Wild Seas Slot Review

Main Facts

Released: January 2018
Software: ELK Studios
Reels: 5
Paylines: 178
Progressive: No
Free Spins: Yes
Scatter symbol: Yes

The open and untamed seas are where you’ll be venturing to next, thanks to the brilliantly detailed graphics of ELK Studios latest slot machine, Wild Seas. We all love a well thought out nautical pokie, and with this set of reels, you can be certain that you’re getting a fully realised theme to play through.

As the open sea knows no bounds, with its depths still unknown to so many, it makes sense that you can play this slot on your smart devices. Just imagine if ELK Studios had limited the range of this game, why it would have felt like a day at Sea World rather than a day on the waters with Anne Bonny.

Intro
Playtable
Symbols

To pull our attention to the all important grid, the background is muted in its detail, although we can make out a map of some sorts, detailing the local area. Making your way about the winlines, you’ll be able to loot treasure, sink ships, and just generally rule the seas as you see fit.

Game Symbols

When it comes to the icons of the paytable, Wild Seas gives you a lot of features to work with; not only do you have the lower valued tiles of the pirate coins, but you also have the ship’s crew, followed by the all important bonus symbols.

Out of the entire crew, Anne, a real pirate from history, is the most valuable of them all, while the black flag logo of the game will grant you entry to the bonus games. And yes, there’s more than one for you to activate, all you need is that plucky wit of a cunning pirate.

Gameplay

Even though we mentioned paylines earlier, it’s important to note that they’re not your traditional lines, but are designed like ways to play; there’s 178 connected lines for players to land on. You just need to ensure that the symbols are adjacent when playing, in order to get a winning combo.

The white coin widget on the control panel is how you set your bet, which ranges from 0.20 to 100 credits per spin. Within this section, you can also select a betting strategy, a feature unique to ELK; each one plays to different types of players strengths, so they’re worth investigating before starting. As for the autospins, you need to hold down that button to be given your options, which are capped at 100 autoplays.

Bonus Features

We want to put it out there right now: as much as 178,000 credits, aka pirate coins, can be won when playing Wild Seas. In order to get your hands on that booty, it would be wise to launch one or all of the bonus games.

To launch into the first bonus round, you need to get two wild sea flags (the logo), which in turn will activate Break the Convoy. Coming in from the fifth reel will be a set of sailing wilds, with you needing to sink at least one to progress to the second half of this feature. The ships will keep moving to the left, unless they’ve been hit, in which case they become sticky wilds and remain in place. It’ll take three hits to down a ship, with it then replaced by a sticky wild treasure chest.

Assuming you sink one of the ships, you’ll move onto the second level, called Loot the Treasure. Just like before, the aim is to hit the right symbols, with the chests now your primary targets, however watch out for the barrels, as they will end the round and take you back to the main activity.

Payouts

Sporting a 96.3% RTP, Wild Seas has been created to work as a medium volatility title, in which wins can be expected but you’ll be tested when playing. Basically, think of it as the normal mode of a console first person shooter.

As for the returns, we know the jackpot prize, and we know that Anne is the key, offering us 1,000 credits per five of her. She’s your ticket to the highroller status you seek, so always aim big around those reels when she appears.

Verdict

Who doesn’t love pirates? They’re part and parcel of our childhood and our adulthood, with us playing pirate games and watching nautical films. For that reason, we can’t praise Wild Seas enough; it has so much variety, but it does so while keeping the theme alive and tangible. ELK Studios have done a sublime job, making this a must play for all.