols & multiply them by their Multipliers, before applying them to the total win of the spin.
Irish Spins
Subject to jurisdiction, players can access the Irish Spins Bonus, where only Double Wilds, Money symbols, Scatters, & Blanks can appear in view on the reels, for an additional 10x your bet per spin (RTP 96.53%)
In this session, the game follows the same base game mechanics, without standard paytable symbols. If the Free Spins mode is awarded during this time, the same symbols will continue throughout. Once active, the option to Gamble your current Free Spins is available, awarding the following outcomes:
- 6-8 Free Spins: 75.05% success rate
- 8-10 Free Spins: 79.93% success rate
- 10-12 Free Spins: 90.89% success rate
- 12-15 Free Spins: 81.49% success rate
- 15-20 Free Spins: 79.87% success rate
Wild Wild Riches Returns: Free Spins
Landing 3 Scatter symbols on reels 2, 3, & 4 in the base game triggers the Free Spins mode, awarding 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, or 20 Free Spins at random. If you’re not satisfied with your awarded Free Spins, you can gamble them for a chance to win more:
- 6-8 Free Spins: 75.20% success rate
- 8-10 Free Spins: 79.96% success rate
- 10-12 Free Spins: 83.18% success rate
- 12-15 Free Spins: 80.22% success rate
- 15-20 Free Spins: 74.87% success rate
After the gamble mode has concluded, the Free Spins mode will begin with the newly-awarded number of Free Spins, up to a maximum of 20. During Free Spins, the value of all Money symbols is collected into a special Bonus Meter. Once the session is complete, a single Super Spin is triggered.
In the Super Spin, the middle reels will transform into a Giant Money Symbol with the value of the Bonus Meter visible. To win the value of the Giant Money symbol, a Double Wild needs to land on reels 1 and/or 5. If both Double Wilds hit, the value of the Giant Money symbol will be awarded twice.
Finally, landing 2 or 3 Scatter symbols awards an additional +2 and +4 Free Spins, respectively.
Bonus Buy
Players within permissible regions can purchase the Free Spins mode for a further 100x their current bet. Once active, the next spin will generate 3 Scatters on reels 2, 3, & 4, awarding 8-20 Free Spins at random (RTP 96.58%)
Our Honest Verdict
It’s so nice to see the return of a much-loved slot come to life on the reels once more, but after a great start via the Megaways mechanics for the second release, what charming elements has Pragmatic Play included in this latest instalment, and does it quite catch our eye like its predecessors?
While the original Wild Wild Riches was somewhat underestimated, in our opinion, the sequel turned the heads of players looking for that special something at the end of the rainbow, and we’re almost certain they found it.
Going back to its roots, Wild Wild Riches Returns offers 576 ways to win as standard throughout gameplay. Keeping in touch with its predecessors, reels 1 & 5 are responsible for the appearance of Wilds, only this time, they appear doubled and possess a single Multiplier of x1 or x2.
In this game, the accumulation of Money symbols doesn’t rely on Wild symbols being at the forefront of all wins. What we mean by this is that Money symbols can appear anywhere on the reels, so long as a Double Wild is on reels 1 and/or 5.
We’ll admit, it’s far easier to achieve Money symbol payouts, but it’s a far cry from the gameplay we’re used to seeing in the series. We would even go so far as to say it’s a little disappointing that Pragmatic Play has stripped it of its unique gameplay. That uniqueness was what separated the first two releases from all other Irish slots. For this reason, Wild Wild Riches Returns receives a lower score than the Megaways version.
We’re all for the enhanced Jackpot Prizes, which grant players another access point to the 10,000x max win potential, but getting it to make an appearance on the reels is a challenge all on its own, let alone cashing in on it.
The introduction of the Irish Spins Bonus is the only worthy difference players will benefit from, but each spin comes at the cost of 10x your current bet. It’s a worthy investment, we believe, given that it strips the reels of standard paytable symbols, leaving only special symbols in play.
If you trigger the Free Spins mode during this Bonus, it will continue to strip the reels of standard paytable symbols for maximum potential and higher payouts. Either way you trigger Free Spins, players will be given the option to gamble their current spins for more, if they see fit to do so.
The final spin in Free Spins grants players the chance to win the total of all accumulated Money symbols from the session. This appears in the middle reels as a Giant Money symbol, which requires 1 or more Double Wilds to appear on reels 1 or 5 at this time.
All in all, this game marks the wonderful return of a promising series from Pragmatic Play, but it’s not quite the experience we were hoping for. In our opinion, stripping Wild Wild Riches Returns of its staple elements was not the best approach to the series.
*The images found in this slot review are currently from Demo Play. On average, our reviews are written prior to the initial release date and before real play is available.
