King Tusk from Microgaming: Slot Review - go wild with these elephants!

Elephants are majestic mammals that are large in size and are known for having several distinctive features such as a long trunk, big ear flaps, and a pair of tusks. There are in fact 3 different elephant species that exist on the planet today: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. This latest slot release from stellar software studio Microgaming invites players to go on a safari adventure to gaze in awe at these magnificent animals as they roam the plains of Africa in their natural habitat. Just remember not to get too close to them or you might just cause a stampede!

King Tusk has 5 reels with 25 paylines and comes with features such as Free Spins, Expanding Wilds, Wild Reels, and Sticky Wilds.

Special Features

The first feature to discuss is the Wild symbol and is represented by an elephant with the word ‘Wild’ just below it. This symbol substitutes for all other symbols except for the Scatter to help form winning combinations on the reels. A nice feature of this symbol is that it can randomly transform any symbol into a Wild and Wilds can also expand into Wild stacks to further increase your chances of landing a big payout.

The Scatter symbol is denoted by the game logo and only appears on reels 2, 3, and 4. If you manage to land 3 of these symbols in any positions on the stated reels then you will trigger the Free Spins bonus game. In this feature, players are awarded 10 Free Spins and are given the choice to choose from 3 different Free Spins games. They are as follows:

• Elephants Gone Wild: all elephant symbols become Wild symbols
• Elephants Stampede: 2 reels are randomly chosen to become fully Wild reels
• Elephant Dance: a Sticky Wild is added on each Free Spin which remains in place for up to 5 Free Spins

If you manage to land 3 or more Scatters during any Free Spin then you will retrigger this feature and receive 10 additional Free Spins which gives you a nice set of 20 Free Spins in total.

Theme, Graphics and Sound

The presentation of the game is top-drawer as you might expect from leading software developer Microgaming. The game is set in a lush African savannah that is teeming with wildlife and moab trees and the whole background is covered with a wonderful light orange hue. Symbols are nicely detailed and consist of a herd of elephants and the standard A- 9 icons. The animations are stylish as symbols flash, enlarge, and spring into life whenever they are part of a winning payline.

The music is dramatic and filled with lots of big drums with the odd elephant roar thrown in for good measure. It ties nicely with the animal theme of the game.

Win lines, Payouts and Jackpots

The game features 25 paylines, an excellent RTP of 96.43%, and a maximum payout worth 992X your stake.

Below is a summary taken from the PayOut Table from the game. The amount won for each combination depends on the value of the bet when you spin the reels.

Bet Range: 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.00, 1.25, 1.50, 1.75, 2.00, 2.25, 2.50, 2.75, 3.00, 3.25, 3.50, 3.75, 4.00, 4.25, 4.50, 4.75, 5.00, 5.25, 5.50, 5.75, 6.00, 6.25, 6.50, 7.00, 7.50, 8.00, 8.50, 8.75, 9.00, 9.50, 10.00, 10.50, 11.00, 11.25, 11.50, 12.00, 12.50, 13.75, 15.00, 16.25, 17.50, 18.75, 20.00, 21.25, 22.50, 23.75, 25.00, 26.25, 27.50, 28.75, 30.00, 31.25, 32.50, 35.00, 37.50, 40.00, 42.50, 45.00, 47.50, 50.00, 52.50, 55.00, 57.50, 60.00, 62.50

Based on a bet of 0.25:

• King Tusk Wild Symbol: 0.02 for 2X, 0.20 for 3X, 1.00 for 4X, 10.00 for 5X
• 2 Elephants Symbol: 0.15 for 3X, 0.60 for 4X, 2.50 for 5X
• 3 Elephants Symbol: 0.15 for 3X, 0.60 for 4X, 2.50 for 5X
• Pot of Coins Symbol: 0.10 for 3X, 0.50 for 4X, 2.00 for 5X
• A Symbol: 0.10 for 3X, 0.50 for 4X, 2.00 for 5X
• K Symbol: 0.10 for 3X, 0.25 for 3X, 1.25 for 5X
• Q Symbol: 0.10 for 3X, 0.25 for 4X, 1.25 for 5X
• J Symbol: 0.05 for 3X, 0.20 for 4X, 1.00 for 5X
• 10 Symbol: 0.05 for 3X, 0.20 for 4X, 1.00 for 5X
• 9 Symbol: 0.05 for 3X, 0.20 for 4X, 1.00 for 5X

Our Verdict on King Tusk

This game is created by Microgaming and it’s a fun trip to an African savannah where a herd of elephants reign supreme. It’s really easy to play, beautifully designed and contains a decent amount of bonus features to keep players entertained for a long long time. I really liked how the Wild symbol can expand randomly at any time and I was able to trigger the Free Spins feature on more than one occasion when playing. It’s just great that you get to choose from 3 different Free Spins bonus games and I recommend choosing the Elephants Gone Wild feature each time since all elephants symbols can transform into Wilds on each Free Spin. I found this slot to be of Low variance so you’ll notice that payouts occur quite frequently but they will be on the smaller side so high-rollers should take note of this. For similar-themed slots, check out Stampede, Safari Heat, and Jumbo Stampede.

Get ready for a wild safari adventure when you play King Tusk!